With fall comes cooler weather and less daylight hours. Leaves are changing, temperatures are dropping and the holidays are coming up quickly! Your landscape can complement the season with usability and interest. Here are our top two landscaping trends for fall.

Warm colored flowers

Mums are a great way to tie in fall colors to your landscape. Mums, Pansies and Asters do exceptionally well in the cooler weather. Mums come in a wide variety of colors and can create focal points within your landscape beds. Use just one or all three of these flowers and you'll have wonderful pops of colors until the first hard frost!

Lit-up Landscapes

Not only does elegant outdoor lighting draw attention to a homes' exterior and landscape, but it also provides safety lighting for residents and visitors. Landscape lights come in a variety of light fixture styles and colors and you can select your lights to compliment your homes' ambiance. Properly planned lighting systems provide enjoyable surroundings when entertaining and, even when it's too cold to go outside, they create an interesting and pleasing view through the winter season. Additionally, color-changing LED lighting systems allow for instant color changes during holiday seasons, special events and can also be used to enhance landscape colors.

Use either of these landscaping trends and your landscape will be a hit this season!

Now that summer's over, it's time to prepare your lawn for fall! Here are some tips to keep your lawn healthy as it begins to get colder.

Aerate

Core Aeration allows nutrients and water to penetrate compacted soil. Aerating combined with fertilization in the Fall establishes a healthy foundation for next Springs' lawn growth. Below are some other reasons why aeration is important:

•Core Aeration allows for gas exchange, and promotes drainage. 

•Aerated lawns are stronger and more able to endure harsh conditions such as excess heat and droughts. 

•Core Aeration helps to relieve compaction all over your lawn, and is especially beneficial for high traffic areas. 

Select a slow-release, NO phosphorus Fertilizer

A hot summer can deplete your lawn's nutrients. Replenishing your lawn with nitrogen and potassium in the fall helps to create a nutrient base, promoting a healthy lawn early in the warmer seasons. 

•Nitrogen promotes protein growth.  

•Be sure to select a NO phosphorus fertilizer. Public Act 299 of 2010 prohibits the use of phosphorus fertilizers on residential or commercial lawns, beginning January 1, 2012. 

•Potassium helps prevent wilting and assists in additional protein growth. 

Slow-release fertilizers release Nitrogen over time, providing nutrients for a longer period of time and limiting the amount of salt running off into ground water.  

Don't cut too low

Not only can cutting too low lead to burnt grass, but it can also impact the way your grass grows. Cutting grass blades to 3” or more promotes healthy root growth. Leaving the clippings on the lawn recycles nitrogen back into the soil.

Be mindful

Excess fertilizer can be harmful to water supply. Sweep loose fertilizer into the lawn and keep fertilizer 20 feet away from storm drains. 

It's never too early to begin preparing! Following these tips now should help ensure your grass will come back healthy and beautiful in the Spring!

Last month may have been Smart Irrigation Month, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't always be smart about preserving water and saving money! 

Start Smart

Hiring a certified irrigation professional and insisting on high-quality components is the smart way to make sure your system will operate at peak efficiency for years to come. Always check references and confirm your contractor is properly insured.

Smart Planning and Planting

• Work with a certified irrigation contractor who has experience in your local area.
• Consider local climate conditions, as well as your lot's exact features. Choose appropriate plant species that have lower watering requirements.
• Group plants with similar water needs close together and separate lawn areas irrigation zones from planting beds.
• Plan your irrigation zones carefully. Be sure that your system will have enough capacity, now and in the future. The more irrigation zones you plan, the more you can tailor watering even if you modify landscaping.

Smart Scheduling and Watering

• Schedule each individual zone in your irrigation system to account for sun, shade and wind exposure. 
• Consider soil type, which affects the how quickly water can be applied and absorbed without runoff. 
• Make sure you're not sending water down the drain. Set sprinklers to water plants, not your driveway, sidewalk, patio or buildings. 
• Water at the right time of day. Watering when the sun is low, winds are calm and temperatures are cooler minimizes evaporation by as much as 30 percent. The best time to water is during early morning hours.

