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What to Consider When Interviewing and Hiring a Professional Landscaper

March 7, 2024November 4, 2019 by The Parke Company

Whether it’s tree removal, irrigation system repair, or other landscaping services, hiring the right person to do the job is paramount to your project’s success. When you’re deciding who to hire for your next landscaping project, you’d benefit from doing a bit more than a few minutes of scrolling through Yelp reviews.

Here are a few things you should consider when interviewing and hiring a professional landscaper.

The Interview

This phrase may be catching you off-guard. An interview with my landscaper? Chances are that you have rarely, if ever, interviewed a prospective business to complete work on your house.

While this may seem like a strangely formal step, interviewing contractors and other home renovation services is fairly normal. With projects like landscaping and renovation, high costs require that you find the exact person right for your job. It would be a tragedy to spend large amounts of money for a project that fails to live up to your expectations, or fails entirely.

What to Think About

Price Range

Even if a landscaping service provider has stellar reviews, those four or five stars come at a price. Certain projects with a high aesthetic value may warrant paying top dollar. Flower beds or hardscapes like fountains and patios aren’t projects that you want to start over, and they can be massive eyesores if not done correctly.

When you need a project completed perfectly because of the visual effect it will have on your property, you may find yourself willing to spare no expense to get your project done. In other cases, like tree removal or stump grinding, the visual impact a certain project will have on your property is less important. Chances are, you’re more concerned with the task being completed quickly and at a low cost.

If your interview with a landscaper involves them listing off a million different secret costs, you may want to look elsewhere. Be aware of a landscaper that tries to nickel and dime you by suggesting additions to your project; they may not be the one you’re looking for.

Desired Project

It goes without saying that what your project is should be something you take into consideration when hiring a professional landscaper.

Ask your landscape architect if or how many times they have completed a project like this one before. You may be able to flip through a portfolio of their work so you can get an idea of what their skills are. If they have never completed a project like the one you’re requiring, this may be a sign that you want to look elsewhere. Even so, if the landscaping professional is still keen on your project regardless of their experience, this may be an opportunity to talk down the price since you’re taking a risk on their inexperience.

Schedule

The most demoralizing moment arises when you’ve found the perfect landscaping professional at an ideal cost but their only open availability isn’t for six months.

It is vital that your schedule and the schedule of your landscaper are compatible. This is important on a macro scale in order to get the project started in a timely manner, but it should also work on a micro level to ensure that completion of the project won’t interfere with your daily schedule.

When you interview a landscaping professional, it is important to ensure that their staff is flexible enough to work with your schedule to complete your next project.

If you’re preparing your property to sell or simply trying to improve the look and feel of your home, you don’t want to handle landscaping projects on your own. It’s vital that you hire the right landscaping professional to ensure that your projects are completed in a way that fits your budget, price point, and expectations.
The folks at The Parke Company are precisely the professionals to get that done. Our arborists and landscape artists are skilled professionals able to meet the needs of your unique property. Give us a call (615-350-6033) or contact us online today to see how The Parke Company difference can work for you.

Six Care Tips for your Newly Installed Landscaping Feature

March 7, 2024October 9, 2019 by The Parke Company

The Parke Company landscaper trimming a hedge

Landscape installations are a surefire way to add visual interest to your property without completely overhauling the look of your home.

Installations come in a variety of forms. They can be softscapes: adding trees, shrubs, flowers and other foliage to your landscape. You may also elect to install hardscapes: things like walkways, pavement, rocks and ponds. Or, perhaps your new landscape installation could consist of decor like outdoor lighting, water features, or tree hangings.

Whatever type of landscape installation you decide on, it’s important that these featured pieces stay as beautiful a year from now as they are when they’re first put in.

Here are six care tips for your new landscaping feature.

Best Ways to Maintain a New Landscape Feature

1. Lawn Maintenance

Aside from the obvious ones, there are plenty of reasons to keep your lawn maintained. Other than keeping a pristine lawn for aesthetic purposes, the health of your landscape can be compromised if you do not take good care of your grass.

