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Village Green Plano LandscapingGREENTALK BLOGHow To
19 Jun 2020
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt General, GreenTalk, How To , , , , , , , , , ,

Who are the best lawn care service companies in North Dallas?

Looking for a reputable lawn care and landscape company in North Dallas? Below is a list of some of the best in North Dallas.

Lawntech
Founded in 1985, Lawntech is still around today because of their old school customer service. They are a very conscientious company that doesn’t overload their applicators with work. That way their lawn technicians are able to take the time needed in each year. They also have invested over the years in good equipment and offer solid lawn programs.

Cititurf
Cititurf is a busy lawn care company that does a lot of volume. They have extremely knowledgeable managers who are able to offer great support which allows them to have great lawn technicians (to handle their volume.) In addition they keep up with the latest products to make sure they are getting the best results for their customers. They also have good, up-to-date equipment and offer good lawn programs for their customers.

Image Lawn and Landscape
Founded in 1995, Image Lawn and Landscape is a full-service lawn and landscape company handling both residential, commercial and homeowner association customers. Like the others on this list, they have stayed up-to-date with technology and equipment and offer professionalism and a good value.

When hiring a new lawn service company it is important to ask the right questions to compare services. Here are five signs that a lawn care company is a good choice.

1. Compare Standard Lawn Treatments.
Compare treatment programs from lawn company to company. Do they provide both grass care and ornamental tree and shrub care? Are lawn care treatments tailored to specific types of grass? For example, what makes your neighbor’s grass thrive won’t necessarily be what your grass needs. Look for statements about how treatments benefit lawns, trees and shrubs. You don’t want a one size fits all mentality.

2. Go Beyond Yard Maintenance.
The needs of your yard can change from season to season, year to year. Just like you wouldn’t go to a dentist who only does cleanings, you want to hire a lawn care company that can provide additional services when you need them.

At a minimum these should include diagnosis and treatment of diseases and pests, and service calls between regular lawn treatments if you notice a problem.

3. Know Who is Treating Your Lawn
When it comes to lawn care technician training, the more the better. This goes for not just knowing how to apply grass treatments properly and safely. They should also be able (and willing) to answer questions you have about your treatments, your yard’s basic needs and how you can meet them, and alert you to anything you need to keep an eye on.

When it comes to the techs themselves, the fewer the better – at least in terms of who treats your property. You’re better served by having the same dedicated technician or tech team visit after visit. That way they get to really know your yard and can stay on top of any problem areas.

4. Look for Preventative Lawn Care Service
What tips and information do they give to lawn service customers? Depending on where you live, there are certain pests, lawn diseases and other problems that can crop up with lawns, trees and shrubs. When you know what to watch for, you’re able to contact your lawn care company for a service call so the problem can be diagnosed and treated before damage is done.

5. Check Customer Reviews.
Check out the experiences of other customers. Consumer services like Angie’s List and Google for your region are great sources of information on lawn company performance and customer satisfaction. By doing your homework you can narrow the field of companies. The next step is to talk with the lawn care services that made your short list. That’s your opportunity to ask questions and get answers you didn’t find on their websites. While the specifics of quality lawn care vary from region to region, ask these questions to guide you in making the right choice.

08 Jun 2020
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt How To, Ken's Quick Tip, Sprinkler System, Watering , , , , , , , ,

Summer Watering Guide

Now is the time to program your sprinkler controller for summer watering to make sure your lawn and landscape are getting adequate water coverage.

How much should you water in the summer?

The starting point for our watering plan is summer because that is the season your soil loses the most water. During summer we recommend watering roughly an hour per week per zone in full sun. We also recommend watering in 10-minute bursts, so your lawn has time to absorb the water. If you water more than that, you run the risk of the water running down your street or alley because of our infamous clay soil in North Texas.

This means in summer we recommend that you water in ten minutes bursts two days per week at 2 am, 4 am, and 6 am.

The reason we recommend watering at these times is that it is cooler, which means less evaporation. There is also less wind that can blow your water onto your driveway, sidewalk or street. If you water as recommended, you will have more water that ends up in your lawn, which is both environmentally and financially smart.

Some of the newer controllers have what is called a seasonal adjust section. Those are really easy to use with this system. If you have shady areas in your lawn, you typically need to water about half the recommended time you would in a sunny area.

Important Note for Rotary Head Sprinklers and Drip Systems.

Rotary Head Sprinklers (they slowly turn and send out long streams of water.) We recommend running them twice as long because it takes them longer to put out the same amount of water.

