Spring Landscaping in Lincoln,NE

Now that spring has arrived, getting outside and enjoying the weather is on the agenda for most of us. It’s also the time where the green is coming back, soon to be followed by colorful flowers and the revival of beautiful landscapes throughout the city along with the revival of outdoor living and entertaining spaces. Whether you’re simply interested in maintaining your landscaping or have new ideas you want to incorporate this year, now is the time to get started!

First thing’s first – from a grounds maintenance perspective it’s important to clear out everything that’s settled into your lawn over the winter months, particularly leaves that may have matted down, preventing new growth.

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Roger Berte
1776 Grounds Maintenance

“As far as grounds maintenance in the spring, property clean-up is our first priority,” says Roger Berte, owner of 1776 Grounds Maintenance (www.1776gm.com) . “Picking up and clearing out debris in a timely fashion will ensure that your landscape is able to begin its renewal process right away when the weather becomes ideal, and without the growth of perennial plants and healthy lawn being impeded by all of the junk that’s collected on your property over the winter. The process of landscaping in the spring is very detail oriented and you can’t get started with installation if everything isn’t properly cleaned up and prepared first.

The beginning of spring is a great time to have a professional come out and assess your property before you move forward with planning and executing your vision. Consistency is incredibly important to the health of your lawn, plants and shrubs. You’ll want to set up a schedule for lawn treatments as opposed to just ‘one and done’; this will ensure that your grass is thicker, healthier and easier to care for with less weeds and problems over the course of the spring and summer. Combined with proper watering and mowing practices, you’ll be set up for success. It’s important to have a good irrigation professional along with your grounds maintenance/lawn care/landscaping team to ensure you’ve covered all of the bases, especially to alert you as to the elements you might have missed. There are so many advances in our industry from year to year that it’s common for people to be unaware of many products and services that could make a huge difference in the success of their landscaping endeavors.

Overall, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of hiring contractors for lawn care and landscaping who are established and who you can trust. Check references and past jobs whenever possible; as professionals we take pride in our work and successes and will be happy to show you examples of our past projects. You’ll want help in making informed decisions so you don’t run into costly or unfortunate issues that put a damper on the enjoyment of your property.”

photo-Marcus-Hellwege-Great-Plains-Landscaping-and-Design“To get started, the best thing that you can do is to take a site inventory of your residence or commercial property,” agrees Marcus Hellwege, owner of Great Plains Landscaping & Design (greatplainslandscapes.com) . “Along with spring clean-up, which is a must, you’ll want to do a thorough assessment of drainage, eroding concrete, and if water is getting into the house, along with pinpointing special areas in the yard where you’ll want to create interest, relax or entertain.

Among the most common questions I’m asked are ‘Can I have plants with easy maintenance?’ and ‘Can I have a nice texture, color and seasonal color in the planting design?’ The vast majority of people do not have a lot of time to invest in the upkeep of their property so they want a yard that is easy for them to clean up, mulch or river rock but that still has great curb appeal.   Furthermore, the most overlooked problem in people’s yards is a landscape design with plants, trees, grasses and shrubs that didn’t properly account for a 20-year period.  If plants or trees are too close together, when they mature disease or die off starts to happen and they ultimately will have to be removed. Similarly if trees are or certain shrubs are planted too close to the house it can cause significant damage to the property.

The biggest thing as far as advice I’d offer is invest in a landscape design from a landscape architect or landscape designer, as an overall plan of a residence or commercial property is key.  A landscape architect or designer will inventory your yard and ask questions about what you want done to the property.  From this information, the landscape designer will draw a plan in phases: planting beds, plants, drainage problems, retaining walls, patios, walkways, water features and beautifying your property. For those that just want to take care of their property, sometimes it is good to have a landscape design or plan to help guide clean up, care and do-it-yourself jobs.  A landscape professional will have plenty of ideas to offer from past experiences and knowledge to help you with your yard.

Great Plains Landscaping specializes in outdoor living spaces, drainage problems and solutions, retaining walls, flagstone, landscape curbing, low maintenance landscape design, ponds, pondless waterfalls, arbors, trellis, decks, fences, outdoor lighting, irrigation, lawn repair, tree trimming, holiday lighting and epoxy flooring (lava flow and garage floor coatings). We can help you with any project, large or small.”

