What can hiring a professional landscaper bring to you besides ‘Sitting Back & Enjoying the View’?

Many, many advantages. Everyone wins!

How about increasing the value of your home by 15%.  MONEY Magazine estimates that you can expect to recover 100% to 200% of your landscaping costs when you sell. That’s why many homeowners add outdoor entertainment areas (outdoor rooms) that they can enjoy while living there, and still recover costs when it’s time to sell.

For Home Buyers: Lenders look favorably on well landscaped homes — and that’s good news for your home’s next owner!

For Home Sellers: According to appraisers and realtors, a beautifully landscaped home will sell faster and for more money than homes that do not have a well-maintained landscape. Nothing beats curb appeal when your prospective buyer pulls up to the front of your home. Realtors have stated that 95% of home shoppers won’t even get out of their car if the house lacks “curb appeal.” Want a faster, easier sale? Get landscaped!

For Your Neighbors: Professionally landscaped homes add value to the entire neighborhood! Just as a neglected property brings down property values, a well-maintained landscape adds to the desirability of the area. Everyone can enjoy the natural beauty. Carefully planned landscapes can buffer noise and serve as privacy barriers.

For the Environment: Plants and trees absorb ozone-damaging pollutants, produce oxygen, and help keep temperatures down in your home on those hot, sultry days and nights. Shady areas are naturally cooler. Ganshert’s also carries environmental friendly pavers now for hardscape installations–can be used in driveways, walkways for any hardscape surface use.

Call Ganshert’s then…Sit Back & Enjoy the View! AND watch the value of your home go up.

Being a registered landscape architect (RLA)  is more than a good knowledge of plants. While many companies employ people with titles such as landscape designer or garden designer, only those who are registered with the state can call themselves Landscape Architects (Title Act) and practice Landscape Architecture (Practice Act 123, 2010).

Obtaining licensure is no small feat. One must fulfill the requirements of specified education, training and testing. Only then can one become licensed. When you hire a licensed Landscape Architect, you can rest assured that they are qualified and competent individual with priorities in public health, safety and welfare. To keep an updated RLA, one must continue education and obtain CEUs in several different industry-related categories on a 2-year renewal basis.

Does your landscape company have a Licensed Landscape Architect on staff?

For more information on certifications and registrations in the landscape industry check out the ‘Why Hire a Member’ page on the Wisconsin Landscape Contractors Association (WLCA) website: http://www.landscapemadison.com

The reason for mulching is to cover the beds surrounding your plantings to prevent weeds and retain moisture. Here are a few questions you may want to ask yourself before deciding on what material to use:

How Long Will I Live There?

If you plan on living at your home for the next 20+ years, then stone would be an acceptable choice.  However, if you plan to move before then you may want to consider bark mulch from a value standpoint.  Stone is much more expensive for the material and installation.

How much maintenance am I willing to do?

Both require maintenance, but different types.  Bark mulch will need to be top dressed–a thin layer added on top of the existing, approximately every other year.  If you choose to install stone mulch, you should strongly consider purchasing a leaf-blower if you don’t already own one.  Debris collects in the voids of the stone and will decompose and clog over time if not regularly cleaned out.  We recommend going though with the blower once in the spring and once in the fall.

Removing Stone Once You Tire of It – Very Labor Intensive

It takes 3 man hours to remove 100 sq ft. It may take longer if there is no fabric and dirt has to be removed and the stone cleaned if you want to remove. It can be very labor intensive and expensive to remove. So once you put it in, you better like it. Ha

Will I be planting in the mulched areas?

It is far easier to plant in beds that are mulched with bark.  It is a matter of pulling back the bark and digging into the soil.  Stone mulch is heavier and more difficult to move. Also, there is typically either plastic or filter fabric underneath that will need to be cut into in order to dig.

Summing It Up

Bark mulch will reduce the weeds for the most part, but some are relentless enough to still pop up. It is easier to pull weeds out of bark mulch because it is a loose material.  The plastic or filter fabric used underneath stone mulch helps to prevent weeds, but using plastic will inhibit the penetration of water into the beds.  Weeds WILL be able to grow in the sediment that accumulates in the void space of stone mulch if it is not cleaned out regularly.

Spring only comes once a year – Don’t Miss It!

Take the time before spring is over and the blossoms are down. Here is a list of local community gardens that we can all visit — smell the blossoms, view the kaleidoscope of color, and enjoy the beauty of spring. These gardens are free to enjoy and appreciate at any time of year, but now is THE BEST TIME. Don’t Delay.

The UW Arboretum; Allen Centennial Gardens; Olbrich Botanical Gardens; University Display Gardens (West Madison Ag Research Station); Rotary Gardens in Janesville; Anderson Japanese Garden in Rockford

ENJOY!

