Monday, 6 July 2015

Drip Irrigation Service in California



California is in the middle of one of the largest droughts it has seen in years, and as such, people are being asked to conserve water in any way possible to avoid rationing.  Since Californians love having a lush, green lawn, this is posing a problem for millions of homeowners all over, as many are unable to water the way they have been used to in the past.
 

Drip irrigation is the targeted, intelligent application of water, fertilizer, and chemicals directly to the plant roots. Drip irrigation improves profitability by increasing crop yield and quality while at the same time reducing costs from water, energy, labor, chemical inputs and water runoff.

Drip irrigation is a cost effective way to prepare a new outdoor sanctuary in the midst of the water shortage.  There is less fertilizer and nutrients to be bought, as the irrigation system is localized and tearing up the soil is minimum.  Weed growth is much less, and the type of soil is not as important as with other irrigation systems.

There are some disadvantages to drip irrigation that must be considered before being installed.  The startup cost can occasionally cost more than an overhead system.  As with all things that happen when exposed to the harsh California sun, if the tubes are not properly taken care of, it can affect the longevity as well as clogging.  Drip tape can cause extra cleanup costs afterwards as well.

As with all initial investments in properties, it is best to find a qualified landscaping company to come assess the garden's needs.  It can prevent future money and labor costs, as well as finding what will work best for the area.  Water conservation is important to everyone, and having the right drip system can assist with that as well.

Not all California terrain is the same, so it is important to have a qualified landscape company come do an accurate assessment of the property to ensure that the right system is utilized.  After all, saving water is important to everyone, and so is maintaining a beautiful yard.

Monday, 22 June 2015

Small Front Yard Landscaping Ideas



Turn your small front yard into a big asset with easy landscaping ideas.

Make it personal. Remember, your front yard is your calling card to the neighborhood. Not only is it the space that makes a first impression to your neighbors, but also it’s the place to express your taste and personality. When choosing complementary plants and designs, keep the architectural style of your home in mind so that your small front yard represent the spirit of its traditional or contemporary style.

Size it right. Small front yard landscapes are all about proportion. Think of your small front yard as the collar and your home as the shirt. If plants or trees are too tall, they can overwhelm the front of your home. The landscape and hardscape should match the scale of the house – and complement its façade. Ornamental trees such as cypress can be used to "mask" or hide parts of the front of your home you want hidden or create a privacy wall. Cutting a large tree from the front of your yard might diminish shade but also reveal and enhance your home’s character and style.

Go bold. When it comes to flowering plants, there’s no limit to the amount of color you can use in your front yard. If you have a center walkway that leads to your front door, line the sides of the path with bright orange anemones or periwinkle blue bell flowers. Instead of planting hedges next to the house, a stand of Black-Eyed Susans makes a vibrant statement.

Grassy is not always classy. Small front yards can have beautiful, well-trimmed lawns if they’re maintained properly. Yet, don’t feel like you must have grass in your small front yard. An unkempt front yard with a lawn that is poorly cared for can quickly become an ugly sight to you and your neighbors. If you’re considering exchanging your lawn for a stone courtyard or wide walkway, fill borders and remaining areas with mulched beds of your favorite annuals such as snapdragons or African daisies. Pea gravel or pebbles make an easy ground cover for tiny front yards. Line the ground with a weed-resistant mesh before applying the gravel, and remember to treat moss growth and mildew promptly. 

As with the design of any landscape, the questions you must ask yourself about small front yards are these: How much work am I willing to put into the initial design and planting phase of this small front yard landscaping project, and how much time am I willing to spend on its maintenance after it’s installed?  Knowing the answers will help you narrow down your choices and design a smart small front yard! 

Contact
Ayres Landscape Services, Inc.
www.ayreslandscapesvcs.com        
P.O. Box 1035


Chino, CA. 91708
Ph: 909-464-2535

Monday, 8 June 2015

New Ways to Landscape Your Yard

Garden Courtyard
Framed by wisteria, a Grecian- style planter holds a tangle of geraniums and sweet-potato vines outside of this Rhode Island home.

