Pasadena Project
This project won 2 awards from the California Landscape Contractors Association in 2008. It won for best Design/Build and Best Estate Landscaping. This project was designed by Rich Riedel and Mark Meahl.

The owner is a developer who knew what he wanted, understood the construction process, appreciated that the rock work was done artistically and not as a production product. Todd Leibl (ex-president of the California Building Contractors Association) brought his extensive experience, management abilities and people skills to the project, his wife Elaine was a pleasure to work with.

The rock work was accomplished by mixing boulders and large slabs of stone that we carved to appear like boulders. This is much more attractive and infinitely longer lasting than using artificial boulders (Garden View rarely uses fake rock). Also this process did not require the extra engineering the pool would have needed to support the heavy boulders and it also reduced the need for the equipment necessary to place heavy boulders.

WISTERIAS (left):
On established plants, this is the time of the first of three annual prunings. A good schedule for these three prunings is June, August and December. Cut any and all unwanted new growth to three buds above last years resting point. The point where the current years growth began and last years ended can be located by noticing the change in the stem/bark color. This pruning should be done to encourage flower bud development and to contain the size of the plant.

CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANTS (right):
Be very cautious irrigating most of our native plants during the summer. Most are adapted to a wet winters and dry summer moisture cycle. Too frequent irrigations now (especially in soils with a clay content) will most likely cause problems.

AZALEAS:
Keep azaleas well irrigated now that the weather is warming up. Azaleas are shallow rooted and will dry out quickly. Avoid cultivating or allowing other plants to grow in competition with the roots.

COLEONEMA - BREATH OF HEAVEN (left):
Trim after its main blooming season: Spring and early summer. It still will bloom sporadically through the warm months but you can keep it compact and increase the quality of blooms in the future by pruning now.

SALVIA LEUCANTHA (right):
This plant has abundant blooms for a long season. Prune sparingly now to limit plant size and renew flower stems. Limit watering now to enough to keep it alive, it may be able to survive nicely on watering only once every two weeks. Remove blossoms as soon as they fade.

HYDRANGEA (left):
Big leaf type hydrangea set their flower buds at the ends of the upright or lateral branches, during late summer to early fall. Big leaf hydrangea should be pruned as soon as the flowers have faded. Pruning hydrangea in the spring or even late fall, after the buds have been set, will remove the flower buds and any chance of getting flowers that season.
You should begin to see new growth coming in from the base of the plant. To keep the plant vigorous, selectively prune out the dead and weaker stems, both old and new. Don't prune out all the old wood, since this is what will keep flowering as the new growth matures.

PELARGONIUMS - GERANIUMS (right):
Remove faded flowers regularly to encourage new blooms.

CARE FOR CHRYSANTHEMUMS (left):
For the last time, pinch growing tips this month. Continue regular feeding and generous watering.

PRUNE CORAL TREES:
Thin coral trees (Erythrina) now before strong winds in fall. Thinning is important for those growing in lawns or where water is plentiful their growth is faster and wood is softer.

GROUND COVERS (left):
Trim Vinca Major and other ground covers after they've finished blooming.

DIVIDE IRIS (right):
Lift, wash, and separate three to four year old clumps of bearded iris. Throw away spongy rhizomes, and let cut ends of healthy rhizomes heal several hours or a day before replanting. Cut tops off leaves to compensate for root loss. Set rhizome top just below soil surface; point the end with leaves in the direction you want growth.

DECIDUOUS FRUIT TREES:
Do your last thinning on deciduous fruit trees after June drop, nature's way of getting rid of an overload of fruit. It may occur any time between early May and July but is most likely to happen in June. One day you visit your deciduous fruit tree and find a circle of immature fruit lying on the ground under the branches. You may worry if you are new to fruit trees, but don't panic! It's a natural part of the cycle. These trees often set more than double the amount of fruit they could possibly ripen properly, so they simply drop off part of it.

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Many of us waste a lot of water through run off, especially on slopes. When watering on a slope if we put a lot of water down at once the water will run down to the bottom of the slope. The lower slope will be getting a lot of water through percolation and the top of the slope much less. When this has happened the plants at the bottom of the slope are probably being over watered and plants on top are getting under watered. Also a lot of water may have simply run off to the street, driveway or what ever is at the bottom of the slope.
 
We can reduce this problem by dividing watering times into cycles with shorter run times. For instance instead of watering for 10 minutes, water in cycles for three minutes. Set your controller to repeat cycles to be finished within a few hours.
 
