Month: August 2020

June – The Beauty of a Maturing Landscape

                                                            The Beauty of a Maturing Landscape

Welcome to the June edition. I hope everyone is doing well, given the situation we have all been in. For those of us that have been able to work, working from home has definitely been different. Some of my clients love it, and some cannot wait to get back to the office. It can be challenging when you add school for your children on top of it. It is May 26^th, and we are just beginning to open up, and none too soon. We at Executive Care have continued to work. Working outside does have its benefits, until of course you have 102-degree days, but with life you take the good with the not so good. 

 We have featured this entrance landscape in previous issues at different stages of growth, and this is now the sixth year. I love to show mature yards so that people can get the vision of what their yard may look like in the future. Obviously, landscapes vary from one another, but the same materials are generally used, just in different combinations and spaces. However, one can still appreciate the beauty of a maturing landscape and look forward to how theirs will mature. Since the time that the Olive trees have been planted, they have grown quite well. Coincidentally, each picture features two years of growth. The pictures show the different stages of landscape, from bare ground, building the columns and walls, and planting. These tasks span over a period of two years, four years, and finally six years. The sixth year is the main picture. To be able to appreciate a mature landscape is not hard, but to envision a mature landscape prior to its conception can only be done from experience. Last month we featured the Thomas’ landscape with block walls being used to accent and lessen the slope. I was pleased with how it turned out. However, I realized that I have a hard time seeing it as it is currently. I showed the pictures to my wife expecting her to really like it, and her comment was, “that’s a lot of bark.” Most people I imagine would say the same thing, however it was a reality check for me. Without realizing it, I tend to see the landscapes three years down the road and that is the vision I maintain while I am landscaping.  This is a good thing, and it has taken me many years to be able to do that, but I too must see it as anyone else would see it. To be able to conceptualize it years down the road, I rely on my years of growing plants. Simply being a landscaper does not give you that ability or knowledge. It takes years of growing many different plants to teach you that. I am most grateful to have had that experience. As I always say, someone was looking out over my life.  

Imagine leaving for work or coming home from a stressful day and being able to drive through the beauty of this entrance. If it were me, I would walk it early morning and prior to sunset. The night lights are gorgeous as well. I will need to take night shots for year eight. Diane says she enjoys the landscape the most when she wakes up. It is the first thing she sees out her bedroom window, and it puts a smile on her face. It is comforting and beautiful with all the colors and blooms. This can be enough to cheer you up at the end of a hard day. I will let the pictures do the talking from here. 

Gardeners, you should have your summer gardens started by now. If not, buy 4” size vegetables because you need to make up for lost time. 

Good Gardening, Arthur

May 2020 – A Retreat In Time of Need

Welcome to our May edition. What a difference a month can make! COVID-19 dominates the news, regardless of which news station you listen to. There are the contrary views that you have to go online to hear, and their point of views also make sense so in the end, what is really happening? I am not sure, but I believe there is truth in both camps and the best we can do is to do our part understanding that “this too shall pass.” Optimism always wins over depression and hope always wins over fear. Both fear and depression can kill you even before COVID-19 gets to us, if it does. Working from home, with a less than desirable yard makes it tough too. If we must stay home, having a nice yard to enjoy, and a place to escape to really helps. I see in many of us an appreciation of beauty, whether it be a nicely landscaped yard, a walk along the seashore, a hike in the mountains or a bike ride on many of our local bike trails. Nature has a way of easing the pain and bringing us hope and encouragement. It happens to our team when we complete a job, and to our client, which for us is the most rewarding part of what we do. When we see that smile, joy and excitement expressed by our clients, it gives us joy. It is a blessing to be able to give our clients their own retreat and I believe it is a testimony to how we have been hard wired by our Creator to appreciate and need beauty and sanctuary in our lives. Something about it completes us. 

I love showing the progression of jobs as they mature, it helps you to see what I see. Upon completing a job, I already see the job three to four years down the road. I wish I could show our clients this, but that is definitely beyond my ability. The best I can do is describe the growth, flower times, and fall color. It’s not the same as seeing it matured though. Thomas’ job was a real pleasure to do, and he was a pleasure to work with. The only thing he lacks is a wife. For any of you single ladies, he’s a good, hardworking man that was completely out of his league when it came to landscaping. I am so used to putting a backyard to- gether with a female counterpart, that it was strange not having someone to bounce my ideas off. Thomas could not see it, and his answer to whatever I said was yes. I greatly appreciated his trust in me, but at the same time this is not my backyard. I work for my client and want to be sure that their taste and needs are being met. I did not have that with Thomas. However, in the end, he was thrilled with the job which was a great relief to me. Spending people’s money is stressful enough, and not being sure that the end product will be what they like is a bit nerve racking. 

The job, as you can see in the before picture was not much to look at. It was not a retreat to go to, nor a sanctuary that you could enjoy your morning coffee. There was nothing about the landscape that invited you outside. There were only two things that were favorable: the pool and the Redwoods. Both the pool and Redwoods were far enough away that they really could not be appreciated from the home. You would have to be closer to the pool to appreciate that area. Our task, like all jobs is to take the existing strengths of the landscape and build on them. We also take the weaknesses and use them to our advantage. The greatest weakness of the yard was the slope. It was most un- pleasant in its prior form (worse than what can been seen in the before picture), however I learned long ago that an ugly slope is a gift if you know how to use it.  A well landscaped slope allows you to see all its parts, there is nothing hidden or blocked. Also, it allows you to build retaining walls, and add topsoil blend. This lessens the steepness of the slope, but also makes it a great place for plants to thrive. Thomas’ job is only 3 months old, it was completed in February, so growth is just beginning. How- ever, next year at this time it is going to look completely differ- ent with the plants developing in accordance to their growth pattern. Right now, they are all basically the same size, and the Crape Myrtle trees are still deciduous and hard to see. 

There are many ways to build a block wall. Many landscapers prefer the cultured stone or a stone veneer look, which I love just as much. However stackable block walls are also attractive and there are several styles to choose from. If the client would be just as happy with one of the stackable block walls, that would be a savings in cost of about 30% to 40%. It takes less labor to build a stackable block wall, and the material cost is about half of the cultured stone or stone veneer walls. I’ve seen some beautiful walls of this nature with some very unattractive landscapes behind them, and there was no invitation to come out and enjoy (no one comes out to see walls). Alternatively, you have seen many of our landscapes using the stackable blocks, and the invitation to come out and enjoy is loud and clear, es- pecially after the landscapes have matured a bit. However, there are those clients that want the cultured stone or stone veneer look, and they understand the price tag associated with it. I am so grateful that they select us to do their work because I know it’s going to be elegant. 

If you are working from home, I would encourage you to con- sider getting your yard landscaped. Of course, I would like you to select us, however it is more important to just get your yard landscaped and bring joy into your personal space. Who- ever you go with, make sure and check out their website and references. On our website you can find all our articles (un- der publications) as well as pictures of past jobs. Under client comments are many comments from our clients, all of which are very gracious and kind. Finally, the page after this article is another article by me dedicated to gardening. As you are all aware, the grocery stores have been depleted of products, and I am not talking just about toilet paper, but food. It shows me that in times of need, our food supply chain cannot keep up with the demand. So, I am wanting to discuss home gardens. Finally, in PDF format is a personal article that I wrote entitled “In Times of Uncertainty”. 

My goal is to bring encouragement and hope – God Bless, Arthur