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Geometric Garden
Twenty varieties of Hosta create a lush patchwork in front of this New Hampshire barn.
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Make an Entrance
An alee of fast-growing Bradford pear trees leads to this 1850s farmhouse.
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Mixed Greenery
Rounded and sword-shaped foliage populate this Pennsylvania garden, adding interest to the front-yard border even when little is blooming. “The iris leaves act like exclamation points,” the owner says.
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Floral Front Yard
Overflowing with your favorite flowers, window boxes are a irresistible draw for the eye. Consider planting flowers in a shade that complements the color of your home. Or, for dramatic effect, mix in a second plant that picks up your trim color.
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Elegant Archway
An archway covered in porcelain berry vines separates beds of black-eyed Susan, bee balm, and cat mint from this New York garden estate. The white, ruin-like columns in the distance were salvaged from a local bank.
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Resting Place
Portulaca, variegated sage, cherry tomatoes, Padron peppers, parsley, and more thrive in galvanized troughs in the backyard of this California home.
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Pretty Path
‘Tardiva’ and ‘Annabelle’ hydrangeas, ‘Diana’ Rose of Sharon hibiscus, and Hosta plantaginea line the walkway behind this Martha’s Vineyard home.
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Sweeping Views
‘Karley Rose’ grass highlights a view of the pool and vineyard in the backyard of this California home.
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Into the Woods
A limestone path, lined with wild daisies, leads to this Kentucky cabin.
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Plant Coral Honeysuckle
Throughout this perennial’s long bloom time, from mid-June through September, its trumpet-shaped blossoms can perfume your entire garden. Coral honeysuckle will twine around anything in its path, scaling a 10- to 15-foot trellis in a single season, and attract hummingbirds as well.
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A Quiet Corner
Clematis and confederate jasmine climb a brick wall adjoining this Alabama house’s back patio.
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Backyard Walkway
The owner of this California home renovated her gardens with help from Oakland landscape designer Tod Rimrodt, who cleaned up the overgrown perennial beds and refreshed gravel paths that connect the landscape’s many nooks and crannies.
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Covered Addition
Oak-leaf hydrangeas and lady’s mantle bloom in front of the sugar shack in the backyard of this Ohio farmhouse, while wisteria vines punctuate the building’s reclaimed windows.
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Going on Green
‘Blushing Bride’ hydrangeas and ‘Morning Light’ ornamental grasses soften the path to the guesthouse in the backyard of this California farmhouse.
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An Elegant Entrance
Very vigorous clematis, Sweet autumn clematis (Clematis tern flora) doesn’t just grow tall (up to 30 feet in a few months); it also grows wide, ensuring full coverage. Consider its tiny white flowers, which bloom in late summer and early fall, a bonus. Oh, and did we mention that the plant tolerates most soil and sun conditions?54eb6696a8f03_-_fast-climbing-vines-archway-0413-xln 16

Smell the Roses
This homeowner of this Birmingham home covered an arbor in ‘New Dawn’ roses. The walls of the home are covered in jasmine, clematis, and ivy.
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The View From Inside
To maximize the scene from their upstairs windows, which overlooks this arbor, the homeowners of this Hudson, New York, home planted a trumpet vine at each of the structure’s six posts.
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Garden Arbor
The homeowner of this Connecticut cottage built a fence close to the pool for intimacy, added evergreens for year-round structure, and varied the garden palette with complementary colors.
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A Green Entrance
Instead of a lawn, the homeowner of this Canadian cottage filled his front yard with a variety of plants. A gently winding gravel footpath leads visitors through the garden to the door of a whimsical—and practical—straw bale home.
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Stone Walkway
This 19th-century Italianate villa features a generous helping of lighthearted touches in the garden, like this walkway, to soften the stern edges and loosen up any lingering pomp. The homeowner planted alliums for its simple geometry.
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Room with a View
In the garden of this Philadelphia home, the outdoor “room with a view” is canopied by a trumpet vine, golden hops, and rose-bowered pergola, with concrete pavers laid down checkerboard style.
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Pedestrian Plants
In this Rhode Island garden, a variety called ‘Green Sheen’ surrounds the path to an office. A no-maintenance, evergreen ground cover that shines year-round and complements the sage woodwork of the 18th-century fanlight and door.
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Garden Path
Lush ornamentals and edibles were planted between the straight lines of paths in this Ohio garden, which artfully bind yard to house. Clipped boxwood and arborvitae, and a century-old stone lion, carved by an Ohio folk artist, define open-air rooms. White phlox and daisies bloom by the picket-fenced vegetable patch.
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Geometric Garden
Flowers are sprinkled throughout this Connecticut garden, from the bold prelude—a moody row of rose and clematis arbors—to herb beds anchored in ‘Fairy’ rose standards rising above fragrant heliotrope. The homeowner also devoted ample space for purple basil beside sweet, jalapeno, and paprika peppers.
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Secret Garden
With a structure to grow on, plants in this New York garden can create living walls that offer privacy and seclusion. Here, a cedar arbor boasts a dense covering of roses that forms a natural “roof,” while a boxwood shrub anchors the base of each column. The result is an intimate seating area that can be used for relaxing or dining.
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A Painterly Path
The passageway in this garden looks straight out of a storybook—and re-creating it requires almost no effort. In fact, the first step is simply letting an area grow wild. (If your plots bear, ryegrass seed will take care of the problem, fast.) Once the grass reaches great heights, plow a trail through it with a riding mower or weed wacker. From then on, a push mower can keep up appearances. And don’t worry about weed control or water; perfection’s not the point.54eb5eda74ff8_-_grass-pathway-gardening-idea-notebook-0712-xln 27

