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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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More and more of our customers are using the Rachio Smart Sprinkler Controller. In this in-depth video Ken takes you through the steps to program your Rachio Smart Sprinkler Controller for North Texas. If you have a lawn or landscape problem you need help with give Village Green a call at 972-495-6990 or email us at Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com. We have been helping our North Texas neighbors have healthier lawns since 1980.
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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.
Take a quick video tour of one a recent landscape Village Green completed in Plano, Texas.
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We have been getting a lot of customer calls about landscape projects. With so many staying at home, it is natural to want to create an outdoor haven to enjoy year-round.
Whether you decide to DIY or want to work with a professional like Village Green, investing in upgrading your outdoor space is a good investment. We hope our video tours like this one, give you some inspiration.
Village Green installs landscapes ranging from $2,500 up to $100,000 + and have been helping our North Texas neighbors create beautiful outdoor spaces since 1980. I know we could help you create your very own sanctuary and we would love to earn your business. Give us a call at 972-495-6990 or email Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com.
Today I am going to share a secret about how to create a great landscape design. Whether you do it yourself or use Village Green, the key to a great landscape is to follow the great painter’s lead and create a frame around your home.
How do you do that? You start with the foundation planting at the bottom of your frame. You want the foundation plants to be dwarf type plants and ground cover. The reason this is important, so the plants do not obstruct the view of your home and hurt your drive-up appeal. You mustn’t cover up any interesting architectural details like columns, windows, and doors (see examples.)
You want your foundation planting designed to guide your eye to the entry of your home. Use a variety of shapes, forms, and textures to achieve this, and the style of the landscape will dictate your arrangement. Nearly always simple is best, and less is more. Keep the variety of plants to a minimum and mass them, so your eye is drawn toward the entry. The area around the door should have a vertical accent (3′-5’ tall) with seasonal color and more variety to draw your eye to this area.
The corner of your home should consist of larger shrubs and ornamental trees, usually 6′ or so, that make up the sides of the frame. This planting serves as a backdrop for the layering of plants that will help guide your eye to the entry. Tall plants at the corners and progressively smaller plants draw the eye to your entry.
The top of the frame generally consists of shade trees in your front yard; however, a grouping of ornamental trees along the foundation or shade trees in the back that is visible from the front can achieve the same effect.
If you have any questions about your landscape or want more information give us a call at 972-495-6990 or email Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com.
Check out the new patio and landscape we installed for Mr. and Mrs. O in Dallas. Their lovely home sits on a tiny zero-lot line backyard which didn’t afford much landscape space. On their wish list was a patterned concrete patio for their new hot tub plus plants that would soften all the concrete in their backyard.
Most think a small backyard doesn’t need or even deserve a good design which is not true. Small backyards are actually some of the most challenging projects we tackle at Village Green because it is imperative that you maximize every square inch. The reason that is so hard is because you must be smart about your choices not only is every square inch seen, it is also valuable which means you don’t want to waste any of the space with a poor plant choice.
I’m happy to report that not only do Mr. and Mrs. O love their new backyard oasis. They also raved about their experience with working with the Village Green team, especially Hannah, Kristian and Salvador. In fact they were so pleased with our work and service that Mrs. O took the time to post the following review on Google.
“Village Green Lawn & Landscape is a wonderful company! We couldn’t be more pleased with their design and service! We have a small backyard and wanted to turn it into something special. Village Green came out, looked at our project, made a design and implemented it wonderfully. They are top notch from the beginning to the end. Ken and his people are very professional and just a delight to work with. We can recommend without any reservations!” – Mrs. O.
There’s that old phrase, cheap becomes expensive which certainly can be applied to landscape work. It may seem that handling your design and installation, especially on a small project like the O’s will save you money. That is not true. What tends to happen is you end up spending more money and time than you plan and still don’t get exactly what you want. I know it sounds (and is) self-serving, but you really would be better off working with a reputable lawn and landscape company like Village Green. Typically, in the end you spend more time and money than you had planned and would have been better off (and a lot happier) to hire a professional landscape company (like Village Green.) If you are considering a project give us a chance to earn your business. You can get more information or get an estimate started by calling us at 972-495-6990 or email me at Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com.
Like many of our landscape clients, Dr. C originally called Village Green to talk solutions for his thinning grass at his northwest Plano home. As we discussed his lawn it became clear that the answer would need to be a combination of sod and redoing his landscape because of several trees in his front lawn.
Dr. C liked a lot of things about his current landscape which he had done himself. He is an emergency room doctor, and one year, to reduce stress, he pulled out his old landscape and installed an all new landscape, including boulders and stone borders – pretty impressive. His landscape had a lot of perennials, and Dr. C loved the informal look. The problem was in the winter most of them would go dormant and he lost a large part of his landscape. He also had taller plants along his city sidewalk that obscured the view of his home.
David Daigle, our landscape architect, and I came up with a plan that shifted his beds away from the sidewalk to make his landscape feel less like a barrier and more welcoming. Dr. C also wanted grass and that allowed us to install zoysia grass in the slightly sunnier area near the sidewalk. We planted taller variegated pittosporums along the outside edge of his home. We shifted his large (and very heavy) boulders inside the beds and planted plum yew, a fern like plant that form a nice backdrop for them. We added pringle yews to frame the entry. We re-used his Mexican petunias by shifting them behind the boulders. Andres, our stone mason, installed a beautiful stone border and then we installed a decomposed granite path. As you can see from the before and after photos , Dr. C now has the informal look he loves all year round and you can see all of the beautiful brick texture of his home.
Take the stress out of your next landscape update or project by giving Village Green the opportunity to earn your business. We’ve been designing and installing landscapes in North Texas since 1980, and I guarantee we can solve any lawn or landscape issue you may be facing at your home. For more information or to get an estimate on your project give us a call at 972-495-6990 or email me at Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com.