Drip Zones (drip systems work by maintaining a level of moisture in the soil.) They can be tricky because they put out water at different rates, and the water going into the ground can vary based on how the drip hoses are installed. We recommend that they run daily or close to it (roughly 10 minutes per day in the summer.) It is important to pay attention to your beds to make sure they are getting the proper amount of water.

Download Summer Watering Guide

If you need help with programming your sprinkler or have any other issues give us a call at 972-495-6990 or Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com. We offer affordable sprinkler repair by our certified irrigation technicians. You can also watch this quick video where Ken shows you how to properly program your sprinkler controller.

09 Mar 2020
Ken Hyatt
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt GreenTalk, How To, Ken's Quick Tip, Lawn and Landscape Care , , , , , , ,

Ken’s Quick Tip: How to Prevent Poa Annua in your Lawn.

Poa Annua is a very common weed for us to see in North Texas in early to mid-spring. It is a grassy type of weed, with little seed heads. It comes up from seeds, which makes it an annual weed. Learn more about the causes and prevention of Poa Annua in this informative quick tip by Ken Hyatt, Founder, and President of Village Green. The best way to prevent weeds, including Poa Annua, is with an annual fertilization and weed control plan. If you are interested in hearing more about what Village Green has to offer, give us a call at 972-495-6990 or see the frequently asked questions about our program.

If you have a lawn or landscape question give us a call at call us at 972-495-6990 or Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com.

19 Feb 2020
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt GreenTalk, How To, Ken's Quick Tip, Lawn and Landscape Care

Ken’s Quick Tip: What’s that Grassy Weed in my Lawn?

Rescue grass is common in wintertime in North Texas. In our area, it germinates in mid to late December and is around through January and into February. The best way to get rid of rescue grass is to prevent it. At Village Green, we use a pre-emergent that works well. Like most things in life, it is all about timing, and if you don’t apply a good pre-emergent at the right time of the year, you’ll more than likely have to deal with rescue grass. When we take on a new customer’s lawn that has a rescue grass problem, we use a product that will make it go away, but the thing we always remind our new customer is that it takes a little time and patience to work. The best way to prevent weeds, including rescue grass is with an annual fertilization and weed control plan.

If you have a lawn or landscape question give us a call at call us at 972-495-6990 or Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com.

08 Feb 2020
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt GreenTalk, How To, Ken's Quick Tip, Lawn and Landscape Care

Ken’s Quick Tip: Why You Should Aerate Your Lawn.

If you live in North Texas, one of the most important things you can do to help your lawn thrive is annual lawn aeration.

The reason why is our North Texas soil. It is made up of tiny particles that compact over time. The longer you go without aerating your lawn the harder it is for your lawn to get the vital water, oxygen, and fertilizer it needs to thrive. If your lawn has a lot of traffic, whether it be people or pets, the problem can be even worse (this is why golf course aerate their greens and fairways a few times a year.)

Most of our customers don’t need to go that far, but aerating your lawn once a year is a wise investment for anyone who wants a healthy lawn.
Whether you do it yourself or hire it done, it really boils down to time. Aeration is simply punching thousands of tiny holes into your soil so water, oxygen, and fertilizer can more easily travel to the root system.

Village Green typically schedules our lawn aerations in late winter and early spring. If you’d like to learn more or find out the cost for your lawn give us a call at call us at 972-495-6990 or Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com.

25 Apr 2019
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt How To, Ken's Quick Tip, Landscaping, Landscaping Dallas

Ken’s Quick Tip: Make Your Bed!

“I had my plants installed 8 years ago and they are the same size today as they were when they put into our landscape?!?”

I hear that statement often when I’m out on landscape project calls. The home owner is usually looking to make some updates in their landscape but are afraid they’ll get lackluster results. They often assume the reason the plants haven’t grown as much as they would like is because the previous landscape company used plants that were not good for North Texas. The real cause of their problem often comes as a surprise, because they had no clue the previous landscape company skipped one vital part of the project. They didn’t properly prepare the bed for the new plants.

It’s definitely not the most glamorous part of the project, but prepping the soil is critical in North Texas because of our unique soil. In fact, the only other place that has soil like ours in North Texas is in Africa!

If you’ve ever tried to dig with a shovel in North Texas, you know this unique soil is a challenge! If wet, it gets gummy. If dry, it is as hard as concrete. This is why you have to prep your beds properly before you do any planting.