Think Outside the Boxwood
Instead of the usual prim suspects—boxwood, privet, holly—the designer of this Rhode Island garden composed the hedge with tall, breezy grasses. A seven-foot-tall maiden grass, along with several smaller stands of dwarf fountain grass, creates a sense of enclosure that has a fluid, almost musical effect.
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For More Information :
www.ayreslandscapesvcs.com
Ayres Landscape Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 1035
Chino, CA. 91708
Ph: 909-464-2535
Fax: 909-464-2537

Wednesday, 27 May 2015

Landscape Maintenance Services


Ayres Landscape Maintenance offers a large variety of services to help keep up your properties appearance or just allow you more free time.
From a simple raking of the lawn to clean up the leaves to a full maintenance program, we can customize our services to meet your needs and stay within your budget.
We can handle any size project from a simple planting bed to a complete renovation of existing beds including new planting, pruning, barking and edging.
All the services mentioned can be combined into a package that is best suited to your needs and requirements.
  • Residential, Commercial, Industrial
  • All Season Pruning
  • Gardening Services
  • Full and Partial Programs
  • Many Individual Items
  • Tailored To Any Budget
  • Customized To Meet Your Needs
Our design team works with you to create a landscape that complements and accentuates your home's style and special features.
We evaluate your property for proper drainage and runoff, and formulate a remediation plan to correct water-management problems.
We work with your existing survey to develop a grading plan.
A licensed architect creates a master site plan providing you with a clear definition of the "big picture" and the steps needed to complete it.
A certified horticulturist determines the best plants for your location and soil conditions, and recommends selections from hundreds of plant species and varieties.
At Ayres Landscapes Services we believe that service is our most valuable product. And it all begins with listening to you. That’s why an operations manager is assigned to every site. He’ll implement a maintenance schedule, suggest ways to enhance your community’s value and appearance, and discuss your future needs. The lines of communication are always open. Day or night, we’re only a phone call away.

Wednesday, 20 May 2015

Garden Maintenance Services by Ayres Landscapes

Gardens can become very difficult to manage if they are not regularly attended to. Nowadays many people simply do not have time to ensure that their garden is always at its best.
Whether you require one off help or regular maintenance services, we can ensure that you can enjoy your garden without all the hard work that is normally involved to keep it looking beautiful.
Our General Garden Maintenance services cover:
  • Pruning.
  •   Hedging - Reshaping, trimming and pruning.
  •   Leaf Clearing.
  •   Weed Control - Garden, Lawns, Paths and Driveways.
  •   Watering.
  •   Garden Tidy Ups.
  •   Power Washing - Driveways etc.
  •   Rubbish Removal.
  •   One-off tidies.
  •   General Maintenance.
  •   Garden Clearance.
Seasonal Garden Maintenance
We offer garden maintenance programs to care for your landscape and provide seasonal plantings that have colorful possibilities! Our residential and commercial clients enjoy our lush and vibrant displays in pots, containers and annual planting beds. These can be transitioned to fall and winter arrangements, as well.


How much will it cost?
Contact us and we can arrange a quick visit and provide you with an accurate quote for a quality service, If you would like us to call you at a suitable time you can arrange this by clicking here, alternatively phone or e-mail us using the contact details at the top of this page.