As far as trends in landscaping, he adds, “Water drainage and surface water collection to prevent stormwater runoff into city sewers has become much more popular in recent years.  Locally and nationally there has been a push for rain gardens and water collection for reuse (irrigation and reusable water for toilet or washing applications in the household).  We have been installing a lot of EZ flow drainage (French Drain), dry creek beds, underground drain tile, and rain gardens.  We also install dirt along the foundation to prevent water from flowing into the house.  For those who are unfamiliar with rain gardens, these are areas where water is directed to a dug out water collection area.  This collection area is tilled in with compost and plants soak in the water through there deep root systems, allowing the water to soak into the ground and not into the sewer.  All of these applications can be used for commercial and residential projects.”

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Lee Schumacher
TDK Lawn Care

It is indeed all about first promoting growth of what’s already established and then building onto it from there. “Make sure you get out and inspect your lawn, pick up all of the debris and make sure everything is cleaned up, especially the flower beds and any clusters of matted leaves,” agrees Lee Schumacher, owner of TDK Lawn Care (www.tdkinc.com) . “Then once you’ve got everything cleaned up you are at a great point to start your lawn care and landscaping for the season. In terms of lawn care, aerating is the most important thing you can do for your lawn in the spring. This is mainly because it promotes root growth and depth, which helps the grass survive through the summer. Especially if it’s a drier season, which we’re expecting this year, if you want your lawn to be green and healthy it’s all about preparing to withstand those circumstances. This is also true of putting the right nutrients down at the right time, so it’s important to consult with a professional and to set up a plan together. This way when environmental factors deviate, as they always will because weather is unpredictable, you can simply adjust and keep moving forward. Essentially every year is different so stay on top of your game and work with someone who has the expertise to keep up with everything at the required intervals, guide you through all of the changes, and troubleshoot as needed.”

He adds, “One thing that I think can be particularly confusing is irrigation. As we move into the summer with high heat and potential drought conditions, it’s important that the water has a chance to get all the way down to the roots as opposed to evaporating at the surface and doing absolutely no good. For the water to serve its purpose, always opt for a longer sprinkler run time at fewer intervals as opposed to shorter run times frequently throughout the day.”

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Jeremy Hunt
Hunt Irrigation

Jeremy Hunt, owner of Hunt Irrigation (www.huntirrigation.com, goes further into depth on the topic of proper irrigation, focusing on proper sprinkler system maintenance in the spring:
“As the temperatures warm and the lawn and garden begins to thaw, there is no better time than springtime to make sure your automatic sprinkler system is ready for another season of efficient lawn and garden watering.  Just a few simple steps will go a long way towards saving water, money and preventing a mid-summer landscape catastrophe at home.  Get the warm watering season off to a great start with the following tips:

1. Inspect your backflow device for any possible damage, prior to pressurizing the system.

2. Slowly begin to fill the system with water and make sure to never open the water too quickly as this may damage the mainline or valves.

3. Turn each individual zone on and inspect for damage and normal wear and tear.

4. Inspect each fixed spray nozzle for obstructions and clear with a small screwdriver or if obstruction is severe enough, replace the nozzle.

5. Inspect each rotary head to make sure that they are not only oscillating, but that they are not over rotating or watering sidewalks and driveways.

6. If you have a drip system be sure to clean the filter and inspect the landscape beds for leaks.

7. Lastly, check the programming in the controller and make sure that you are watering at the proper times of the day and that the run times for each zone do not exceed the absorption rate of the soil.

Of course the staff at Hunt Irrigation is always here to lend you a hand, we offer trained irrigation techs that can perform this service for you.  Feel free to call the office to schedule your spring start up today.  Spring is also the perfect time to think about upgrading the components in your irrigation system.  Some of the upgrades that are available are mechanical and other are technological.