By choosing the appropriate mower height and keeping your lawn at the optimal level, you reduce your risk for weeds to grow in grass that is stressed or unhealthy.

Weeds left to their own devices can infiltrate your new landscaping feature over time. Your once beautiful walkway may now be overrun by weeds and other uninvited pests.

Be sure to maintain your lawn to combat any plant life with malintent.

2. Brush Clearing

Similar to maintaining a tidy lawn, it is also important to clear brush regularly.

When dead leaves and foliage stay on the ground unattended, there is a significant risk of mildew and fungus growth. If you have a water feature nearby, moist environments can be severely compromised by the presence of these invaders.

Piles of leaves and brush can be a convenient home for small rodents and pests. Naturally, these unwanted guests might also make a home in your new fountain or rock feature. Keeping brush and foliage maintained can help circumvent this risk and keep critters at bay.

3. Check Irrigation

Faulty irrigation systems can present a real problem for property owners. Not only can irrigation systems that dispense too much or too little water damage the plant life of your property, they can also cause significant structural damage to landscaping features.

If your irrigation system isn’t working correctly, this can have an adverse effect on your water features, resulting in sky-high water bills. You may also find that your landscaping features suffer water damage from a leaky sprinkler system.

Having your irrigation system evaluated by a professional could help you avoid unsightly damage.

4. Tree Trimming

Tree trimming on your property is a great way to ensure that your landscaping features shine.

Ponds filled with dead leaves are unsightly, and it would be a tragedy for your beautiful outdoor lighting fixtures to meet their end at the hands of a fallen branch.

Be sure to get your trees trimmed regularly to avoid damage.

5. Energy Conservation

Conserving energy is a great decision for any reason, but it can also do a lot to maintain the health of your new landscaping feature.

Particularly with features like lighting or fountains that are supported by electricity, conserving energy can help to ensure that your features don’t run themselves ragged and that all pieces and parts stay operational for as long as possible.

6. Expert Advice

Ultimately, it’s hard to notice every flaw or red flag in a property where you spend every day. Hiring an extra set of eyes for your landscaping services could be just the ticket to ensure that no issue goes unnoticed and every problem is attended.

The experienced arborists at The Parke Company are well-versed in what it takes to properly maintain landscaping features through high-quality landscaping services. From installation to repair, our experts are here to ensure that your property stays beautiful.
Give us a call (615-350-6033) or contact us online today to see how The Parke Company difference can work for you.

Kid and Pet-Friendly Pest Control for Your Lawn and Garden

March 7, 2024October 7, 2019 by The Parke Company

Maintaining a lawn and/or garden is a bit of a balancing act, requiring a delicate touch. That tightrope becomes even harder to walk when you have children and pets to worry about. A good number of traditional pesticides and pest control methods contain chemicals that can lead to acute or chronic illnesses in humans and domesticated animals. So, how can you keep your greenery lush and healthy without harming the ones you love by accident?

The answer: utilize kid- and pet-friendly pest control options for your lawn and garden. You may be surprised by all the different ways you can keep unwanted actors away from your property while maintaining the safety of your kids and pets. Let’s go over some of the best options for proper garden and lawn maintenance.

Safest Ways for Lawn Pest Control

Horticultural Oils and Soaps/Sprays

Though they might sound like cleaning products or perfumes, horticultural soaps and oils are actually plant-derived formulas designed to target small pests like aphids and mites. The best part about these products is that they don’t harm beneficial insects, humans, or pets. Insecticidal soaps can also be made from home materials like vegetable oil, pure dishwasher soap, and warm water. Just be sure to do your research and test your formula on a plant before using it on your entire garden.

