Landscaping
Keep Your Landscape Green – Remove Yellow Foliage
Yellow leaves detract from a landscape even though yellow is a leaf’s natural color. When they’re alive and making food, chlorophyll masks the yellow pigment. Many people ask me what to do about yellow leaves. It’s one of those questions in which the answer is, “It depends.” If the plant is a spring flowering bulb […]
Are There Really Deer Proof Plants?
We’re frequently asked if there are really any deer proof plants. The answer is no. When a deer is really hungry, it will eat any plant that’s available. However, deer are no different from other animals. They have their favorites, others that are OK and those that will do in a pinch. So, there are […]
June Is For Pruning Conifers
June is usually when conifer (cone bearing) trees and shrubs are ready to be pruned. This year may be an exception, however. Our cold, wintery May has delayed many plants’ growth and flowering. And it is growth that determines whether conifers need to be pruned at all. This year, let the tree or shrub tell […]
Birchcrest Is Open And Providing All Services
As the 2020 landscaping/gardening season gets into full swing, I want to remind you that Birchcrest had been deemed an essential business throughout this pandemic and remains open for business. All services are being performed and our service personnel are in full compliance with CDC guidelines as well as state and local regulations. Because our […]
Keep Landscape Color Vibrant Until Fall
Spring bulbs are starting to fade, even though many of them bloomed late. Spring flowering shrubs, like lilacs, also were delayed by the weather but will soon lose their colorful flowers. Then they will spend the rest of the season as attractive foliage plants. How can you extend the bloom of these plants? The answer […]
The New Month Signals A New Beginning
The calendar said April and that should have been the first full month of spring. Here in Western New York, though, it seems that Ole Man Winter didn’t look at the calendar. We had cold days and enough snow that Rochester rose to the top of the Upstate New York cities that vie for the […]
Get Tools Ready for Spring — It’s Good for You and Your Property
In the midst of today’s scary health crisis, there is gardening and landscaping, which reconnect people with the Earth and provide a wide range of benefits, both physical and mental/emotional. The emotional or mental aspect benefits involve relaxation, communing with nature, working off stress and focusing on creating beauty. The physical work of gardening builds […]
Testing One-Two-Three: It May Be Time for a Soil Test
You probably thought you were done with tests once you finished school, but nooo — lawns, gardens and other landscaping areas need soil tests every so often! Luckily, these are easily managed projects with important benefits for the long-term health, vigor, growth and beauty of your landscape. The why of itSoil in any landscape, whether […]
Have Some Fun with Landscape Planning for Spring
As we approach the halfway point of winter and encounter some warmer-than-usual weather, you might start thinking about getting back out in the yard. But I warn you, the ground is most likely still a bit too soft to walk on, much less work on, not to mention that the return of snow is inevitable, […]
Check For Weeds & Mulch
As the weather improves, your green thumb may start getting itchy. The weather may not be good enough to do any planting or bed preparation yet but there are some things you can do that will get you out of the house and into the yard. On a nice day with no snow, may I […]
Keeping Our World Green 