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Enough doomscrolling already, touch grass!
Have you heard about this? Maybe you’ve heard of the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, or nature bathing. It’s all the same thing. It’s the practice of separating from the digital world and immersing yourself in the sights, sounds and smells of nature to promote relaxation and well-being. And it works!
Lots of folks comment on how nice, cheerful and helpful our crews are. Maybe it has to do with hiring good people, and maybe it has to do with our people being out in nature all day. Try it for yourself. Take a walk without headphones in the forest. Or if no forest is nearby, we’ll make your backyard a relaxing sanctuary to enjoy nature, relax, refresh, and rejuvenate. Ahhh!
This practice has been endorsed by the American Psychiatric Association.
You know the old saying, and this time it really is greener on the other side. I had someone call me because they were the only house on the cul-de-sac that didn’t have a green, lush lawn. Turns out, they talked with their neighbors and all the other neighbors use Birchcrest Tree & Landscape for their lawn care. The difference is impressive. Our plant health and lawn care team is staffed by technicians and experts with over 100 years of experience. Pretty impressive!
What’s cuter than puppies and kittens?
That’s a trick question. Nothing is cuter! We love fur babies. We’re pet owners, too. So, when people ask if our lawn treatments or plant health products are safe to use around pets, the answer is yes. Many of the treatments are injected into the ground or directly into the plant so nothing comes in contact with your four-footed companions. And lawn spray treatments are safe as soon as they are dry, usually an hour or two after application.
If your pet is crazy, and likes to eat plants or mulch, please make your landscape consultant aware of this so we can choose the right plants and products to keep everyone safe, happy, and tails wagging.
We can learn a lot from the mouse. The gardens at Disney World employ some of the best, most creative landscape designers, lighting specialists and horticulturalists in the world. Their displays are colorful, whimsical, and enhance the theme of each area of the park.
A lot goes on behind the scenes and in greenhouses to make the magic happen on a daily basis.
Fun facts:
· New rose varieties are tested at Disney parks before being available to the public
· Visitors can sign up for “Behind the Seeds” horticulture tour
· Most of the landscaping happens at night after guests leave
· Disney crews have moved full-sized 100-year-old live oak trees to be planted throughout the park
Where does inspiration come from? Our daughter-in-law once asked me in a concerned way if I was ever afraid of running out of design ideas. She’s so sweet. But not to worry, so far, I have more ideas than I could produce in a lifetime. Often, my client’s interests and ideas provide the spark that lights my fire. The secret is to know how to get inspired, and keep filling that cup with ideas, and now my cup is overflowing!
Everyone’s different, but here are some ways to get inspired:
· Visit world-famous gardens
· Travel to other climates and cultures
· Walk around your neighborhood and see what grows well
· Click around on Pinterest
· Take someone’s good idea and put your personal twist on it
Do you like your neighbor? Do you not like your neighbor? Is there an ugly (fill in the blank) that you don’t want to look at? Do you want privacy on your patio? Block the view from your pool?
The answer to all those questions is the same - build a hedge, or other screening plants. Fences need permits and most can only be 6’ tall. Plants are a more attractive option, and there are lots of options available. Call us today to talk with one of our designers to help give you the privacy you need!
When a loved has passed, we often want to keep their spirit alive. We desire something tangible and personal that reminds us of them, a way to honor them and keep their memory alive.
Often, we are asked to plant a memorial garden, or a tree, or a loved one’s favorite flower. Those are times when our work has extra meaning. We are happy to be part of your journey to keep your loved one close with a living touchstone. Call us today!
Often, when the snow melts, we often discover critter damage. During the winter, mice, moles, voles, and other critters have tunneled under lawns, chewed on plants, gnawed on bark, and damaged landscapes. What to do? The experts at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania have some special staff members to deal with these pests. At last count, there were at least six cats roaming the massive 1,000-acre gardens, snacking on those destructive little animals. It’s better than setting traps and poison baits everywhere.
If you have the chance, put on your most comfortable walking shoes and spend a day at Longwood. The gardens are amazing, and the displays change throughout the year - Christmas there is spectacular! A must for any garden enthusiast’s bucket list.
April in Paris…birds are singing, flowers are blooming, romance is in the air, and so is rain. April in Rochester…birds are singing, flowers are blooming, romance is in the air, and it’s raining here too. This is the time of year when we get calls for drainage solutions, which can be tricky business. There are a few things we can do to help, such as French drains, dry wells, rain gardens and grading. The tricky part is we can’t do it now when it’s wet and soggy. These projects usually happen in the hot dry months. And while drainage projects can’t eliminate water, the intent is to move the water to a better place. There may still be some standing water after prolonged or severe weather events. I bet they have the same water issues in Paris, maybe they have French drains, too! Call us today to find a solution for your property!