Consider a new plant. They’ve been raised in soft, loose potting soil. If you pull them out of their pots and stick them in a bed without any prep they’ll be in shock because their roots have a hard time making the transition from the soft loose soil to the tough North Texas soil. What ends up happening is the roots grow around inside the original potting soil and the plant becomes stunted and root-bound. This is why a plant may have been installed years ago yet be roughly the same size as when they were planted.

Some will tell you it’s a lost cause to spend too much time and energy into amending the soil in North Texas. And while it is true, our clay soil will gobble up any amendments over time and eventually revert back to its original, tough natural state, it is still a step you cannot skip if you want a successful landscape.

The reason for putting in the hard work of tilling and mixing loose, healthy compost into our soil is that it gives the new plants a mix of our clay soil and a soil similar to what it has in its pot. This will give the plants a few years to send their roots out into the looser soil and lets them acclimate or adjust to their new home in North Texas.

Keep in mind you can’t till the soil after the plants have been installed. Your only chance is to do it prior to planting. Another key factor is to make sure you use compost (believe me all compost is not created equally!) Village Green uses what I feel is the best on the market, which is a garden mix. It is a blend of compost, decomposed pine, azalea mix, loam and expanded shale which is the perfect mix for any new plant to send roots out in a new landscape!

If you need help with any lawn or landscape problem we would love to earn your business. We install landscapes ranging from $2,500 up to $100,000 +, and have been helping our North Texas neighbors create beautiful outdoor spaces since 1980. Give call us at 972-495-6990 or Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com.

30 Aug 2018
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt GreenTalk, How To, Ken's Quick Tip

Ken’s Quick Tip: Drip Irrigation 101

While I spend quite a bit of time talking about how to water using spray and rotary heads, we’re seeing more and more drip irrigation systems being installed and I’ve begun getting questions about where they should be used and how long they should be run.

Drip systems put water exactly where you want it with virtually no loss to evaporation which is why for the past few years cities have encouraged and sometimes required them.

Here are a few tips and tricks regarding drip systems:

The best use of drip lines is in narrow bed areas that spray heads can’t cover well, such as around swimming pools or very narrow turf areas. Because they put out water very slowly, they are also great to use on slopes.

Drip irrigation is designed to maintain a consistent amount of water in the soil by watering a few minutes daily. Because of the low amount of water it puts out, drip lines are not as effective when they are run once or twice per week – if the soil dries out, it takes a long time for drip lines to put out enough water to catch back up.

Our slab foundations need a consistent amount of water at all times which makes drip lines ideal for watering the foundation.

During the summer, in sunny areas, drip zones should be run somewhere between 5 to 10 minutes per day or roughly 30 minutes to an hour per week per zone. Why the broad range? There are a few different types of drip hoses that are installed in this area and each of them drips (emits) at a different rate so you’ll need to watch your plants to see if they are happy with the amount of water they are getting.

Drip lines are meant to be covered with mulch or buried. The weakest part of drip lines are all of the connections which are held together with barbs that will sometimes pop loose. If the drip line is left in the sun, the heat on the hose will make it soft and the connections will come apart much more often.

Because the lines are shallow, they tend to get damaged more often then other sprinkler lines. They are prime targets for aerators, people weeding your beds or even squirrels that love to chew on anything so it’s a good idea to check your drip zones several times throughout the year, just to be sure you haven’t developed a leak.

During droughts, most cities exempt drip lines from their water restrictions so if your landscape beds are on drip zones, you can water those daily and focus in on the turf areas on the permitted days (that became important a few years ago to those of us who could only water every two weeks.)


If you have any lawn or landscape questions give us a call at 972.495.6990 or email Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com.

30 Jul 2018
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt GreenTalk, How To, Ken's Quick Tip

Ken’s Quick Tip: How to Kill, Control & Prevent Chinch Bugs in your Lawn

As I’ve said in many a Quick Tip, your lawn needs three things to thrive: sun, water and food (fertilizer.) If you are doing everything right, but your lawn still looks wrong, you may have chinch bugs.

Chinch bugs are bad news. Over the years I’ve seen them cause more lawn damage than any other insect. What makes them particularly bad is when the first signs of chinch bug damage appear (typically small yellowing spots in your lawn,) most people wrongly assume they have drought damage, fungal disease or an iron deficiency. They then try and solve those problems which wastes money and completely ignores the real problem, chinch bugs.