Diatomaceous Earth

This naturally-occurring pesticide often comes in the form of a dust or powder made from fossilized diatoms, which are microscopic aquatic lifeforms. The tiny particles kill harmful pests by sucking away moisture and fat from their exoskeletons. Researchers remain hard at work looking for potential negative effects diatomaceous earth may have on pets and humans, but so far there is no compelling evidence. In fact, versions of this material are often used as flea medications for cats and dogs.

Organic Insect Killers (Pet- and Kid-Safe)

Not all store-bought pesticides are toxic to humans and pets. In fact, more and more insecticide manufacturers are now creating safer products, knowing that people care about the safety of their kids and pets. EcoSMART is one such brand creating effective solutions that are safe, environmentally-friendly, chemical-free, and made in the U.S. Look for products that are useful for all sizes of lawns and gardens.

Mulch with Straw or Compost

Some lawn problems can be solved without the use of pesticides. At the very least, using the right kind of mulch can mitigate the number of pests and weeds that enter your green spaces. Mulching with compost or straw is just one way to protect your lawn, garden, and family. Many landscape services offer these mulching options.

Plant Certain Species to allow Predatory Pests

Another way to keep bad bugs away is to cultivate a good environment for “good” bugs. That is to say, if you can stomach it, it’s not a bad idea to create a home for some predatory pests, as they will gladly take care of a great number of other, smaller pests. Setting up this little ecosystem requires much patience and knowledge, so you may want to seek help from lawn services that specialize in this form of natural pest control.
Keeping your lawn or garden pest-free doesn’t mean you need to risk harming your children or pets. If you’re looking for more solutions and advice on maintaining your home’s green spaces, The Parke Company has the resources, knowledge, and experience you need. We offer a wide range of landscaping and tree services, including lawn aeration, irrigation, tree removal, mulching, and so much more. Give us a call today at (615)-350-6033.

Lawn Mowing and Landscaping: Recommended Mowing Height

March 7, 2024October 4, 2019 by The Parke Company

When you consider what it takes to keep your lawn and landscaping beautiful and verdant, a few things might come to mind: ensuring everything gets the right amount of sun, weed and tree removal where necessary, and a proper irrigation system, to name a few.

What you may not have realized is that proper lawn mowing can be the key to circumventing serious lawn problems and ensuring that your entire landscape lives up to your design dreams. Here is what you need to know about recommended mowing height for expert lawn mowing and landscaping.

What to Know About Mowing Height

The Basics

In general, the “rule of thumb” for optimal lawn height is that grass should be about 2½ inches. It is believed that you should cut off about one third of the blade of grass when you mow. Doing a little math, that means you’ll probably want to cut your lawn when it’s around 3 ⅔ inches high.

Season and Climate

While the 2½ inches rule works well in the cooler months, you may want to let it grow even longer in the hotter months as water is less and less available.

Conversely, if you live in an area of high moisture, or if the winter months are coming soon, a low cut of grass can be much more beneficial in the long run.

Tall grasses trapped under piles of snow can ultimately lead to the infiltration of mold and fungus. It can also be a place that rodents burrow during the winter to seek refuge from frigid temperatures.

Cutting your lawn to a shorter length right before it is covered in snow can be immensely beneficial for avoiding some potential damage.

Hydration

If you want to keep your lawn lush and hydrated, consider letting it grow a little longer. According to the home and garden efficianados at The Spruce, a lawn that grows longer has more surface area on every blade of grass and therefore has more moisture reserves, protecting your lawn during periods of drought or when you want to take a little extra time between watering. These longer blades of grass retain water longer down to the roots and can self-sustain until the next rainfall much more efficiently that shorter lawns.

These longer blades also result in more extensive root systems that capitalize on photosynthesis more than shorter blades, fostering more expansive growth.

Tips and Tricks

One of the simplest (and most clever) tricks for making sure you’re cutting your lawn to the appropriate height is also from the brilliant folks over at The Spruce. They suggest marking the wheels on your lawn mower with the desired height.

Using a paint marker, draw a line indicating the height you want for your lawn and use that as a guide when you mow. (Just be sure to include arrows so you know which is the top and bottom of your line!)

