Feeling guilt for under-spending during the first round of holiday consumption?  Don’t try to compensate by eating more cookies or adding another plastic snowman to the front lawn.  Take on a landscaping project! Veggie Gardens Now is an excellent time to start a new veggie garden to get ready for spring planting in February/March.  We’ve [...]

The nerve of some people.  It can really get a man down.  Like, let’s say you want to shake somebody down for a little cash, and at the same time, want to dig some holes in their yard to bury some living things.  Some people have to take this beautiful concept and make it complicated and messy with petty [...]

We have two 30-gallon Texas Mountain Laurels left over from a project, and they’re looking for a new home. They are about 5′ tall (once they’re in the ground) and 5′ wide. They can take full sun or shade.  Austin native.  Will become small 12-15′ trees, bloom purple clusters in spring.  Evergreen. $200 installed.  First [...]

The Wildflower Center, American Society of Landscape Architects, and the United States Botanic Garden have completed a four-year colaboration to create guidelines and a measuring tool for sustainability in the landscape.  Their 232-page document establishes a rating system for new or renovation landscape projects, encouraging sustainable practices from planning stages, through construction, and through ongoing maintenance once [...]

Organic landscape maintenance programs usually focus on restoring natural balances in soils.  In most of Austin, we can count on a few general assumptions (highly disturbed, alkaline clay soils with minimal organic material) to create a general soil restoration plan.   Topdressing the lawn with compost will add organic material, beneficial microbes, and nutrients, and is our favorite clutch shooter [...]