There are additional benefits to this. You will develop deeper root systems allowing greater water and nutrient storage capacity for the plants resulting in watering less often and better slope stabilization due to the larger root systems.

In the Dirt
with Julie Meahl

The 4th of July has passed, and all of the parades have passed us by.  I hope you're 4th was safe and fun.

At Garden View Nursery we still have some 4th of July climbing roses-an explosion of eye-popping color for the landscape.  You'll get a bang out of the big sprays of large, long lasting blooms.  The fireworks just seem to keep coming because it blooms and re-blooms.  The fragrance is fresh cut apple and sweet rose.

Summer is officially here!!! It is very hot and dry.  Maybe you need a large shade tree to lounge under with some cool lemonade.  A lot of people love the tree with the beautiful blue flowers; that's a Jacaranda.  At Garden View Nursery we have Jacarandas in all different sizes to choose from.  This tree grows 25-40 feet high and 15-30 feet wide.  It is a semi-evergreen tree with finely cut ferny leaves that usually drop in late winter.  The Jacaranda starts to bloom mid to late spring and will continue throughout summer.  Flowers are lavender blue, tubular, 2 inch long on profuse 8 inch-long clusters.  A perfect location is in the middle of the yard.  It's time to relax, let the lawn mower pick-up the leaves and flowers and the trees' shade keep you cool.

July is the perfect time to choose your perfect Crape Myrtle tree.  At Garden View Nursery they are in full bloom, and come in an assortment of colors, from shades of purple and red to white.  When you choose your tree now while it is in bloom, you can be sure of its bloom color.  Lagerstroemia (Crape Myrtle) grows to 25 feet tall and wide.  A landscaper's dream tree for its showy summer flowers, good looking bark, and beautiful fall color makes it attractive all year round.  The Crape Myrtle is a deciduous tree, loves our full hot sun, moderate water, and a good root system.  It is also a great tree to point outdoor lights at (uplight).  Again, relax and let the tree do all the work showing off its color.

Tip: When planting Jacarandas and Crape Myrtles, use 40% compost.  Also, this time of year, water thoroughly every three days with a hose for the first month.
Now you're in the dirt!

(Julie Meahl is the Retail Manager and Vice President of Garden View, Inc.)

Blake's Landscape Maintenance Blog
Mowing Tips

In times when water savings are such a hot topic and city mandates to reduce water usage are all the rage turf grass becomes the number one target in the landscape world.  It is no myth that grass requires more water than most any other element of your landscape but fortunately there are a few things that can be done to help and one of them is the way it is mowed.

If you have been following my posts, which I am undoubtedly certain you have all put under your pillow for nightly review, you are already familiar with how to program your timer effectively as well as other water efficiency and lawn improving techniques.  BUT Los Angeles is still trying to commit turficide by only allowing you two days a week to water.  What the heck ya gonna do?

Step one:   Move out of L.A.

Step two:  Realize you would miss all the fresh air, nice people and open highways and veto step one.

Step three:  Hire Garden View

Step Four:  Realize you would miss the brown lawn, weeds and ugly shrubs and veto step 3.

For many years Garden View has been using mulching kits on our lawnmowers which effectively recycle the debris by re-cutting the grass as it returns to the ground.  Now that they are being marketed as the hippie, "green," way to mow your lawn, because you don't have to send more garbage to the landfill, they are gaining popularity.  It turns out we have been doing it out of sheer laziness for all these years and none of you suckers even said anything about it.  Just kidding, we pride ourselves on staying ahead of the curve and have been having great success with this these machines for a long time.  These mulchers work by having a second set of blades that break down the debris into what becomes a composting fertilizer.  Not only does this mulch retain water but it is high in nitrogen providing consistent nutrients to the lawn and reducing the need for fertilization.

Another tip is to try letting the grass maintain a longer length than what you have been.  The longer the blades the more room there is to retain water and nutrients while battling heat.

Don't forget the important topic that we have brought up before of deep watering.  Water deeply and less frequently to encourage deeper, healthier roots which will be able to stay cooler, have more access to water and more room to retain it.

Important to all lawn mowing but particularly vital to mowing with a mulching kit is the "1/3 rule."  Depending on the variety of grass that is in your lawn the actual desired height varies but the simple rule is to always avoid cutting more than a third of the blade.  By cutting more than this you are likely damaging the grass and significantly hurting its ability to retain moisture.

Moral of the story: Let your grass grow longer, water deeper but less often, don't cut it more than 1/3 at a time and leave the mulch on the ground and you should be able to combat the water restrictions more effectively.

(Blake Meahl is the Operations Manager for Garden View's Maintenance Division.)