Green Side Up! of Wilmington, Inc.

Wilmington NC Landscaping featured project (Lewis Residence)

If you have ever been to the Harbor Island area at Wrightsville Beach you notice the height of the houses has changed over the last few years and the amount of "green space" around the houses has gotten smaller and smaller. Harbor Island, like much of the rest of Wrightsville Beach, as seen its fare share of "tear downs" and the construction of new homes. With the taller homes the amount of area for rain runoff has become an issue and required new approaches to deal with this runoff.

The Lewis residence was no exception to this issue. The residence, garage and driveway covered most of the property and in heavy rains it was not uncommon to have the small backyard flood. So much that the water would come up over the patio and into the ground level of the residence. Not wanting to lose the use of the backyard or to add to the flooding issue the only route to go was with a permeable paver patio. Permeable pavers allow water to pass through spaces in the pavers and flow into a washed stone base below. The washed stone base acts as a holding tank of sorts for the rain and allows it to flow into the soil at a slower rate and eliminates the runoff issue all together. Permeable pavers are gaining popularity in our coastal region.

The Sub Terra paver from Belgard was chosen as or paver of choice on this project. The Sub Terra has the look of stone and can be installed in several patterns. This paver is made up of several different shapes and because of their sizes they worked well with the most over looked design detail, scale! This paver works well in small spaces such we have here.

You can see here the process of constructing the patio.

 

The permeable paver patio is extremely functional and very good looking when finished.

 

 
                                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                     Feel free to contact us on-line or by phone with any questions or comments you may have regarding this or any other landscape related issues. Visit us at Green Side Up!

Jason Steveson has earned the North Carolina Certified Plant
Professional (CPP) certification from the North Carolina Nursery and
Landscape Association (NCNLA). Jason is one of only 2,183 CPP's in North
Carolina. NCNLA congratulates Jason for demonstrating his commitment to
professionalism in his industry.

The CPP exam is a two part test. The written portion identifies knowledge
and skill needed while working in the landscape industry. The plant
identification portion demonstrates knowledge of a wide selection of plant
material. The CPP is the first step in a process of becoming a Registered
Landscape Contractor.

Prunning- An artform

Just Like so many things in this world, pruning is a process that many people do but so few truly have the eye it takes to do a quality job.  I think it all begins with the knowledge for what the plant will mature into.  Picking the correct plant for the correct space is vital.

 Sometimes a plant can be altered into a space or a shape to fit a certain landscape style or to fit into a specific space.  The intention of altering the final shape or size should be done fron the initial planting and kept in mind as the plant develops.  Many times this process is totally accepted and can work well visually.  Japanese style of design is a prime example.

Unfortunately,  many times the original design intentions are forgotten and a plant will become over grown and the work needed to get a plant to fit into its planted space can be severe.  On the other hand many residential HOA's or commercial properties annually search for the cheapest service providers and the results can be ugly.  A service provider that comes in as the lowest price usually does not know the value of the work they are doing or how to charge for it.   Many times a new service provider will come in great gang busters and want to "clean the place up"!  The end result is an inferior pruning with irreparable damages

 All plants have a mature size and shape.  Be sure you hire a true professional that can answer your questions and provide the care information your property will need.  They should be able to identify high majority of the plants on your property and answer general questions about them.  If they can't you might want to keep looking.  Just because they recently purchased a $500.00 set of gas prunners doesnot make them a "professional".

Below are some recent pictures of a pruning project gone wrong.  Before I get into this please note we DID NOT do the work.  This planting is about 15(+/-) years old and definately needs some work as seen in the before.  However,  the overall condition of the plants is good and they are along a highway where they are seen at about 55 mph.  The Dwarf Yaupon Hollies in the middle row are about as big as they will get so there is no issues with size.  The Dwarf Burford Hollies in the background are capable of growing an additional 2-3 feet.  I believe the Dwarf Burfords are at the current size to prevent screening the ornamental metalwork on the wall behind.  The Dwarf Burfords should be allowed to grow closer to their mature height forming a screen from the highway to the houses behind the wall and developing a uniform line along the wall.  The layering, color and textural differences and the clean lines will be visable at 55 mph.  The mature, well maintained plants will definatley add value to the property.

 

 
 

Unfortunalely,  the plants appear to have been pruned with no regard for their mature size or natural shape or for any reason other than someone likes to hear the sound of the gas shears as they chew through woody stems.  The result is damage that may never be corrected.  Once this cycle begins the following prunings wil damage the plants more and more.  Remember that maintaining the plant is the goal and along with its health, is it value!

Feel free to contact us on-line or by phone with any questions or comments you may have rgarding this or any other landscape related issues.

