After the heat of the summer, when your perennials begin to look weathered and exhausted — or they're just falling over — it's time to grab your garden gloves and a spade to divide and solve the overcrowding problem.

Most perennials should be divided at some point. Often, your perennials need to be divided every two to three years. Otherwise, your blooms will be competing for nutrients and water and plants can outgrow their welcome. Many hardy perennials don't seem to skip a blooming beat once settled in a new location. Just fertilize regularly and add mulch when needed.

How do you know when to divide your blooms? Use this rule of thumb: If your perennials flower in spring and summer, fall is considered the ideal time to divide them. 

FOUR PERENNIALS TO DIVIDE IN THE FALL:

Sedum “Autumn Joy”: When there are so many blooms they are falling over it's time to divide. Once blooming is complete cut sedum to 6” above ground prior to dividing.  This allows for the plants to be more easily handled.  

Hosta: Divide Hosta after plentiful rain or a thorough watering the evening before so soil better adheres to the roots. September is a good month for most climates. Divide when Hosta look overcrowded in the space where planted.

Daylily: The best time to divide is when the clumps of stems provide fewer blooms throughout the season. Divide in late summer to early fall after the last flowering of the season. 

Siberian Iris: When the middle clumps stop producing blooms and the irises spread way beyond their boundaries, it's time to divide. Divide after the last bloom of the season.

There's nothing wrong with digging up these free perennials. Relocate the divided plant to a new spot or add them to a container in your garden. Dividing your plants is much easier than it seems and doesn't take much time. Who knew your landscape could produce so many more valuable plantings! 

In cooler regions such as Michigan, dig up the bulbs from plants such as Dahlias to store for the next season. Put peat moss in a ventilated box or bag, add the bulbs and move them to a dry place for safekeeping until you can plant them again.  

Next spring you'll be rewarded with new, more vigorous plants to share or add to your garden!

Fall Flowers 

If you're dreading the end of summer because it spells doom for all your beautiful flowers, dread no more.  To extend landscape color through the fall season, plant some of these varieties! 

1) Mums – mums are everyone's “go-to” solution for keeping the flower beds vibrant in the fall. They come in dozens of colors, so you can put them anywhere without worrying about how they'll impact the rest of your landscape.  They can be easily planted in pots on the porch or landscape beds to add color all over the yard.  Mums are very hardy plants and will keep flowering until about mid-November.  Buy plants that are full of tightly-clustered flower heads that haven't started to open yet. Put them in a sunny spot and keep them moist as they flower. 

2) Ornamental Cabbage and Kale – though people think of these plants as flowering, it is actually their leaves that provide the color and beauty.  Put them together in large plantings to show off their color, which develops best after frost. Buy plants that have short stems to prolong their growing season.  Kale is a drought-tolerant plant, but don't skip the water for too long or they will get stressed. 

3) Asters – this plant is very hardy and appears more daisy-like than mums. They are most commonly available in purple, white, and pink hues.

4) Pansies – a popular choice;  they're very colorful and last much longer into the cold weather.  Plant them now and enjoy them until the heat hits next summer. They'll get a little wilted when temperatures drop below freezing, but will perk right back up as soon as the sun works its magic.

 No matter what type of flower you choose, you can add some great color to your yard and keep your outside spaces inviting.  Before too long they will all be covered in white! 

There are three main benefits of trees:

1.       Health Benefits

2.       Environmental Benefits

3.       Financial Benefits

Yes, financial benefits!  Most people are familiar with the first two but the later you won't hear discussed as often.  We will break down the main points of each with some surprising statistics.

The Financial Benefit of Trees

The most tangible bang from your ‘bark' comes from energy savings.  Here are the statistics.

- “Trees properly placed around buildings can reduce air conditioning needs by 30 percent and can save 20-50 percent in energy used for heating.” – USDA Forest Service

- “If you plant a tree today on the west side of your home, in 5 years your energy bills should be 3% less.  In 15 years, the savings will be nearly 12%.” – Dr. E. Greg McPherson, Center for Urban Forest Research

Trees are responsible for increased property values.

- “Landscaping, especially with trees, can increase property values as much as 20 percent.”  – Management Information Services/ICMA

- “In one study, 83% of realtors believe that mature trees have a ‘strong or moderate impact' on the salability of homes listed for under $150,000; on homes over $250,000, this perception increases to 98%.” – Arbor National Mortgage & American Forests

- “Trees can be a stimulus to economic development, attracting new business and tourism.  Commercial retail areas are more attractive to shoppers, apartments rent more quickly, tenants stay longer and space in a wooded setting is more valuable to sell or rent.”  - The Arbor Day Foundation

Health Benefits of Trees

There is no denying trees are pretty to look at.  They flower, change colors and block unsightly views.

- “In laboratory research, visual exposure to settings with trees has produced significant recovery from stress within five minutes, as indicated by changes in blood pressure and muscle tension.”  -Dr. Roger S. Ulrich, Texas A&M University

They also produce oxygen.  How much exactly?

- “On average, one tree produces nearly 260 pounds of oxygen each year.  Two mature trees can provide enough oxygen for a family of four.” – Environment Canada, Canada's National Environment Agency

Environmental Benefits of Trees

Trees create habitats for wildlife, reduce soil erosion and prevent runoff from entering storm sewers amongst other things.

There are plenty of statistics to support these benefits but, by now I'm sure you've had your fill of facts for the day.  So, just take our word on this one!