Pressure is the biggest water waster there is in an irrigation system.  The optimum water pressure for a fixed spray is 30psi.  Once the pressure exceeds 30psi the race to waste is on.  A fixed spray at 30psi will consume on average about 1.5 gallons per minute and deliver about 1.75” of water per hour.  A fixed spray operating a 70psi will consume approximately 3 gallons a minute, but only apply about .7” per hour.  This is all do to the vaporization of the water and the water droplets become lighter than air, which in turn leads to greater evaporation.  Upgrading to the pressure regulated fixed sprays will save approximately 20,000 to 50,000 gallons of water per year per residence.  This equates to about $300 per year.  Depending on the size of commercial project these numbers could double or even triple. In the last few years sprinkler manufacturers have also introduced pressure regulated rotors (oscillating) heads.  The optimum pressure for a rotor is 50 to 60psi.  Pressure regulating rotors offer the same savings as their counterpart- the fixed spray.  By upgrading you can expect to see a ROI in just 2 years of operation.  On commercial properties the savings could be in the hundreds of thousands of gallons of water saved.

Another sensible upgrade is drip for all your landscape.  Drip is a point source irrigation and therefore is much more accurate that aerial deliveries.  Installing drip in your landscape can reduce water use by 50 percent and also slow the growth of weeds within the landscaped areas.Another form of drip irrigation that is used for turf is referred to as sub-surface irrigation, which eliminates run-off and reduces evaporation.  This form of irrigation is a great fit for the parkway area in residential applications and can be very cost effective if installed during new construction on both residential and commercial construction.   As sub-surface has no moving parts or heads that pop up above the grade they have had a reduction in vandalism and due to the efficiency of sub-surface water consumption has also been reduced.

Controllers and weather sensors have rapidly advanced in the last few years; gone are the days of just setting your controller to operate 3 days a week and watering rain or shine. Once you get a taste of how simple it is to save water while still maintaining a perfect lawn and landscape, you’ll be wondering how you ever managed to get by without it. Hunt Irrigation has always been a leader in water conservation and the use of Smart Technologies, assisting our clients to do more with less.  Should you have any questions or would like more information about any of these great products, please feel free to reach out to us.  You can reach us by phone at 402.438.8151 or email questions to info@huntirrigation.com.  You can also start a discussion with us through our Facebook page facebook.com/huntirrigationinc.”

When it comes to spring landscaping, the fruits of our labor during this crucial time are what we will have to enjoy on throughout the fall. Likewise, any oversights or mistakes right now could have an impact that lasts the span of the entire year.

Ken Svoboda - Ray’s Lawn and Home Care - Buying a Home

Ken Svoboda – Ray’s Lawn and Home Care

“Most everyone is familiar with landscaping as its usually one of the first thing that catches your eye as you approach a home or business, but familiarity and experience are often two different animals,” advises Ken Svoboda, co-owner of Ray’s Lawn & Landscape  (www.rayslawn.com) . “Many first-time home buyers are moving into their first house from an apartment or a landlord-maintained house. My first instinct is to relieve any anxiety the new home owners have regarding planning and maintenance. Once they’re convinced that the task ahead of them is not impossible or expensive, we get to work. We first develop a priority list of their needs and wants. We discuss a low-maintenance option or a more hands-on approach. Most of the time the new home buyer wants to improve the curb appeal of the front of their home. Whether it’s renovating an existing landscape or starting with a blank slate, the landscape should reflect the home owner’s personality–lots of color with a free-flowing landscape or a structured formal landscape.

When considering a new landscape I always have the home owners look at least ten years into the future. If they have a young family or planning a family, one consideration should be to leave a large play area on the property for that impromptu neighborhood football scrimmage. If that play area isn’t necessary, I direct the home owners towards establishing their tree placement based on providing afternoon shade for that mid-afternoon nap or that private and quiet dinner on the patio. Since the growth of a tree to maturity may take several decades, the proper placement of trees is very important. Once the priorities are set, a budget is discussed and the work begins. The same process is followed for commercial properties though with more emphasis placed on the customer experience and safety and security.”

He continues, “When we reach that first string of sixty and seventy degree days everyone is most anxious to get out in the yard and relieve the cabin fever they’ve been suffering from. And what better way to do that than with a little sweat and hard work outside? We get calls almost daily with questions about planting and seeding. First of all it’s best not to get over exuberant when putting that first spade in the ground. Make sure you have a plan first as to the vision for the mature landscape. Secondly, remember southeast Nebraska frequently sees frosts and deep freezes in early to mid-May. Annuals and less-than-hardy perennials should not be planted prior to mid-May or you’ll risk losing them. Grass seeding should also wait until late April as new grass seedlings can easily be killed off by a late freeze.

