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16 Jan 2021
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt GreenTalk, How To, Ken's Quick Tip, Landscape Solutions, Landscaping, Lawn and Landscape Care , ,

Our Top 5 Quick & Easy Landscape Improvements

If you want to improve your lawn and landscape and don’t know where to start, consider these five quick and easy tips. We think you’ll find that dollar for dollar, they are the easiest, more cost-effective ways to improve the look of your lawn and landscape quickly.

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REPLACE RUSTED STEEL EDGING AROUND LANDSCAPE BORDER
We like to put in a stone border using the dry stack method, which is where we lightly trim the stone and put them on decomposed granite. This method will hold the stone securely in place, allowing you to easily and quickly reposition the stone if needed in the future. This quick update isn’t costly and makes an excellent addition to the old, rusted steel edging many people have in their landscape. The cost of this type of update depends on a few things, but a general price range is $2,000 to $2,400.

ADD RIVER ROCK IN UNDER THE TREE(S) IN YOUR LAWN
These areas often won’t grow grass because of an abundance of shade, and river rock with a stone border make the area look very nice. And better yet, the stone grows well in the shade! The cost of this type of update depends on a few things, but a general price range is $2,400 to $2,800.

CONNECT YOUR DOWNSPOUTS
One of the biggest problems we see with landscapes is not under-watering, it’s overwatering. Connecting your downspouts to a drainage system and running the water out through the curb is a great solution and will resolve over watering in your beds. The cost of this type of update depends on a few things, but a general price range is $2,500 to $3,000.

ADD DECOMPOSED GRANITE TO YOUR SIDE YARD
Often, grass has a hard time growing between the home and fence, and these areas are nothing but mud pits. If you added decomposed granite pea gravel and nestled in flagstone, your side yard will be more usable and drain properly. The cost of this type of update is generally $3,000 to $3,700.

ADD MULCH TO YOUR BEDS
The recommendation is always to have 2 to 3 inches of mulch in your beds. Village Green does Seasonal Bed Maintenance where we install the mulch, lightly weed, and trim any shrubs that need it. We also will add weed preventative and fertilizer. The crucial part of this, though, is adding the mulch. Two to three inches of mulch will insulate your plants’ roots from the heat and cold and hold in moisture. Having a couple of inches of mulch also will help cut down on the weeds in the bed. The cost of our Seasonal Bed Maintenance program depends on a few things, but a general price range is $1,100 to $1,300 a year.

These are the top 5 small landscape jobs we do that can significantly improve your lawn and landscape.

If you have a landscape project in mind, Village Green would love to earn your business. Founded in 1980, we are a family-owned and operated lawn and landscape company specializing in landscapes that start at $2,500. Call us at 972-495-6990 or email us at Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com for more information.

21 Sep 2020
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Landscape Spotlight: Sneak Peak of Phil & Karen’s New Landscape

Phil and Karen’s Dallas project is an excellent example of how we can work with homeowners over time doing the landscape in stages. The first stage of the project was in their backyard and culminated with an attractive water feature.

12 Sep 2020
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt Dallas Lawn Care, FAQ, Fertilization & Weed Control, How To, Ken's Quick Tip, Landscaping, Landscaping Dallas, Lawn and Landscape Care , , , , , , , , , ,

Everything You Need To Know About Fall in North Texas

It is hard to believe but fall officially arrives in North Texas in less than a week.

As we wrap up the busy summer season and head into autumn Village Green starts shifting our lawn care focus away from top growth and towards root growth.

Bermuda lawns get a nitrogen fertilizer and our St. Augustine and zoysia lawns have switched to a root feeding fertilizer.

We treat St. Augustine and zoysia differently for two reasons. One is the lawns have been stressed from the summer heat and we want to help the roots become stronger as we head into fall.

The second reason is St. Augustine and zoysia are both prone to a fungus called brown patch that occurs in the moderate, usually wetter weather we have in the fall. Applying a high nitrogen fertilizer to St. Augustine and zoysia lawns is bad, because brown patch thrives on nitrogen.

Later this fall we will begin the transition to a fall pre-emergent to reduce fall and winter weeds.

Ask Ken: Our Top Fall Related Questions

As the weather cools our phones heat up. In the past week I’ve had time in the office to answer many fall related questions that I think would benefit all our customers. I hope you find the answers to these common fall questions helpful!

How much should I water in the fall?
Download our Fall Green Talk Newsletter for our fall watering guidelines.

What should I do with the leaves on my lawn and landscape?
Short answer is that leaves left on your lawn are bad (they can lead to fungal problems in your lawn.) Leaves in your beds are good (think free mulch!)