It's easy to take for granted both trees and the many benefits they provide.  Our communities wouldn't be the same without them!

Landscape lighting has changed for the better.  With LED technology, fixtures are durable and the costly need to replace bulbs yearly has been eliminated.  Now is a great time to consider adding landscape lighting to your home. Choose a few accent fixtures or light an entire yard; landscape lighting will add value to your home.
1. Functionality.  Landscape lighting allows extended time outdoors. It makes possible sharing a conversation and spending time with your family and friends in your yard after the sun sets. Your relaxation time in the evening will not be cut short due to inadequate lighting.
2. Extend your living space. Your deck, patio, and outdoor kitchen are an extension of your living space. Enjoy them well into the night where reading a book, playing cards, or simply enjoying the outdoors wasn't previously possible.
3. Safety. Landscape lighting promotes safety in a number of ways. A well-lit home will discourages thieves, allows you to see into your yard at all hours of the night, highlights potential trip hazards such as steps and properly illuminates entryways for those late nights at the office.
4. Enhancements. Your lighting selections will enhance the overall appearance and set a tone for your home and landscape.  Cool white, warm white, and color options are available. Use landscape lighting to emphasize unique features of your home or landscape.
5. Décor.  Adding color technology fixtures to outdoor lighting looks spectacular. A subtle red tone on your Japanese Maple or blue tone to Skyrocket Junipers will make them pop.  Create warm venues around fire pits or bold lighting around a pool or spa.
6. Enhanced entertaining. Your parties and holidays will never be the same.  With color changing LED fixtures, lights change with the click of a button.  Sunday's football crowd will be impressed when your lights coordinate with your favorite team.  No need to go out in the cold to change the bulbs when the holidays come around; these fixtures are capable of change to full spectrum of colors.

Your landscape is your outdoor home environment. The same care used to build your home is necessary when installing your landscape. A professional landscape design will be to scale, show placement of items such as plant material, bed lines, and retaining walls, and will list quantity and variety of materials.  The design can be used universally as the blueprint for how your landscape needs to be installed.

Imagine remodeling your kitchen by just buying things that look nice and hoping they work together.  It may work out but more than likely it wouldn't, causing quite the headache.  Would you even consider hiring a contractor to remodel your kitchen who didn't present an organized design?  The same can be said for your landscape contractor. Professional landscape contractors have the training, experience, and ability to develop an organized landscape design.

The value of a proper landscape design is often overlooked.  Improperly designed landscapes can cost some significant money to correct, sometimes even more than the initial landscape itself.  Your professional design will take into account the grade of your lot, where land engineered swales are located, the growth habit and climate preferences of plant material, and HOA landscape standards. This will help to avoid future costs such as tree removal for trees planted too close to your home, drainage installation to aid in moving water since there is now landscaping in your swale preventing the swale from doing its job, and sometimes complete re-installation of your landscape if it doesn't meet HOA requirements.

Professional landscape contractors will schedule an appointment to meet at your home to discuss your landscape needs and wants; they will need a plot plan or mortgage survey so have one available. It is also common practice for professional landscape contractors to charge a design fee. You can ask before you schedule an appointment if a design fee applies.

The end result... a beautiful outdoor space to be enjoyed for years to come!

Create a beautiful planter in your garden!

Decorative planter pots are a great way to add colorful interest and height to your landscape.  Many different planter styles are readily available at nursery centers, home and specialty stores. You may already have some in your own garage! The following varieties of planter pots are most common:

Ceramic or terra-cotta:

The fun part... planting the flowers!  Don't be shy, just dive right in!  When picking your plants, choose plants that have close to the same lighting needs (i.e.: full sun or partial shade).  Pick plants you enjoy and don't worry about trying to match.  They're flowers... they match everything!  Most planters contain a tall plant in the middle for height with several shorter or trailing varieties surrounding.  These are your planters so do what you like. Watering is also an important factor in keeping your plants healthy.  Once a day, set aside some time to water your planters and you'll be on your way to growing beautiful arrangements!

The right plant for the right place.

As with many things, it pays to plan ahead when designing your landscape.  Like you and I, plants have requirements in order to thrive.  Healthy plants will resist disease, require less water, and add to the value of your home.  When deciding on plant varieties it is important to keep a couple things in mind to give those plants what they need to thrive in your yard. 

What type of soil do you have?  Is your soil clay, sand, or something in-between?  Complete clay is hard, compacts easily and will retain water near the roots which can lead to drowning of the plant.  Sand drains easily causing water to pass through too quickly not allowing the plant to absorb what they need.  A happy medium can be achieved by amending the soil with a plant mix to give it a good balance. 

Sun exposure is important. Each plant has sun requirements.  A plant requiring full sun will not perform in a shade environment. 

Additionally, large trees, other buildings, wind, and sunlight patterns play roles in plant survival. For example a home which faces north will not receive direct sunlight in the front yard.  Shade tolerant plants should be used.  Japanese Maple trees shouldn't be planted in the direct path of winter winds.  Information on the specific plant requirements can be found on the plant tag.  Plant tags contain plant names, soil requirements, sun requirements, and mature plant size.  Some garden centers and growers provide plant tag information online as well.  

Armed with all of your new knowledge of soil type and sun exposure it is time to venture off to the garden center or nursery. Of course if you have questions ask a garden center associate or your landscaper.  Have fun, get outside and enjoy some complimentary Vitamin D!