In real estate it’s all about location, location, location. When it comes to spring landscape projects it’s all about timing, timing, timing. My best advice is to contact a professional landscaper immediately if you’re anticipating a 2016 project. Ask for references and a list of completed projects similar to what you’re dreaming of. Make sure your landscaper is fully insured and by all means have them provide evidence that their employees are not independent contractors as any accident on your property will more than likely become your liability. Most importantly, be patient. The more information you can provide a prospective landscaper as to your needs and your likes and dislikes the better. The same suggestions apply to the maintenance and upkeep of your existing landscape. If you need some help from a landscaper, contact them early and provide as much information as possible so as to receive a firm price quote. Ray’s Lawn & Landscape is a locally, family owned lawn and landscape firm that is celebrating our 50th year of providing the highest quality services to our customers in Lincoln and southeast Nebraska. We offer a complete array of landscape services including all hardscapes such as patios, retaining walls, water features, outdoor kitchens and of course live plants. Our design team will work with each customer to create their dream oasis. And of course, the lawn division is the foundation of our business and the roots of our steady growth!”

Regarding trends, Svoboda adds, “The strong trend toward outdoor living spaces continues to grow every year. Outdoor kitchens with pizza ovens, fireplaces and grill inserts placed in large more permanent cabinets were once only seen in lavish million dollar homes ten years ago. Today those same design features are more moderately priced and because of modular construction can be incorporated in nearly any landscape and patio space. Nothing is over-the-top when it comes to comfort and entertaining. Ray’s Lawn & Landscape has the experience, knowledgeable staff and creativity to design and construct a custom kitchen and outdoor living space that meets the needs and budget of any host and hostess.

The other popular trend is outdoor lighting.   Architecturally designed cast aluminum path lights and spots with a variety of finishes can enhance the nightscaping of any landscape. Like the modular constructed kitchens and fireplaces, lighting systems have been transformed from the do-it-yourself plastic fixtures whose bulbs burn out what seemed like weekly to attractive LED units whose bulbs last fifteen to twenty years with a properly designed system. Whether it’s up-lighting on trees and landscapes to highlighting design features of your home or providing the perfect task lighting to the outdoor kitchen or game area, Ray’s Lawn & Landscape can design and install that lighting system that makes people say WOW as they approach your home.”

Bill Budler of Nebraska Outdoor Living Headshot

Bill Budler
Nebraska Outdoor Living Center

Indeed, outdoor living spaces have certainly evolved in recent years, with the emergence of so many amazing options to incorporate. “It is one thing to have beautiful landscaping, but it is quite another to have a comfortable outdoor living space from which to enjoy that landscaping,” says Bill Budler, owner of Nebraska Outdoor Living (www.nebraskaoutdoorliving.com) . “We are here to help you transform outdoor areas into comfortable, enjoyable living and entertainment spaces. This includes proper shading, enhanced living areas with a pergola, extremely comfortable furniture, or a warm and charming fire pit that will add that special touch to your backyard. When it comes to any spring projects, planning ahead is my best advice. Most of our products are custom designed and made-to-order specifically for the client, and this process can on average about 4-5 weeks, so it’s always a good idea to get started working with one of our staff in early spring. Also, quality always matters. For example; our outdoor gas firepits are made in the USA. They feature stainless steel burners (lifetime warranty), electronic ignition, and are designed to hide a propane tank inside the base or can be plumbed into natural gas supply. With this one item we have access to dozens of designs and a wide range of options that allow you to customize this central part of your outdoor living to your exact taste. Unlike messy wood burners, when you’re done, simply turn them off.  With such an important component of your outdoor living you will want a quality product.”

As far as the weather goes, now is definitely the time to get going on spring clean-up, maintenance and landscaping! So this month and beyond, no matter what you have planned for your landscape, make sure to utilize the knowledge and expertise that our local experts have to offer and you’ll stay on the right track.