Fall Colors

Previous Years October Glory Maples

Fall colors this year are strangely muted. Last year looked more like the October Glory Maples shown above, with vivid strokes of red erupting across the landscape. But this year subdued instances of yellow seem to predominate. Which is to say, Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall may continue their eternal cycle, but locally, plants will express the individuality of their climate and circumstances. 

Which is not to say there are not some flashes of brilliance out there. These Sioux Crape Myrtles, for instance, are showing some vigorous burgundy leaves at our Iles Farm.

As are our Autumn Blaze Maples.

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Between a Rock and a Hardscape

Photo courtesy Joe Mabel CC BY-SA 3.0

This is not one of our landscape projects - Texas is a little out of our sphere of influence. It is an Asian Sculpture Garden at the Crow Collection of Asian Art in Dallas.

I include it here because I like it; but also because it highlights the use of decorative rocks in yardscape designs, something we have been doing for many customers over the years (see, e.g., here and here).

In that vain, herewith are photos of a recent hardscape bed planting project, which began with the grandaddy of all decorative rocks:

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Wash Out!

As the seasons change the sudden weather shifts can produce surprises. That is why Fall usually brings us customers needing some fixes and repairs to landscape. Here we show some pictures of the effects of an early September rain, followed by a quick take on the consequences of an untimely wind.

Summer Maintenance Too

We look back briefly on our summer maintenance (see previous post) with some final photos from August. Here it's all about plant beds, but if you're thinking bright and colorful flowers you can think again.

These pictures should convince you that bushes, shrubs, and small evergreens can provide a great look to your yard. The flowery vividness these beds lack is more than made up with soft color contrasts and the juxtaposition of differing geometric sizes and shapes.

Summer Maintenance

Installation and other project-type work is good, but we are particularly fond of our recurring customers. These are the people who have hired us on an annual monthly maintenance contract.

A year's contract takes a great deal of faith, which we strive hard to repay with extreme diligence and care by everyone involved - from the newly hired laborer right up to the experienced supervisors and the boss himself, Robert Neville.

We feel that each customer should receive a yard and garden kept and maintained in the manner to which they have become accustomed - and that it is our job to accustom them to the highest standards! As a result, we are constantly chasing a rising bar of expectations, a challenge we relish.

Herewith a roundup of photos of yards and gardens around the Lake that we are maintaining on a monthly basis:

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July Garden Tips

The gardening section of About.com helpfully tells us:

... there's no definitive list of gardening chores for the July garden.

Apparently, the problem is that July occupies that netherworld of the calendar, on the cusp between the exuberant growth of Spring and the dog days of August. So, if you are going to intervene in the natural cycles of your plants and lawn in July, you must pay heed to the particular circumstances that confront you. In other words, in July, general rules of gardening should give way to the specific conditions of your yard and gardens.

Not least because we run the risk of hurting more than we are helping, as we cautioned against here.

Nevertheless, amidst all this uncertainty, About.com provides a helpful list of chores to keep you busy in the summer heat.

Read the whole thing. As for me, I favor this heat-healthy suggestion:

... sit back and enjoy your garden and all the efforts you put in earlier in the year to get it where it is now.