Smart Maintenance 

• Check that sprinkler heads are high enough to clear plants that may have grown taller since the system was installed.
• Adjust spray patterns and positions to make sure they aren't watering “hardscapes” like sidewalks and buildings.
• Evaluate pressure and adjust as needed so sprinklers work optimally to distribute the water.

As D.A. Alexander & Company knows, a well-designed outdoor space serves as an extension of your home, bringing the indoors outdoors during any season.  The addition of a fire feature brings your space to life, anchors your space visually, and naturally functions as a gathering spot. There are many options when considering a fire feature for your outdoor space, each bringing a unique style, aesthetic quality and function.

Classic fireplaces and pits come in all shapes and sizes. There's a wide range of fully customizable, modular fireplace kits that make the installation process easy whether you choose wood burning or gas fueled.  Consider a built-in, raised pit made from stone, brick or slate with a 360° or 180° degree retaining-wall seat to comfortably accommodate friends and family while entertaining. Fireplace kits give designers the option of building your fireplace entirely from retaining block, or attaching a stone façade to a prefabricated concrete insert. Modular fireplaces can be fully customized to include additional options such as wood storage boxes, pizza ovens, waterfalls and extended table tops. Modular kits also come in a wide range of colors and patterns to match the exterior of your home. 

Fire pits can also be gas or wood burning. Gas fueled fire inserts also come in a variety of shapes and sizes including, linear, star-shaped, half-moon, fish-eye or wave-shaped for masonry pits. Some manufacturers offer all-in-one units built into prefabricated outdoor furniture such as dining tables or benches. When selecting a gas-fueled fireplace or fire pit, you can choose from lava rock and fire glass to add beauty and intrigue to your fire feature. Smooth, rough and reflective fire glass comes in a variety of sizes and colors. 

For smaller spaces, portable steel fire-pits, chimineas, or bronze or copper fire bowls offer aesthetic value and functionality without the permanence and can be relocated as your space evolves. 

Contact D.A. Alexander to learn about the full range of fire feature options to fit your unique style and space.  

Soil is essential to plant health and growth.  People are accustomed to buying soil for their annual pots and gardens. The same consideration should also be given to the soil used in the landscape.

Here are three reasons why proper soil installation is important:

1. Proper soil installation provides a better environment for roots and plant growth.

Improvement of soil structure, water holding capacity and availability of nutrients are important for plants to grow. The better the soil texture, the better root growth.

2. Plants will grow more uniformly.

Proper soil installation allows for equal nutrients to be provided to you landscape plants creating a more uniform growth habit.

3. Soil amendments help achieve healthier color display.

Good drainage, adequate nutrients and available water will allow for annuals, perennials and other flowering plants to become more vibrant in color. Southeastern Michigan has a range of native soils that are not often ideal for non-native plants. Amending native soils will help achieve the drainage, nutrient and water retention for an ideal environment. 

Landscape using proper soil - at the time of installation.

Same landscape two years later, showing abundant growth and vibrance in plant color.

Welcome to Michigan; unexpected waves of heat, followed by frosty mornings, humidity and rain will keep you on your toes and leave you wondering when to plant your annual flowers. Factor in full sun, partial sun, partial shade and full shade requirements and annual flower options become overwhelming. Here are our suggestions for annual flower success.

Planting Time:

Generally spring annual flowers in Michigan are planted between Mother's day and Memorial Day. Planting after Mother's day reduces the risk of frost damage. Frost is still possible; be alert to frost warnings and cover annual flowers with a sheet or thin plastic to prevent damage. Remove coverings the next morning so your annuals don't bake in the sun.

Full Sun:

Cleome (spider flower): A tall annual, 24-48”, often used as a “thriller” in containers is heat and drought tolerant. Cleome bloom from planting to frost. 

Part Sun:

Lobularia (sweet alyssum): Highly fragrant small blooms cover this plant all season long and no deadheading required! Sweet Alyssum can also grow in full sun and is most commonly found with white flowers though lavender, darker purple and sometimes pink shades are available.