Some people just have a green thumb. But even those people’s plants need help sometimes. If you notice something looking spotty, yellow, withered, or just plain weird, our plant health experts can diagnose and treat most plant problems, making it a whole lot easier to be green. Call us today!
To remove or not to remove, that is the question. When you have a tree removed, the estimate will be for the tree only. The stump will remain unless you want stump grinding. That is often surprisingly expensive, sometimes almost as much as the tree removal. Here are the options:
1. Leave the stump. It will eventually rot. In the meantime, there may be stored energy in the roots and the stump and roots may start to sprout, trying to grow another tree. You can easily cut these off, and over time, the stored energy will be depleted and there will be no more sprouts.
2. We grind the stump, leaving the grindings for you to use in your beds as mulch. If it’s a big stump, it can be a REALLY big pile of grindings. We’ve had piles of grindings 10 cubic yards or more. That’s two dump trucks full!
3. Have us grind the stump, haul away grindings, add topsoil and seed to restore the lawn. Call us today!
Plants for wet areas.
If you’ve not seen the movie “Oh Brother Where Art Thou”, featuring the Soggy Bottom Boys, do it. Their hit song “Man of Constant Sorrow” is what will happen to you if you plant the wrong plant in a wet spot.
Springtime in Rochester. It’s almost here. That means warmer days are coming, flowers will bloom, but in the meantime, we can expect muddy, wet conditions as the snow melts and spring rains come.
But what to do if you have wet conditions year-round?
Plants are like people…some like it hot, some not. Most like well-drained soil, but a few don’t mind having their feet (or bottoms) wet. Hibiscus moscheutos, miscanthus, magnolia, salix, ligustrum, monarda, those are a few of the best picks for wet areas. Where most plants would struggle or rot, these thrive in soggy soil. Our designers and plant experts can help select the right plant for the right spot.
Today is throwback Tuesday and it’s about sayings that have gone out of style. Can you dig it? For anyone under 50, this is John Shaft’s favorite saying. He even has a song about it. (The original 1971 Richard Roundtree movie version of Shaft, not the newer ones with Shaft wanna-be actors.)
But can you dig it? Should you? Is it safe? What’s lurking underground? Normally, we are the ones digging, and we have to call 811 aka Dig Safe New York before we begin work at your home. Whether it be stump grinding, tree planting, sidewalk or patio installation, anytime we dig, we need to have all the public utilities marked. This takes a few days to complete, and please leave their colored flags in place until we start. Owners need to mark anything private, like pet containment, septic, drainage, irrigation, landscape lighting, etc.
Did you know, the same law applies if homeowners do their own digging? The utilities need to come out and mark utilities for you, too. Cool. Groovy. Gnarly. Rad, Fly, or whatever the kids are saying these days.
These are a few of my favorite things - Landscape Lighting!
The point of this blog is to get a Sound of Music tune stuck in your head, and to show how landscape lighting can bring the WOW factor, doubling the time to enjoy your outdoor space, not just pretty by day but WOW by night. It really is one of my favorite things.
Up lights and down lights, and wall washers, woo!
Path lights, embedded ones, water lights, too!
Remote controlled ones, with some changing hue,
These are a few of my favorite things.
I’ve had people ask for a no-maintenance garden. Really? That’s a bit like asking for a pet rainbow-colored unicorn whose best friend is Bigfoot. There’s no such thing.
Unless you’re an avid gardener, you probably want something low maintenance. Makes sense because maintenance = time and/or money. We can design with low-maintenance plants in mind, or you can hire us to keep your plants, trees, and gardens looking tip top all year.
Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but mulch is a gardener’s best friend. Last year, my neighbor had her gardens professionally mulched. I envied her mulch. Is that weird?
I thought I’d do our mulch myself, but life got in the way...And I didn’t want to ruin my manicure. This year, I’m having it mulched professionally. I know some people…okay, I work with those people, and they do a great job mulching. They edge, they mulch, they trim, they plant. They do a better job than I would, and I won’t mess up my manicure. Call us today to have your garden mulched so you don't mess up your manicure!
Ah, the old days, when Victorian men and women courted each other with poems and flowers, all while wearing fancy, uncomfortable corsets and spats. Each flower implied a not-so-secret message that everyone seemed to know.
Yellow roses mean “I like you as a friend”. Red roses mean “I Love You”. Peonies mean “I’d like to take the relationship to the next level”. Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge. Say no more.
On Valentine’s Day, write your special someone a poem and make a promise to have us plant some flowers. Choose your flowers carefully, now that you know what they mean.
