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I caught a post this morning in the NZ Herald talking about how Lucy (Zena) Lawless is rehabbing her Auckland estate by putting in extensive gardens, you can read the whole story here – Lucy’s spend-up on massive eco-garden

And talking about people in the entertainment business and their gardens, I just read in the Anniston Star about TV and film producer Hayes Jackson. It seems he has a seven acre garden full of interesting objects that he has found in his travels. Read more: Anniston Star – Hayes Jackson turns castoffs into useful whimsical garden sculpture

April 29th 2011 is a day many have circled on their calendars, it’s Arbor Day and a day for many communities across the county to come together and plant trees. The National Arbor Day foundation has some great information on their website and you can eve buy tress from them. The Journal Star has an interesting article titled Simply Trees, Plant It Forward This Arbor Day, it gives some really solid tips on planting trees in your community, check it out.

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Those flower lovers amongst us wait for the first flower show with anticipation of what they foreshadow, spring and our getting out into our own gardens.

Across the Atlantic in the town of Cardiff (GB) they are having a flower show to ring in the new season.

Shows director Stephen Bennett said there were high hopes for the first outdoor show of the season.

He said: “The displays we have here are of a world-class standard – these are the best of the best.” Watch the video and you can read more RHS Flower Show

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1. Keep A Green Thought For Spring
2. Spring Beckons Do-It-Yourself

I ran across a great little video on YouTube and thought I would post it here for all of you wondering about spring and warm weather.It’s just a quick video with some background music from the Beatles singing Here Comes The Sun. Enjoy!

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Traditionally people have kept their vegetable gardens separate from the rest of their yard but, more and more people are integrating tomatoes, peppers and other types of veggies into their flower beds and landscaping plans. For those who don’t have room for a separate vegetable garden this works out to be a really good idea. Now you can have fresh veggies without the need of lots of land for growing.

If adding vegetables to your landscape designs is of interest to you then you might want to think of building raised boxes or tubs along a fence line or in the corners of a hedge row. Maybe different size boxes creating a terraced effect is just what your landscaping needs to give it new life. Raised or box vegetable gardens are not just for decks anymore they can make for some beautiful additions to your yard and provide your family with lots of fresh veggies come harvest time as well.

Front Yard Makeover Contest

Over at DIY they are having a contest looking for the worst front yard. Send in a picture and you’ll have a chance to win a makeover worth 25,000. Don’t hesitate enter today by clicking America’s Most Desperate Landscape and good luck.

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1. Mulch Creates Beauty While Adding Nutrients
2. Small Can Be Big in Landscaping

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It will come as no surprise to readers of this blog that I love spring. To me spring means new opportunities to enjoy the green of New England and at least in my mind the changing seasons in this region is one of the main reasons to live here, of course the culture and people rank pretty high as well. But it is the green bursting out into view after almost six month of absence that really gets me excited.

I recommend everyone come up with a To-Do list for spring cleanup and repair, generally a couple of weekends with the whole family putting in some time should take care of most projects and put you in a good place to welcome spring. Among the tasks many of us will need to do is to repair concrete and asphalt, including concrete pavers that got damaged during the winter.

The good people at NorthNewJersey.com recently published a good how-to article entitled What has winter done to your cement, asphalt and pavers? check it out for more information.

When it comes to holding fundraisers my hat goes off to parents and teachers who constantly amaze me with their ingenuity and new ideas to keep schools open and educating our children. Recently I have seen a spate of articles detailing how many districts are offering to have your name or business engraved into a paver and then the paver will be used to repair a surface in distress. Using this thinking whole walls and parking lots could be built upon small donations. May somewhere you can get your name engraved and placed at the bottom of a pool or fountain, now that is a cool thought.

If you have a paver idea to help raise funds for a worthy cause stop by our office and talk with Matt or Pete to find out the details of what is available in style and price.

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1. Labor Day Landscaping Clean-up Projects
2. Spring Landscaping to Help Sell Your Home

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The temps this weekend look as if they will hover around the 45 degree mark and create a good start to the spring melt. In honor of impending spring bringing another gardening and landscaping season to our door step I thought I’d embed a video with some green in it to help make all of us optimistic. The video is a short tour of a Xeriscape garden in Springfield, Mo. I hope you enjoy it and if you want more information about Xeriscape we have a great Xeriscape article here on our site you might like, check out Xeriscape here

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Many Real Estate agents have said that Winter is the worst season of all to try and sell your house, especially in areas with lots of ice and snow like the Northeast. Well guess what? Spring is just around the corner and if you are planning on selling your home this year now is the time to start planning the landscaping improvements you want to make.