Have you been to our website recently? Stop by and tell us what you think.
Send your friends by and tell them to tell us what they think Stop
strangers on the street and send them by and tell them to tell us what they
think. OK, maybe i was pushing it a bit with that last one. Seriously,
Check out our work and give us a call to see what we can come up with for
you! www.greensideupofwilmington.com

This one is short and sweet. As if there are not enough reasons to seek out
an alternative for Leyland Cypress. This should be at the top of the list!
Leylands are a big bulky plant that as they mature, will not only screen
your view, but they also act like a sail in high winds. The biggest bonus
is their shallow fiberous root system that likes to break free under these
conditions and lay right down. I truely wonder what the developer of this
plant thinks of his/her creation. Thanks,but no thanks!

We found these guys on Indica azaleas yesterday while working on a
property near Bradley Creek. Azalea Caterpillars are more of a nuisance
than anything. If gone unnoticed the can defoliate the shrub in a few
days. However, that is all they will do. The best method of control is to
remove them when you see them. We removed the branches they were feeding on
and disposed of them off site. These caterpillars will not harm humans, so
touching them is OK. They can be controlled by spraying B.t. (Bacillus
thuringiensis ), a microbial insecticide that is specific for caterpillars
or liquid sevin. The Azalea Caterpillars show up in the fall of the year
(August and September) and will mature into a light brown colored moth.
Remember to regularly walk your property and inspect you plants both big
and small. Catching most problems early will make controlling them easier.
Having a full service property maintenance provider that can handle that
task for you always helps too.
Give us a call today to put together a maintenance program for you. Feel
free to contact us on line or by phone with any questions or comments you
may have regarding this or any other landscape related issues.

Today we spent the day helping clients prepare their homes and boats for the arrival of Irene. We learned new knots and how to hold on to a ladder with your teeth!

Today
hurricane Irene builds steam and begins to make a turn to the
northwest where she will skirt our coast on a path toward the northeastern
part of the US. Take time today to prepare for the damage to your landscape
that may occur. Mental damage that is. As Irene most likely will pass us
off shore, we will still likely get hurricane force winds and heavy rain.
Large trees and bulky shrubs have the greatest potential for damage.
Remember to leave the big stuff to the professionals. We have several tree
sevice companies in our area that you can contact. Be patient as they will
be very busy after storms and will get to you as soon as possible. Many
times after severe weather "tree guys" will come out of the woodwork.
Anyone with a chainsaw can cut up a tree, but only an insurred professional
tree service is coverd when a treee limb moves unexpectedly and falls into
your livingroom.
You can take this time to locate your hand prunners and your favorite pair
of loppers. Clean them throughly, put a new sharp edge on them and
lubricate with a non-petrolieum based lubricant. Following these
recomendations will not only benifit your plants but you as well. A sharpe
edge will cut cleaner and easier. Only remove the broken or damaged limbs
at this time. Mother Nature has her own way of repairing damage and there
will be time for reshaping later after a flush of new growth occurs in the
spring. Pruning is an art form and not everyone knows how to handle the
brush if you get my drift. Just because someone has "landscaper" on their
business card should not give them free reign on your shrubs. Your
landscape will increase in value over time if maintained properly. A few
hours with a pair of gas powered shears in the wrong hands will take money
out of your pocket, in multiple ways. So, simply put, hire a true
professional if you have any doubts about your ability, level of need or
desire to take on any task.
Batten down the hatches and we will talk to you on the other side!

Feel free to contact us on line or by phone with any questions or comments
you may have regarding this or any other landscape related issues.

Now this is a new approach in the never ending battle against Fire Ants. Give this a try next time you encounter a mound and let us know how it worked out for you!

For those not familiar with Walter Reeves, he is from the University of Georgia agriculture department specializing in home gardening. His television show gardening in Georgia is on each Saturday.

Fire ants are picky eaters, and any type poison that is effective takes seven feeding steps before the queen receives it. Plus, if the bait is stored in close proximity to any petroleum or fertilizer products they won't touch it. Contact poisons that are on the market just cause the colony to move away. A well developed colony can be as deep as 30 feet and spread out some 20 to 50 feet from the mound center. This has been documented by studies done in the early 60's when they were first sighted in South Alabama.

An environmentally friendly cure for fire ants has been announced by Walter Reeves on his Georgia Gardener radio program. Testimonial that it REALLY WORKS are coming in.

Simply pour two cups of CLUB SODA (carbonated water) directly in the center of a fire ant mound. The carbon dioxide in the water is heavier than air and displaces the oxygen which suffocates the queen and the other ants. The whole colony will be dead within about two days.

Here's the good side: club soda leaves no poisonous residue, does not contaminate the ground water, and does not indiscriminately kill other insects. Not harmful to your pets,soaks into the ground. Each mound must be treated individually and a one liter bottle of club soda
will kill 2 to 3 mounds.

PineHall Paver walk-way

These are of a simple paver walk addition to a Ligon Flynn home on Columbia
Ave. The home is all brick with existing brick steps and walkways and a
gravel drive. This addition allows for a transition area from the gravel
drive to the front door allowing stray stones to be deposited before the
steps or front door. As always Snap-edge pave restraint and polymeric joint
stabilizing sand were utilized. Remember, We are ICPI certified and all
hardscape projects come with a lifetime warranty.