A special note to people with ash trees:
Did you know that when ash trees have been dead for 2-3 years, they rot at the bottom, then the entire tree will tip over. It's unsafe for anyone around them, including our crews that try to remove them. Tragically, people have been killed. Be safe, have your dead ash trees removed. This has been a public service announcement from your friends at Birchcrest Tree & Landscape. Call us ASAP for removal of any hazardous trees.
If you’re a birdwatcher, you know that our feathered friends can tell us more about our trees than we can. They know when our trees are infested with insects...That means dinner for them. So, if you spot lots of woodpecker activity or evidence of their damage, it means insects are living inside the tree, eating, gnawing tunnels through the wood, possibly killing them. Those trees may need watchful waiting, or they may need immediate help, even removal. Ask us if you’re not sure!
Fruiting Bodies – Harbingers of Doom.
In the plant world, we call " Fruiting Bodies " fungus-like structures that sometimes appear on trees. They’re not the kind of fruit we eat. They are actually the reproductive structures of fungus. If you spot one on your tree, it means it’s been rotting on the inside for at least a half-dozen years, maybe more. Don’t ignore them, they’re telling you that your tree is in trouble. Call us today to diagnose and treat it!
Roots, they’re mostly unseen, but doing important work. They secure the tree to the ground to keep it from falling, they absorb water, nutrients and air to feed the tree, they store energy, and they communicate with other tree roots…pretty cool! Just like in the Avatar movie.
When things go wrong with a tree, it can often be traced back to something going on underground. Was the root zone compacted by excessive soil or construction? Have the roots been cut or damaged? Is there a girdling root that’s choking your tree to death?
Protect the roots by circling your tree’s root zone with a layer of mulch to save it from mowing damage. Or do an air spade root zone excavation and aeration. Root pruning is sometimes an option, too. Call us today and ask for one of our arborists to check on your tree’s health, starting with the roots.
Pruning Do’s and Don’ts
There’s a right and wrong way to prune a tree or shrub. If cuts are made at the wrong time or place, you can damage the plant, open it up to insect infestation, rot, disease, or hasten its decline. When and where to cut depends on what kind of tree or shrub we’re talking about. I only have one rule about pruning:
1. If you don’t know the right way to prune, don’t do it.
It’s better not to do anything than to do the wrong thing. I had a client kill their shrubs by shearing them in the heat of the summer, during a drought. Another client never had blooms on their lilacs or hydrangeas because they pruned them at the wrong time of year. My dad sustained a broken kneecap and torn ligaments while falling out of his oak tree with a running chain saw in his hand.
Ok, so there are two rules about pruning:
2. Call a professional. Reach out to us today!
How is Birchcrest Landscape like a Garbage Plate?
If you’re from here, you know. If you’re not, allow me to explain about this local favorite with an unfortunate name.
Late one night, some college students visited Nick Tahou’s and asked for the dish with “all the garbage” on it. This unique mash-up of locally made red or white hots, cheeseburgers, macaroni salad, fries, sauces, and endless combinations of whatever is on hand became the signature dish of Rochester. It’s now available everywhere around town at all hours of the day. Very filling, very satisfying.
Birchcrest is like our famous dish; we offer a huge combination of services, we’re everywhere, in an emergency we’re available all hours of the day, and we have many satisfied customers! Bon appétit!
At this time of year, when snow covers the grass and fields, the deer are desperate for food. They invade our neighborhoods to graze in our gardens. There are solutions:
1. Spray your plants with a deer repellant like fox urine. Re-apply spray after every rain and snowstorm. It's effective...but time-consuming and stinky.
OR
2. Cover your plants in burlap every fall and uncover them in spring. It’s effective, but time-consuming and not a good look. Fighting Mother Nature is hard.
OR
3. Work with one of our designers to create a landscape at your house with deer-resistant plants. Call us today!
I like to think I’m pretty clever. I'm able to figure out how to do most things, but I also know when to ask for help, when to pay for expertise, and when I don’t have the tools or the talent or the time.
People will sometimes ask how to install a patio, or they watch a video. They want to save money and I don’t blame them. But be sure to count the real costs. You’ll need to rent a tamper, and they’re heavy to lift in and out of a truck. You’ll need a truck to haul all the stuff… tons of crushed stone, sand and pavers. You’ll need a place to dispose of all the spoil. You’ll need a brick saw and that’s scary to use if you’ve never used one. You’ll need to spend lots of weekends doing it. You’ll need someone to help you. And you’ll need to know what you’re doing. And it’s hard work, you might need to get a massage when it’s done. It’s a big investment of money and time.
Wouldn’t you rather have your weekends free and have someone else build for you who’s installed lots of patios and knows the tricks of the trade? I know how to do it and we still hire the Birchcrest crews at our house. Because they do it better, and it won’t take 6 months. DIY Goodbye! Contact us today!
