Do you provide commercial lawn care in the St Louis area?

Some people have asked in the past if we service commercial properties or just residential clients.
I`m proud to say that we do offer grounds maintenance to commercial properties around the St. Louis area. We can take the headache away from property managers about grounds maintenance and let your staff get back to their job at hand. A lot of things go into keeping your business grounds looking their best. Rest assured we will provide you with a good program for your commercial properties on keeping that great curb appeal for your business customers.

We can develop a program for each client based on their specific needs of what is required to keep your business looking green and healthy. We offer commercial lawn mowing & landscape maintenance. Meaning we mow the grass and prune the roses while we are there (charges apply for additional services). We can develop a fertilization program for the turf areas along with the gardens to give your plants the vital nutrients they need. A soil test will be conducted to see what is needed to be added or adjusted for your plant’s needs.  A fresh blanket of mulch can bring in that needed touch in your beds as well as help with weed control.

In the fall and winter months we offer leaf clean-ups along with snow removal for walkways and small parking lots.

Feel free to contact us at 314-810-9348 with any commercial needs.
 

Why its important to rake your leaves before snowfall?

Not worrying about the leaves on your lawn now can add to further problems down the road. Some clients have asked me about the importance of cleaning them up so it gave me an idea for a blog. Overwintering leaves can harbor pests and diseases that will appear again in the spring. Removing the leaves from the lawn now helps to avoid this issue. I know a lot of you are thinking that you hate raking up leaves but it can be a good workout.

St. Louis lovely fall colors are nice to look at until the leaves begin to come down from the trees. Then it`s time to perform the annual leaf clean-up we face every year. Even people without trees in there yard always get leaves from the neighbors down the street. It`s as if the leaves are attracted to your lovely yard just to throw things off. It`s like when you wash your car and a flock of birds fly over right after that. You stand there and go "Really?" Yeah it`s that way unfortunately, even if you have tall fences.

Leaves left on the yard can hurt the yard down the road as stated earlier. Pests love a warm place to stay in the winter just like all of us do. In turn they can brown up the yard and cause even more damage by killing off the lawn or plants that the leaves are collected around. Here`s a couple of things to help make leaf clean-up easier. Use a small blower to collect the leaves in one area to make bagging them up easier. Inserts are now available that go into the lawn bags to help them stand up on their own while you fill them. We use them to help bag leaves and they work pretty well. A lot of municipality`s offer curbside leaf pick-ups. I know it`s a little late in the season now to use them, but keep that in mind for next year. When hauling the leaves to the curb, use a tarp to drag the leaves out instead of a trash can. You can get more on a tarp than in the cans sometimes. Just don`t overload it to where it`s too heavy to drag.

Where to find the best pumpkins in St. Louis

Summer in St. Louis is over and fall is approaching bringing us cooler weather and upcoming festivities.  When we think of fall we of course think of Halloween and pumpkins.  If you are looking to pick your own pumpkins in St Louis this year, here is a list of local pumpkin patches in St Louis:

• Rombachs Farm is a favorite among St Louis county locals and is located in Chesterfield, Missouri. You can find pumpkins, fall decorations and various activities for all ages.  Address: 18639 Olive Street Rd, Chesterfield.  Phone: (636) 532-7265.  They open on September 22nd and are open 7 days a week, from 9am - 6pm.  Tips: Also offer Hayrides, pony rides and more.

• Stuckmeyer's Farm Market is located in south St. Louis in Fenton, Missouri.  Address: 249 Schneider Dr, Fenton, Mo.  Phone: (636) 349-1225.  They open on September 27th and are open Monday-Friday, 9am - 6pm, Saturday 9am - 5pm, Sunday 10am - 4pm. Tips: Hayrides on weekends, pony rides, face painting, karaoke, inflatable activities for the kids.

• Sullivan Farms is located  in Florissant, Missouri.  Address: 16704 New Halls Ferry Rd, Florisant, Mo. Phone: (314) 570-6662 They are open on September 27th, Monday - Saturday
  10 am - 9pm, Sunday 10 am - 8 pm. Tips: Free Hayrides, Straw Maze, Bounce house, Cut your own pumpkins, Special area for birthday parties.

• Brookdale Farms is located west of St. Louis in Eureka, Missouri.  Address: 8004 Twin Rivers, Eureka, Mo. Phone: (636) 938-1005 They are open on September 18th Thursday - Sunday 10am - 6pm.  Tips: Has many activities for young and old including inflatables, haunted corn maze, playground, petting zoo , pony rides, pumpkin chucking (slingshot pumpkins) & air cannon pumpkins.

*Please call pumpkin patches regarding hours as they are subject to change in inclement weather.

 

Grass is growing between my brick patio

Grass and weeds can eventually grow through the grout and sand after many years on your patio. Years of mother nature beating down on them weakens the strong hold between your bricks or pavers and weeds will find there way through. A couple of good steps and this can be taken care of.