Trimming and Pruning Methods

Our trimming methods involve mostly hand pruning and shearing. We prune out dead or diseased branches, thin out old woody stalks to create more light openings for the younger/heather stalks, and shear off an adequate amount of foliage to create the desired shape. Each plant has different needs. We prefer not to prune shrubs into “hockey puck shapes”, since it does not follow the natural growth pattern of most plants.

"Please give us the opportunity to demonstrate our services to your organization and we promise to only give you the best quality of landscape design and maintenance at the best price with the friendliest of services to assist you. Thank- you and I hope to be serving you soon with all your landscaping needs."

Thursday, 23 April 2015

Up Your Home's Curb Appeal with Front-Yard Landscaping


Successful landscaping goes well beyond a beautiful lawn. See 12 pro tips for showing off your front yard
Your front yard, regardless of its size, plays an important role in your home’s overall curb appeal. Your landscaping, however, goes well beyond just a beautiful lawn. It should take into account the style and size of your house, how it’s sited on the property, the amount of sunlight the yard receives and how to best enhance it with plantings, bushes, shrubs and trees. It should also include hardscaping features, from walkways and driveways to raised beds, planters and decorative containers.
What are the best practices for front-yard landscaping? To learn more, we reached out to Dorian Winslow, a certified landscape designer and the owner and president of Womanswork, an online retailer of gardening apparel and supplies. Here are her 12 tips for successful front yard landscaping.

1. Find your focus

Every view in your landscape should have a focal point. “For your front yard, the focal point is the front door, so be sure you don’t hide it,” advises Winslow. If you are considering major plantings such as trees, think about how they will frame the front door as you approach your house.

2. Use ground covers

Ground covers are a low-maintenance alternative — and complement — to grass. “Because they’re low to the ground and dense, they give a neat appearance with very little maintenance,” says Winslow. “They also allow you to introduce spring bulbs to your landscape because the ground cover hides the dead leaves after the bulbs bloom.” Be sure you research what ground covers work (culturally) with the trees in your yard.

The path is curved, but not meandering, to lead visitors to the front door. Source: Eduardo Mendoza

3. Set the right path

When considering the pathway from the driveway to your front door, Winslow says to “remember that our natural instinct is to take the most direct route to where we’re going.” A curved path to the front door is nice, but a meandering path may not be. “If you want to take your visitors on a circuitous route, be sure you plant densely along each side of your path,” she adds. “Otherwise, your guests will cut their own path across your grass to get to the front door.”

4. Rethink foundation plants

“Avoid treating foundation plants as if they were little soldiers pressed up along the perimeter of your house,” advises Winslow. “For a two-story house, foundation plantings should extend at least 8 feet out from the house.” And remember, a curved garden bed can soften the lines of your house in a pleasing way. Be sure the shrubs that are placed closest to your house are not taller than the windows, or they will block the light coming into your house and the view from inside looking out. When you’re planting shrubs, think about how they will look in three to five years. “You don’t want to select varieties that will block your windows,” she adds.

5. Add some privacy

If you are looking to add some privacy in your yard, consider a buffer of shrubs, suggests Winslow. “A buffer that includes multiple plants at varying heights can accomplish the same thing as a solid hedge or a fence but is far more welcoming,” says Winslow. Alternatively, if you are just trying to block the view from a particular room — or a part of your yard from your neighbors — plant a couple of trees or shrubs with strategic precision.

6. Deter the deer

If deer are an issue, select shrubs that are deciduous (lose their leaves in the winter) but retain their form even when their leaves are gone. This will help preserve the structure of your garden in all seasons.

7. Consider the light

“Your house is a large object that will block the sun for part of every day,” notes Winslow. If your house faces north, the front yard is never going to get great light. If it faces east or west, it may get searing sun for part of the day and then no sun for the remainder. Make your plant choices with that in mind, advises Winslow.
Pavers dress up the edges of this driveway. Source: All Oregon Landscaping

8. Think long term

If you’re planting trees in front of your house, plan 12 to 15 years out. They are considered a permanent fixture of the landscape, so you want to be sure they are not too close to the house. “If you are thinking of selling your house, a tree can be an asset — unless it is one that prospective owners think they will have to remove; then it’s a liability,” cautions Winslow.