Landscaping improvements are some of the most cost effective investments you can make to help sell your property. Some of the first things prospective buyers see are the walkways and plantings surrounding the your home, so think about having your landscaper create one or two signature items that will help seal the deal. A walkway done using some different pavers will add an exclamation point to the property and give your agent an extra something to point to during a showing.

Your landscaper may have a few early spring deals going on so don’t forget to ask and if you need some ideas drop on over to our office and pick up a few brochures.

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1. Think Spring Cleanup After The Snow
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Even though it snowed yesterday, covering the widening patches of bare ground we all know spring is just around the corner, or maybe just down the block. In spite what some local skiers tell me about their predictions for lots of the white stuff coming our way in March I’m very hopeful we can all get out into our yards to start the cleanup.

So when the snow finally does disappear and the bare ground makes its glorious return all the hidden things will make their appearance and we can jump in to spring cleanup.

A couple of days ago as I was out walking I was suprised to see the top of a little plastic umbrella sitting all alone under some bushes, it was orange and yellow and obviously belonged to some childs play set. I wondered where it came from and how it got there.

As the snow recedes we will find not only missing things but also items under the grill or sitting in the crook of a branch that we have never seen before and we’ll wonder, where did these come from. I think it is the snow leprechauns who randomly leave things just before the first big snow, they leave them so we will be confounded in the spring and they can all get a good laugh. Get your trash bags and rakes ready, the bareness of spring is just around the corner.

If you are itchy to get started with plantings and landscaping and you don’t want to wait for the snow to disappear drop on over and see us and we can give you a brochure or two along with a few ideas of projects you might undertake this spring. Did I hear someone say its time to install a gardening shed?

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1. Spring Beckons Do-It-Yourself

Mulch is made up of a diverse collection of materials from both the organic and non-organic families. It is used primarily as a ground cover to retain moisture and cut down on the need for frequent watering of gardens or shrubs. In recent years mulch has become a staple of landscape design, often used as the main visual material of yards. More and more people are using mulch as replacement for much of their lawns, preferring its many colors and texture to the traditional lawn.

Benefits of Mulch

1. Erosion is greatly reduced
2. Heavy rain disruption of surface is reduced,less compacting
3. Holds moisture, resulting in less frequent watering
4. Blocks weeds from overtaking the area
5. Blocks spatter from underlying dirt onto veggies
6. Makes for a cleaner work area in gardens
7. Adds a more polished look to the areas mulched

Common Mulch Materials

Organic Mulch

• grass clippings, leaves, hay, straw, bark, sawdust, shells, wood, peat moss,corn cobs, pine needles, seaweed, sugarcane, walnut shells, cranberry vines, coffee grounds, oyster shells, crushed rock, and boulders

Inorganic Materials

• shredded tires, newspapers, shredded plastic, plastic blankets with holes, crushed construction materials, felt paper, landscape fabric,

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With (we hope) the last cold and icy winds of winter behind use it’s time to pull out the ideas,tools and dreams for creating a yard that we will love. Spring not only brings green leaves and buds shooting up through the ground it beckons to the (DIY) in all of us.

We have all the Mulch and Dirt you could possibly want so open the windows and let the air in then jump in your car and visit us at either of our two locations.

Earlier this weekend I spent some time at the DIY Network and came across a great project to get you started as spring rolls in. The project they have put together is entitled How To Build a Planter Box. The good folks at DIYN have put together an easy to follow series of steps, check out the details> Click Building a Planter Box.

Tree City

For almost 25 years Manchester, NH has belonged to the Arbor Day Foundation, along with thousands of cities across North America to be designated Tree Cites USA Communities.

Planting trees has benefits to communities that last for generations and generations. Tress bring not only beauty to our towns but also increase property values and decrease crime. Planting even just one tree in your yard will cut down on neighborhood noise levels and add to your peace of mind as you gaze out upon the new green leaves every spring and summer.

Call your town or city office today to find out how your family can get involved in planting trees or check out Arbor Day Now and sign up to be a tree planter in your local community and get more information and alerts to when tree planting is happening near you.

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