While maintaining a healthy lawn isn’t rocket science, it can still be a tricky task. These tips can be a helpful guide to lawn maintenance, but sometimes the best route is to hire lawn services.

The experienced professionals at The Parke Company can help you assess your lawn and landscape to ensure that your lawn maintenance caters to your property’s unique needs.

Whether its tree removal, landscape design, or lawn care, give us a call (615-350-6033) or contact us online today to see how The Parke Company difference can work for you.

Preparing Your Home for Sale? Don’t Forget Your Lawn and Garden

March 7, 2024September 26, 2019 by The Parke Company

Freshly mowed lawn in front of house for sale

When selling your home, there are a million different things going through your mind. You need to finish up that retiling project you started a year ago. You need to finally clean out the attic and shed. You need to repaint the walls your kids scribbled over as toddlers.

While the laundry list of tasks to complete before your house is ready to go on the market may seem endless, there’s one important step you may have overlooked: preparing your lawn and garden.

The importance of curb appeal truly cannot be emphasized enough. Having a well-maintained landscape could mean the difference between a flood of offers and a complete dry spell. Prospective buyers won’t get a chance to see the beautiful job you’ve done renovating your home if they never make it past the brown patches in your lawn.

When you’re preparing your home for sale, don’t forget your lawn and garden. Here are a few things worth knowing.

Make Sure This is Done Before Selling a Home

Lawn

Not only is your lawn one of the first things that a prospective buyer will notice, it is also the largest feature of your landscape. If your lawn is unhealthy, tending to it is a much larger task than simply pulling a few dead plants.

Prospective buyers may be deterred by an unhealthy lawn because it foretells a massive undertaking to revitalize the entire square footage of your property.

If your lawn is in a sorry state and you’re preparing for a home sale, you have a few different options for mitigating this issue.

Installing an irrigation system is a simple way to ensure that your lawn will be nurtured back to health. Irrigation systems like in-ground sprinkling can be programmed so that you don’t have to worry about keeping the lawn watered while you’re juggling everything else you need to do before putting your house on the market. You can rest assured that your lawn will be a lush, attractive landscape in time for showings.

If all else fails and you’re quickly nearing house-showings, you may also want to consider sodding to replace the parts of your lawn that are beyond repair.

Trees

While the lawn of your property takes up the most square footage, your trees are the features that often stand out the most to a prospective buyer.

When someone looks at a home, they’ll be sure to consider whether or not they’ll have an expensive tree removal project on their hands in the near future.

Take inventory of the trees on your property. By hiring a certified arborist, you can ensure that your trees are properly evaluated so that any tree removal (or tree planting, possibly!) can be handled before a potential buyer lays eyes on your property.

Tending to the trees on your property helps reduce the risk that your landscape deters a potential buyer.

Garden

First and foremost, it is vital that you conduct a thorough sweep through any garden beds to remove unsightly brush and dead plants. Aside from the obvious aesthetic issues, a flower bed gone grey might lead a potential buyer to believe that there are issues with the soil or that you, the current homeowner, aren’t responsible enough to tend to the details of your property. If it doesn’t completely turn away a buyer, it may give them cause to low-ball an offer.

By wowing your prospective buyers with vibrant colors and tidy shrubbery, the first impression they have of your home is one of beauty and organization. Start off on the right foot with your potential buyers. It may even lead them to view the rest of your home in a positive light.

Preparing to sell a home is a highly emotional experience. You deal with the stress of paperwork, numbers, and the myriad of little to-dos that creep up along the way. All of this is compounded by the fact that leaving a beloved home can be incredibly painful, even if you’re moving on to bigger and better things.

As difficult as the moving process is, ensuring that your physical home is sufficiently prepared isn’t a task you should have to accomplish alone. The experienced professionals at The Parke Company are skilled and available to aid in the process of preparing your home for sale.

Give us a call (615-350-6033) or contact us online today to see how The Parke Company difference can work for you.