In North Texas chinch bugs attack St. Augustine lawns. They thrive in hot, dry soil and frequently start eating the St. Augustine near concrete.

How can you tell if you have chinch bugs versus the other problems I noted above? To be honest it can be tough for a non-professional. Usually there is an area between the brown grass and green grass that is yellow. If you part the grass leaves and stare at the ground, you might eventually see them. Fair warning, you are going to see an amazing variety of bugs running around and it takes some patience to identify the chinch bugs (assuming they are there.)

The best clue is if the area is spreading over a period of a few days – most sprinkler issues don’t spread. Watch for that and also notice if the soil in that area is the same dampness as the surrounding green grass area. In the end, if you suspect you have chinch bugs, you’re usually better off treating the area for them just to be sure.

Unlike grub worms, there isn’t a preventative for chinch bugs. The way to control them is to treat while they are actively feeding. At Village Green we apply Bifenthrin which has proven to be very effective in killing them.

Even though there is no preventative for chinch bugs, the Village Green surface insect program can significantly reduce the risk of wide scale chinch bug damage. Our surface insect program uses Bifenthrin, which controls fleas, ticks, and ants in addition to reducing your chance of large areas chinch bug damage.

We apply it every month or so during the peak insect season and it usually kills off any active chinch bugs too. The surface insect program is an added cost to ourfertilization and weed control plan. If you’d like more information on it or questions regarding your lawn call at us at 972-495-6990 or emailKen@VillageGreen-Inc.com. We’d be happy to answer your questions if you want to do it yourself. Or if you want to save time and have us do it, we’d be happy to give you an affordable estimate on what it would cost for your lawn.


If you have any lawn or landscape questions give us a call at 972.495.6990 or email Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com.

20 Jul 2018
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt GreenTalk, How To, Ken's Quick Tip

Ken’s Quick Tip: How to Recover from Drought Damage

In my last Quick Tip I gave valuable advice on how to spot drought stress in your lawn (and what could be causing it.)

What should you do if your lawn has been under watered?:


First, you need to make sure you’ve fixed whatever problem caused the drought stress. Assuming you’ve done that it is time to help your lawn start recovering.


If you’ve been under-watering the water table in your soil has moved so low that the roots of your lawn can’t reach the water. A good visual of this problem is to imagine you left a bucket full of water in the middle of your sunny lawn. If you are under-watering you are only replacing a portion of the water the soil has lost. If this goes on for too long your bucket is going to get lower and lower and when it comes time to refill it to the proper level you have to add more water to get it back to normal.


If you do the 25% increase you are going to gradually move your water table up to the level of your roots.


It’s the same for your lawn, which is why I recommend that you add about 25% to your watering each week. You may think you can over water all at once, but this isn’t a good idea because of our North Texas soil (it has a hard time taking a lot of water all at once, and will run off into the street or sidewalk.)


If you follow this schedule and assuming good sun and fertilizations (hopefully using Village Green), you’ll start seeing great results, usually within two or three weeks. Once your lawn is free of brown spots you’ll know you’ve fixed your problem and can return to normal summer watering.


If you have any lawn or landscape questions give us a call at 972.495.6990 or email Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com.

15 Jul 2018
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt GreenTalk, How To, Ken's Quick Tip

Ken’s Quick Tip: Signs of Summer Lawn Stress

North Texas summers are hard on your lawn and landscape, and 2018 is no exception. We are seeing many lawns in our area suffering drought stress. Drought can be defined as the absence of rainfall or irrigation for a period of time sufficient to deplete soil moisture and injure plants. It is serious business, because drought stress can reduce growth more than all other environmental stresses combined. The two likely culprits causing drought stress for most home owners is that they are not watering long enough and/or they have unknown sprinkler system issues that is causing their under-watering.

If you are unsure if you have drought stress, you can watch my short drought stress video here. It will show you the telltale signs. If you do see signs of drought stress in your lawn, here is what you can do to reduce possible damage to your lawn and landscape:


• Make sure that your sprinkler is programmed properly and that you are watering long enough. You can download our free summer watering guide here.
• Test your sprinkler system to make sure that you don’t have any nozzle or valve issues and that you are getting good coverage in all areas of your lawn and landscape. Learn more about sprinkler troubleshooting here.
• Or if you want to let the professionals handle it, give us a call at at 972-495-6990 or email Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com. We offer affordable sprinkler tune-up services where our certified irrigation technicians make sure your sprinkler system is working properly (including programming it based on our summer watering guidelines.)