Hit the Links!

We here at Ben's Creek Nursery are all for working in the yard. But let's face it: January is not a good time to be outside. Oh, there are gardening advisors out there pretending that the dead-cold of January is somehow ripe for garden tasks (here and here). But for my money, January is good for one thing: running your central heat bill up as high as it will go. 

So while you sit in the cozy warm of your home, here is a round up of links on different topics that do not demand you do anything right now.

Design your garden for a room with a view:

It happens quite often. Many of us are burdened with unfortunate views. Sometimes a window in a frequently used family room looks out on a garage next door, or a breakfast nook peers into the neighbor’s family room. But with some purposeful planning, it’s easy to transform a plain, or even unsightly, view into a beautiful picture and bring the garden into your home every day of the year.

Flash: a disease triangle is not good for gardens (or anything else, for that matter).

One of the most mystifying things that can happen in your garden is when a plant gets a disease. How did it happen? Will it spread? Will all my plants die? How can I get rid of it? The most important thing to understand about disease prevention is something called the disease triangle. Disease can only happen when three things coincide: you have a plant that can get sick (a host), a pathogen (like a fungus, bacterium, or virus) that can attack the plant, and environmental conditions (like humidity or drought) that promote the disease. If any one of these things is not present, the disease will not happen, so prevention involves knocking out at least one side of the triangle.

 A lawn without the lawn? Give a thought to grass alternatives:

Imagine a Saturday that doesn’t start with a sigh: It’s time to mow the lawn. When other, more fulfilling garden projects beckon, it’s easy to begrudge the time spent on the tedious and noisy task of mowing—not to mention edging, feeding, and watering. Surely, there must be some alternative to grass ... Perhaps it’s time to expand our definition of lawn to include other low-growing plants that carpet the ground, yet require less maintenance than turfgrasses. Options like sedges, moss, and clover thrive without fertilizers, require less water than grass, and rarely or never need to be mowed.

Who needs sunlight? Shade plants in stylish containers can brighten your home:

Born in England, I grew up with a sincere love of gardening. When we moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1996, I came across an unfamiliar phrase that filled me with foreboding: “shade gardening.” At first, I was daunted at the thought of not growing my beloved roses and sweet peas. But as someone who loves a challenge, I began to scour nurseries for shade-loving plants and soon discovered many treasures I never had the opportunity to grow before.

Birds fly south for the winter. But they have to stop somewhere, why not your place? Here are some tips for attracting some feathered friends:

 By the time winter settles in, birds have, too. Migration is long over, and winter birds are ranging in groups over large foraging territories. Here are some tips to keep in mind.

A Sneak Peak at G&G!

That's G&G as in the Green & Growin' Trade Show. These are the specials we plan to run this week in Greensboro:

As we posted below, we will be in Booth #600, so come by and see us. We will be displaying some of our best Hollies, to wit: 8 foot Nellie R. Stevens and Burfords, and 7 foot Fosters.

Here are some representative pictures of the very special material we are highlighting at this very special trade show:

Swamp White Oak

Click 'MORE' for more!

Transplanting Services

Over time, your landscape can change, and there may be times when plant material may need to be moved. A focal tree may have outgrown its original location, or you may be adding a home addition and your favorite holly is in the way. Perhaps you are renovating a garden and want to group key plant material together.

Whatever the reason, be sure that you inquire about transplanting your trees or shrubs. Transplanting services are a great alternative to complete demolition. Many trees and shrubs can be transplanted very well with the proper equipment and expert supervision.

Transplanting services are priced per project based on equipment needed and site conditions. Depending on the size of the tree, some plant warranties may not be available.

Click here for a printable version of this post.

And here are some photos of our crews digging and transplanting mature plant material:

Call us today for a FREE consultation!

Landscape Maintenance

Our landscape management services provide a turn-key solution of full service lawn maintenance options for your residential or commercial property. These options are provided on a year round basis allowing a hands free approach to your landscape. We can customize your landscape management contract based on your annual needs, providing you an optimum level of horticulture practices for your landscape at an affordable price.

Click here for a printable listing of our services.

Click here for a video compilation of photos of our landscape maintenance and management services.

And here are photos of some of the lawncare and maintenance work we've done over the past year:

Call us today for a FREE consultation!

Landscape Installation

From design, to sod, to sidewalks, shrubs, and trees, Ben's Creek Nursery has the expertise to install the landscape you are looking for!

Click here for a printable list of our landscaping services.

Click here for a video compilation of photos of our installation work.

And here is a large job we did last year that utilized all of the skills our crews could muster:

A Nice Neighborhood

A very nice neighborhood, indeed! But you should have seen it when we got there. Here is this same view almost two months ago:

Our crews were on this project from start to finish, from front to side to back of this beautiful property! Here is a round up of before and after pictures.

First up: views from the front:

The front door.

Here are some views from and to the street

 Now, views of the rear of this property:

We had a LOT of earth to move to prepare this slope in the back yard. 

 Once the earth was moved and graded, we installed this retaining wall.

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Hollies were installed above the wall, and new green grass on the turf below.

Once again, quite a contrast to how this rear yard looked before we started!

This garage court needed something ....

.... as did the exterior grounds around the garage.

There's no sod like new sod!

This pool and pool house needed some work!

And work we did!

This area needs ... a basketball court?

Ah! There it is.

We installed scores of new material all around the property. Note that every bit of landscape installation you see was done by us, much of it coming from our own Iles Farm!

And decorative rocks, which are becoming a kind of signature of our work. 

 Where do we get these rocks? Usually, we find them as scattered debris in the yard!

 Through the vision of our creative crews, scattered debris becomes objets d'art d'lawn!

Many thanks to our customer for allowing us the privilege of working on this beautiful property!