Shade:

Coleus: Grown for its beautiful foliage colors, Coleus can be used as a border plant in containers or in masses. 

Full Sun, Part Sun, Shade:

Wax Begonia: A homerun annual that can grow in just about any light requirement, wax begonia are used for mass plantings, edging, borders, containers and hanging baskets. Available with white, pink or red flowers, wax begonia have either shiny bronze or green leaves. The showy flowers bloom from May to October. 

Technology is advancing in all facets of our lives; our cars, electronic devices, inside our homes and now, outside our homes in the form of irrigation sensors. Hunter Industries helps “take the storm head on” by providing sensors, including wireless options, to turn your controller into a “smart” controller, making sure your system performs at the most optimal times. 

Good:  Rain Sensor

These rain-sensing devices collect a specific amount of moisture before activating a switch to shut off the system altogether. Only once the sensor dries out does your irrigation controller start to water again. These simple rain sensors are a good option for many residences and business, preventing watering during rainy weather.

Better:  Soil Sensor

Soil sensors are buried into the ground where they measure moisture. This is a better option when considering sensors since the moisture measurement is being taken where it matters most, in the plant root zone.

Best:  Hunter Solar Sync ET Sensor

We rank this sensor best due to its affordability, ease of installation, rain and freeze sensor shutdown abilities and Evapotranspiration (ET) properties. Evapotranspiration, a word you can impress your kids with, is the process by which water is transferred from the land to the atmosphere by evaporation from the soil and other surfaces and by transpiration from plants. The Solar Sync uses historical ET data, gathers current data and automatically adjusts your programmed run times daily based on this information.

Transforming your controller to a “smart” controller will conserve water and keep your lawn and landscape properly irrigated giving you peace of mind and money savings!

We are starting to see longer days of sunshine and before we know it, spring bulbs will start to emerge from the previously frozen ground while buds take over the once bare trees. Keeping your landscape healthy and looking its best requires care not only spring through fall. Pruning plants during winter months is an essential element to this goal. Inside every plant is a work of art waiting to bloom!

6 Reasons to Winter Prune

1. Branch structures of plants can be seen more easily when the leaves aren't in the way. This allows easier identification of crossing stems, dead branches, and stems growing in awkward directions all of which contribute to clumsy looking plants. 

2. The chance of transmitting diseases reduces in the winter since most bacteria is dormant at this time. 

3. Cuts caused by pruning heal faster during the winter. Your plants have more stored energy to direct to healing the wound. 

4. Old and overgrown shrubs can be rejuvenated by pruning to 6-12” above ground, allowing new growth to generate from the base of the plant.

5. Winter pruning reduces the amount of buds on the plants, a good thing, allowing the remaining buds to grow more vigorously in the spring.

6. The risk of injury to other plants is lessened as annual and perennial plant types have not yet emerged.

Downpour? Bury that Downspout. Three Reasons Why!
 

Michigan is staying true to its reputation of unpredictable weather and has given its residents the gift of nonstop rain, ice, snow and a mix of all three for the past month. 
 

You may have noticed your lawn turning from a winter wonderland to a muddy mayhem. The water needs to go somewhere and with frozen ground the options are more limited. 

Pooling water is not only an eyesore but has the potential to cause even larger problems. A measure we recommend to reduce potential water problems is burying your downspouts. 

Why Bury? Three reasons.

1. Buried downspouts direct roof water collected in your gutter system away from the foundation of your home preventing water from entering.  
 

2. Buried downspouts are more aesthetically pleasing and help the landscape curb appeal of your home. 
 

3. Buried downspouts eliminate the hazard of above-ground downspout extensions. Above-ground extensions can pose a trip hazard and also typically discharge onto hard surfaces, creating the ideal location for ice patches in colder months.

We recommend hiring a professional to bury your downspouts. Professionals have access to high grade materials, know how to slope the downspouts away from your home properly and, let's be honest, the process is very labor intensive.
 

There are plenty of professional contractors to choose from and D.A. Alexander & Company, Inc. is here to help when you need it!