Should I plant or install a landscape in the fall in North Texas?
I know it sounds backwards, but fall and even in the winter are actually better seasons to plant landscapes in than spring. If you choose the right plants, the weather in North Texas doesn’t stay cold long enough to damage new plants, plus planting at this time of year lets the plants develop roots deep enough to be mostly established before summer which is the most stressful time of the year for plants in North Texas. Deeper and stronger roots is vital because it makes the plant much hardier in extreme heat and they require less water to thrive.

What are the best plants to get fall color into your lawn?
If you are looking to refresh your lawn we recommend these hardy, late-blooming plants. The best part about planting at this time of year is that the plants will have ideal conditions to grow strong roots over winter, so they’ll be ready to sprint into bloom next spring.

Some of our favorites are…

Pansies: If you want colorful blooms over the winter your go-to flower for sunny areas in North Texas are pansies. Pansies are hardy with the ability to weather single digit temperatures and wintry precipitation. In fact, they often bounce back and bloom after a wintry patch of weather after a few sunny days. To maximize their blooms, use a high phosphorous fertilizer (5-30-5 ratio.) Like most flowers, they prefer a loose well-drained soil so they don’t stay wet after watering. An easy way to accomplish that is to add potting soil to the bed. Pansies are like candy to rabbits, so if you have a large population in your area, it may be challenge to grow them.

Violas: They have pansy-like blooms except the blooms are tiny. You can plant these in similar conditions to pansies.

Kale and/or Cabbage: Oddly enough, if you have rabbit problems, you are safe planting kale and/or cabbage. Rabbits would rather eat your pansies versus eating your vegetables! These aren’t as colorful as pansies but they’re easy to grow. To make them look nice later in the spring, trim off the blooms.

Mums: These are wonderful fall plants. Like azaleas, they only bloom a few weeks out of the year, but when they bloom they look great, especially with pumpkins.

Cyclamen: These are beautiful but delicate flowers. I recommend planting a few of them for a nice change of color in your lawn or landscape. Don’t get carried away, as you cold lose them to harsh wintry weather.

Pumpkins: Another tip to introduce a pop or color is to get some pumpkins and/or gourds to place in your lawn and landscape. Our area has many pumpkin patches during the fall season a few well placed add a festive fall element to your yard.

If you are looking for some extra help with your lawn or landscape this fall give us a call. Founded in 1980, Village Green is a family-owned and operated lawn and landscape company celebrating 40 years in North Texas.

Call us at 972-495-6990 or email me at Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com to learn more.

31 Aug 2020
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Landscape Spotlight: Jason & Melissa’s McKinney Texas Home – Part 1

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Jason and Melissa have been in their home a few years and decided it was the right time to make their front and back landscapes beautiful. The couple enjoys spending a lot of time in their backyard, gardening, and grilling. Part of this project included concrete work in their backyard, so while we waited for that to be done, Village Green concentrated on the front.

A challenge with the front of their property was how to tame all the concrete created by their driveway. Our solution was to soften that look by stretching the beds down the driveway and installing dwarf and semi-dwarf plants such as abelias and nandinas. The beauty of these plants is that they screen the driveway but still frame the home.

Another request from Jason was to get rid of the stackable stone border and do something about the stone wall it created on one side of their property. Our solution was to extend or push the bed, which allowed us to get rid of the wall and only need a single course of stone border. We also added river rock along the driveway to hold the soil and mulch in place.

Other touches were replacing the hedges with more natural plants that are easier for the couple to maintain and add color. Next to the entry, we added smaller perennials, giant liriope, and variegated sedge to give interest without needing to replace annuals regularly.

I’m happy to report that Jason and Melissa love our finished work and bragged about what a great job Hannah and her team did. They were especially impressed when Hannah fixed a couple of issues before they even had time to bring them up to her.

Thank you, Jason and Melissa, for allowing us to re-do your front landscape. We’re looking forward to getting started on the back in a few weeks when the project’s concrete part complete.

If you have a landscape project in mind, Village Green would love to earn your business. Founded in 1980, we are a family-owned and operated lawn and landscape company specializing in landscapes that start at $2,500 while handling more extensive projects that can range up to $100,000 plus. Call us at 972-495-6990 or email Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com to learn more.

08 Aug 2020
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Landscape Spotlight: Dylan & Katie (Re)Make An Entrance in their New Garland Home

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Our latest landscape Dylan and Katie, who are proud first-time homeowners, contacted us about improving the curb appeal of their new home in Garland. The previous owner had allowed the shrubs to get large, obscuring their home and covering a good portion of their windows. The main challenge with this project was that between the crepe myrtles near the city sidewalk and all the plants leaning in their entry, the landscape felt like it was trying to keep people away instead of a more welcoming entrance.