A path is a means of getting from one point to another, right? True, but paths can do so much more. Beyond providing circulation routes, paths define spaces. A walkway from a driveway to the front door divides the yard into ‘this side’ and ‘that side’.

When designing a landscape, expanses of open space can become overwhelming. Where does one start? Try determining focal points such as a fire pit or bench, then plot out paths to connect those features with the entry into the space, such as a patio door or gate. By connecting these features you are not only providing a means of accessibility, but you are subdividing the open space that surrounds them.

A small area that gets cut off from a larger area may not be large enough to justify keeping it as lawn space. This space is ideal for creating a planting bed. Start with a specimen plant or feature (bird bath, sculpture, etc.) and design around it with appropriate plantings. Soon you will have definition of space that gives your yard a sense of ‘rooms’ which increases visual appeal and attractiveness to use your outdoor space.

Creating attractive outdoor spaces that get people outside is why we do what we do. And We Like That!

Meatball landscapes make designers cringe. While some plants should be sheared, there are plenty of varieties that require different methods of pruning. Because of the frequent use of plants that require renewal pruning in landscape, there is a good chance that there is one or two in your yard.
Renewal pruning is required for woody shrubs that have a suckering growth habit. The reason for this type of pruning is to attain a full form plant with lush foliage from top to bottom. A plant that requires renewal pruning, but has only received pruning at the top of the plant will eventually adapt and send all of its energy to the top of the plant where it has been wounded. The result of this is a leggy shrub with not much shape.
Also, if the top of the plant has thick enough foliage for photosynthesis, then there is less need to send up new stems.
Each season, the plant sends up new stems in an effort to get larger. These new stems are what gives the plant foliage at the lower and middle heights, thus a full form.

The first step of renewal pruning is determining that the plant is indeed a suckering woody shrub. Common types include dogwoods, viburnums, and ninebarks. Once you have identified that renewal pruning is necessary, pick out the largest stems of the plant. The rule of thumb for renewal pruning is to prune off one third of all the stems starting with the largest. This can be overwhelming if the plant has never been pruned this way. If that is the case, start with a smaller number of stems the first year and work your way up to the recommended third. Renewal pruning is typically recommended every other year for most species.

Check out our Principles of Pruning care sheet and give us a call to have your yard professionally pruned for the season.

Hopefully, you were able to make it to one of the many home improvement-related tradeshows this winter. If not, you can come and visit our exhibit at this weekend’s Madison Builders Home Products Show or MABA Show. We will be in booth #1022 March 2, 3, and 4th at the Alliant Exhibition Center.

Also, if you are thinking about having any spring clean-up or getting on our ‘early bird list’ for landscaping this season, give us a call to set up an appointment. With the lack of snow this winter, we have been able to do site visits, see the grade, do measurements and get estimates to our clients; so don’t delay in giving us a call, so you can ‘Sit Back and Enjoy the View’ for the whole summer and growing season. Please link to tradeshow dates, times, etc.

Madison Area Builders Association Tradeshow

Landscape Design Technology

In a world of face-paced technological advancement, one can only guess at what the next big thing will be. In the landscape industry, our main focus is still the harmonious integration of the natural and built environments, but we will soon be tapping into the tech environment to utilize new design and presentation tools.  In the near future we plan to use certain computer graphic programs to create 2D and 3D visuals that will enable us achieve more clarity of ideas in our landscape design presentations. The transition will not be immediate, but don’t be surprised if your next landscape proposal includes a photo-realistic image of your property with a stunning new look!    SEE YOU IN THE SPRING!

Ganshert was recently awarded a 2011 NARI Achievement in Consumer Excellence (ACE) Award recognizing us for our attention to customer service and quality workmanship as rated by our clients. Yay us!

Ganshert N&L NARI Award

Hope you all are working on your gift lists. Not sure what to get that person who has everything or is hard to buy for? How about saving him or her valuable time? A Ganshert Gift Certificate for that project you’ve been putting off will free up valuable time to do the things you and they want to enjoy.

P.S. A recent study funded by the Horticultural Research Institute confirmed that a ‘good’ landscape adds value to your home. A summary of the study found the following conclusions:

• Adding one or two island beds (increasing design sophistication) can alone add 2% to the perceived value of your home, e.g. on a $250,000 home that can add $5,000.
• Colorful plantings add nearly $1000 to the home’s value; returning 400%
• Installing a pleasing landscape is a good investment…returning $1.09 in value for every $1 invested.
• Landscapes are one home improvement that increases in value over time. Will a kitchen, a bath, or a deck investment do that?  NO

Give us a Jingle, Jangle, Jingle and we can email your stocking stuffer gift certificate today!

          …”Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.”