9. Dress up the drive

If you have a standard asphalt driveway that you want to enhance, install a border of Belgian blocks (more expensive) or cement pavers (less expensive) along the edges of your driveway. A border gives the driveway a more finished and rich look.

10. Create an entrance

“If your driveway is a straight line from the street to the house,” says Winslow, “soften the line with a curved planting bed where the driveway meets the front corner of your yard.” This will create a pleasing, sweeping effect as you approach the house.

11. Add a flowering tree

A flowering tree provides wonderful curb appeal and is welcoming for those few weeks in spring when it’s in bloom. Flowering varieties provide fragrance and usually don’t block the house, because they tend to be smaller trees.

12. Keep it simple

Don’t crowd your front yard with lots of objects or plants. Have a clear structure to the design and a focal point.

Wednesday, 8 April 2015

How to Repair Your Lawn


Diagnose the Lawn Problem

Figure out why you need to repair your lawn. If you don't determine the problem, fixing your lawn could be a waste of time. For example, if grubs are the problem, you'll need to treat for them before laying a new lawn. But if too much shade is the problem, you're better off forgetting a lawn and investing in low-maintenance shade-loving ground covers instead.

Give Your Lawn a Fresh Start

If more than half of your lawn is screaming for help, start from scratch. Spray the lawn with an herbicide containing glyph sate (be sure to follow all directions on the packaging). It kills all vegetation but allows new turf to re-establish quickly

 

Mow the Lawn Low

Wait a couple of weeks after applying the herbicide, then mow the turf as short as you can. It may seem counterintuitive to really scalp it as you repair a lawn, but this low mowing leaves the area with short, dead plants, to prevent erosion, and keeps the dead plants from shading your new lawn too much.

 

Rake, Rake, Repeat

Next step in how to repair your lawn: Visit your local rental center and get a power rake. Don't worry, it's not as bad as it sounds -- many models are as easy to handle as the average lawn mower. To save yourself frustration, ask the clerk to show you how to adjust the blades.



You want to leave just the barest layer (about 1/4 inch) of thatch on the ground. Then rake off the remaining debris and compost it. You'll know you've raked enough when you see equal amounts bare soil and dead grass stems. Then spread a thin layer of compost over the soil and rake it in evenly.

Seed the Lawn

Now it's time to plant your lawn. If you're using seed, follow the instructions on the package to determine how much seed to use. This is important: Not enough, and your lawn will be thin and scraggly. To make the seed application uniform, spread half the seed in a north/south direction, then turn around and apply the other half in an east/west direction. This will lessen the likelihood that you'll end up with bare spots.


If you're installing sprigs or plugs, it's just a matter of digging little holes and plopping the plants in place. Cut a small trench for sprigging and using a transplanter tool for plugs. You can usually buy this little tool from the same place you purchased the plugs.

Deter New Weeds in the Lawn

This is an optional step, but it's pretty easy and usually worth the effort when you repair a lawn. Apply a pre-emergence herbicide containing siduron. This product will prevent crabgrass seeds from sprouting, yet allow lawn grass seed to grow. Note: If you renovate in fall, this isn't necessary, because crabgrass is mainly a problem in spring.

 Water a Repaired Lawn Well

When everything is planted, your task is to keep the repaired lawn moist. For the first week or so after planting, be sure the soil does not go dry. After the grass is up and growing, it's like the story of the three bears: You don't want the area too dry or too soggy, but just moist. This may mean watering a couple of times a day early on (for short, five-minute applications). Over time, you can go to a once-a-day watering for 10 or 15 minutes. It's important that the moisture be applied evenly so that your seed doesn't wash away, creating bare spots.

Feeding Your Repaired Lawn

When the grass shoots are about an inch tall, apply a starter fertilizer to encourage growth. The same goes for sprigs and plugs: After you see a couple of new shoots, apply fertilizer. But be sure to wait until there's growth -- you can burn roots if you fertilize too early.

Start Mowing Your New, Repaired Lawn

When the grass is about 3 inches tall, give it its first mowing. This will discourage weeds and encourage the spread of your grass. This simple step makes a huge difference in the success of the project!

Be sure the mower blade is sharp the first time you mow; a dull blade could rip the seedlings right out of the ground. Then mow as normal once the grass is the height you want it. For the health of your turf, don't cut off more than a third of the leaf length in any one mowing