At the entrance, we went with holly ferns and giant liriope for year-round texture, adding color by adding nandinas and dwarf Mexican petunias. We replaced the large overgrown plants that needed constant trimming with dwarf and semi-dwarf plants that won’t outgrow the space and require limited trimming.

Now that the job is complete, Dylan and Katie say they love their new look. They knew that many of the plants needed to go, but had no idea what to use when they replaced them. They appreciated our local expertise with plant recommendation and selection and added that they enjoyed working with Hannah and the rest of our landscape team. The made a point of complimenting them for their excellent job in communicating each day what they had planned and when they’d finish for that day. And probably the best indicator that they are pleased with Village Green, they told me that they’ve already recommended us to a few of their friends!

If you have a landscape project in mind, Village Green would love to earn your business. Founded in 1980, we are a family-owned and operated lawn and landscape company specializing in landscapes that start at $2,500 while handling more extensive projects that can range up to $100,000 plus. Call us at 972-495-6990 or email Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com to learn more.

18 Jul 2020
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Landscape Spotlight: Mr. & Mrs. I’s Shady Lawn Solution

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Our latest landscape spotlight is the beautiful home of Mr. and Mrs. I, who live in North Dallas. Like many of our customers, Mr. and Mrs. I are blessed with a lot of shade on their lawn. The shade is great, especially during the heat of summer, but it is not so great if you want to grow grass. Another issue was that their lawn has a steep slope.

You take no grass, which means nothing to hold things down with a steep slope, and you are going to get erosion, which resulted in dirt piling up on their sidewalk after heavy rain.

Mr. and Mrs. contacted Village Green to come up with a solution to stop the mud from piling up in front of her home and something that would give their home more curb appeal.

Our design added a lot of shade-tolerant plants such as the fern-like plum yew and weed ferns. For some color, we added carex grass and variegated

I’m happy to report Mr. and Mrs. I are much more pleased with the look of their home and delighted that mud no longer piles up on their front sidewalk.

If you have a landscape project in mind, Village Green would love to earn your business. Founded in 1980, we are a family-owned and operated lawn and landscape company specializing in landscapes that start at $2,500 while handling more extensive projects that can range up to $100,000 plus. Call us at 972-495-6990 or email Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com to learn more.

13 Jun 2020
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Landscape Spotlight: Mr. N’s McKinney Make-Over

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Our latest landscape project is the third project in the past decade we’ve done for Mr. N. His latest home is in charming downtown McKinney, Texas, and even though it is new, the design is classic to be in line with the neighborhood. Mr. N. wanted that feeling translated into the landscape. The goal for the landscape design was one that delivered a lot of colors yet remained simple. The original landscape was very overgrown and crowded the foundation of the home, which detracted from the street view.

Village Green pulled his beds out further away from his foundation and home to give more depth and allow for the layering of our many plant choices. We also extended the plants along the driveway, which softens the front entry drive.

As you can see in the video, and before and after photos, the project turned out great, and Mr. N. is another happy Village Green landscape customer…for the third time.

If you have a job in mind, Village Green would love the opportunity to discuss your project. Founded in 1980, Village Green is a family-owned and operated lawn and landscape company. Our landscapes start at $2,500 and go up to $100,000 + on large scale projects. Call us at 972-495-6990 or email Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com to learn more.

30 May 2020
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Landscape Spotlight: Mr. & Mrs. T’s Patio Paradise

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Our latest landscape tour is the perfect one to kick off June and summer!

Mr. and Mrs. T called Village Green about some ideas and solutions for their backyard. They had finished installing a beautiful pool and that plus their arbor and stunning patterned concrete their back patio was nearly summer ready. The only problem was they needed something to look at besides concrete, their fence, and the neighbor’s roof lines.

What they needed was a landscape that would compliment their amazing work and would solve some of their issues.

In today’s video tour I walk you through their patio paradise and explain our choice of solutions in the design and with our plant selection.

I’m happy to report that Mr. and Mrs. T are delighted with their new landscape and our hard-working Village Green landscape team. They loved working with Hannah and Emmanuel and were sure to let me know how friendly and professional our team was on their project.

They now have the perfect patio paradise to entertain this summer and beyond.

Village Green installs landscapes started at $2,500 and have been helping our North Texas neighbors create beautiful outdoor spaces since 1980.

We know we could help you create your very own patio paradise and we would love to earn your business. Call us at 972-495-6990 or email Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com to learn more.