Depending on how your patio was put together will determine what needs to be done. If the ground has started to become unlevel in spots it may be time to redo the patio and level everything out and install a new base underneath. If your bricks were laid next to each other and the gaps filled with sand, it`s time to bring in more sand. Before hand either hand pull the weeds or apply a good weed killer found at most home improvement stores. Always follow directions on the label for the pesticide. Once the weeds are taken care of let`s get that new application of sand put in. Simply dump the sand in small piles on the patio, use a good bush broom to work the sand into the gaps. Use a garden hose afterwards to clean off any sand that remains on top of the bricks.  There are also many environmentally friendly, natural weed control options available to use.

If the the bricks were grouted with mortar in between the gaps this may be a little more complicated. If there are just small areas, this is a simple DIY project for you on the weekend. Start removing the old mortar from in between the gaps with a chisel or grinder with a concrete wheel. Try to avoid damaging the bricks when accomplishing this task. Remove the bricks after the mortar is removed. Check the base under the patio at this time and make any adjustments if needed. Start adding the bricks back in place and using new mortar to connect them.  A larger area may need the attention of the professionals depending on the scope of work. St. Louis has a wide range of good tuck-pointing and brick layers that can assist with the project.

When to water your lawn during the hot summers in St. Louis

The good ole' heat of St. Louis summers is making its stay apparent. A lot of lawns are starting to experience heat stress from all the heat and humidity.  Warm season grasses like zoysia and bermuda love and flourish in this kind of weather. Your cool season grasses start to use extra energy from there root system causing the roots not to be as strong. A good watering can help your lawn from this stress.

A good morning watering 2-3 times per week will help lawns not resort to there stored energy and continue to prosper. When your lawn starts to wilt or starts to turn light brown (as if it`s going dormant) is a good rule of thumb to start watering. Watering in the morning helps the lawn to dry off by the night helping to avoid the infection of disease.  A good spring lawn care program helps the lawn during heat stress from higher mowing heights and proper fertilization.

Other things that help during heat stress is to avoid walking on the lawn and avoid using herbicides.  Also avoid dethatching and aerating as this can further hurt the turf.

Whats eating my rose bushes?

Its always hard when your an avid gardener with prize winning roses to go out one day and see holes in your leaves.  A lot of rose bushes around town usually get hit about this time with pesky vermin having your roses as its main course.  There are a number of insects that can be the culprit of the crime.

The most common are aphids, the are small to the naked eye and can be green, red, or brown. The feed on the new buds that are forming. They can usually be controlled by a strong blast of water from your garden hose, begins spraying from the bottom and working your way up making sure to get the underside of the leaves. If the aphids fall from the plant and into the soil, they for the most part don`t crawl back up. There are also good insecticides on the market to control them.

Rose slugs and thrips are the most common leaf eater found in the St. Louis area. They eat the rose leaves leaving small holes and small gray spots that look like scales.  Most of this damage isn`t severe enough to hurt the plant. A good watering daily will help the plant survive while the leaves are eaten. Try to treat early, if so desired, once the leaf damage becomes apparent. 

Most pests on any plant can be dislodged from the plant from a good hose blast, as stated earlier, and daily monitoring of the plant.

When can I begin to plant my spring garden?

Spring has finally arrived in St. Louis, even though the temperatures haven`t stayed warm lately. At least the snow is over, or so we hope. We now just have to work around the rainy month of April--something both plants and a St. Louis gardener loves.   It`s now time to get your shovel and rakes out of the shed and get to work on the spring garden. There are many aspects that go into different spring gardening. From flowers to vegetables, everyone has their own unique garden that they desire.

A good way to start is to clean up all the leaves and twigs that mother nature left behind from the winter months. Cut back ornamentals to get rid of the dead growth, setting the mower to its highest setting makes this process simple rather than being down on all fours. Fertilize and water afterwards to promote new growth.  This is a good time to cut back roses and get rid of the dead wood from the winter. Heavy pruning can also be done with the plant still being dormant, try to never prune the rose bush back more than 18" from the ground. If a winter mulch was in place, remove it now and add organic matter to the soil. A good time to prune back box woods would be to wait after April 15th in the St. Louis Area, this is also the time pre-emergent should be in place to control crabgrass in lawns. 

It may be time to renovate that garden and plant the one you`ve always dreamed of. A lot of nurseries are starting to get there stock in, go out and look for ideas of what to plant. Remember to keep in mind if the growing site is in the shade or gets a lot of sun during the day. Different plants grow in different situations. There is a wide array of plants these days that fits everyone's budget and needs. Try to got down some notes or questions to ask the nursery staff what they suggest. I always suggest going to a garden or nursery and not the local hardware store. They seem to be more informative on what to plant and suggest to your needs. Whatever you decide, do it with a smile on your face and earn your Green Thumb this growing season.