By Lisa Allen Landscape • • • • • • • 0 Comments

Attracting Butterflies and Birds to Your Landscape

The best, most successful lawns and landscapes are the result of a partnership between you and your landscape professionals. Why? Because from the planning stage to the maintenance stage, working together to create, plant, and maintain an outdoor space you love will be a combination of one-time events (like building a waterfall centerpiece in a backyard garden, for example) and daily habits (like watering your flower beds at the right times, so they continue to thrive).

There’s a third party that plays a vital role in the health and vitality of your outdoor space, as well: nature itself. This is especially true if you want your lawn and garden to be filled with butterflies and birds. Read on to learn why.

Why Attract Butterflies and Birds to your Landscape?

Butterflies and birds aren’t just beautiful and fun to observe. Both can fulfill a vital role in keeping your outdoor space healthy. They do this by feeding on the nectar of various flowers and plants. When they feed, they also help pollinate, which helps flowers and even some vegetable gardens thrive.

Hummingbirds and bees, especially, are crucial to the pollination of various plants and flowers. By providing a space that’s safe for them to land and feed, you’re ensuring that pollination will continue to happen—and that your outdoor space, by extension, will continue to grow.

The Perfect Pollination Spaces

Birds and butterflies need flowers and plants that provide nectar. In the Kansas City and Johnson County area, native nectar plants include rose verbena, columbines, bee balms, milkweeds, clovers, and Indigo Bush.

These plants need lots of sunlight to bloom and survive, so be sure to plan a space that gets full sun from mid-morning to afternoon. A sunny spot is also important for butterflies, because butterflies are cold-blooded and require the sun’s heat to survive.

Make Your Landscape a Home for the Caterpillars

While butterflies are beautiful, their life span is surprisingly short. In fact the average life span of an adult butterfly is two weeks or less. This means that if you want to truly make your outdoor space—or a portion of it—home to butterflies, you must also make it a home to the baby version of butterflies: caterpillars.

In a perfect world, an adult butterfly will lay her eggs on a host plant—and that plant isn’t a flower. In fact, the only food for Monarch butterflies is Milkweed. Black Swallowtails feed on members of the carrot family (think Queen Anne’s Lace, fennel, parsley, and Golden Alexanders).

Want to learn more about creating an outdoor space that perfectly suits you and your family? We’re ready and eager  to work with you—so get in touch today!

By Lisa Allen Landscape • • • • 0 Comments

Environmentally Friendly Landscaping Practices

Do you ever wonder if you’re doing the right things to be environmentally friendly as you create your perfect outdoor space? It can be confusing to know which products and practices actually help, rather than harm, the environment. Working with a landscaping architect is a great first step if this is one of your goals. We can help you understand what steps are necessary to make your space as environmentally friendly as possible while still achieving your goals. Projects like building a retaining wall to help stop soil erosion or creating a rain garden make the most of native grasses can just as much of a benefit to the community at large as it can be to your outdoor space.

But it can be difficult to sift through the myriad products on the shelves—and without a degree in chemistry or horticulture, much of it can sound like word soup. This post aims to provide some basic starting information and remember: we’re always here to help, no matter what project you have in mind.

Easy Landscaping Steps to Help the Environment

One of the easiest things you can do if your goal is to benefit the environment is to leave grass clippings on your lawn after you mow. Why? Because clippings are basically green debris, which is another way of saying that it’s nature’s fertilizer. Grass clippings contain nitrogen—one of the main ingredients in chemical fertilizer. By leaving clippings on the ground rather than bagging and disposing of them, you let nature work in its own way to nourish your soil.

You can also choose to compost clippings rather than dispose of them. This is true of most lawn and garden debris. If you don’t compost at home, most communities provide where residents can bring lawn waste to be turned into either mulch or compost. In Olathe, for instance, there is a compost facility drop-off location. Just load up your bags of lawn waste and drop it off at the designated location. The city then turns that waste into either compost or mulch, both of which residents can pick up for free.

Keep Your Landscaping Native

Another easy way to be environmentally friendly is to choose native plants and grasses for your gardens. Native plants and grasses are simply those that flourish in our particular climate and soil conditions, which means they need less chemical help than non-native plants to flourish.

Native plants and grasses are important to rain gardens and to nurturing a home for birds, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. Learn more about native plants and grasses and how they benefit rain gardens (and how rain gardens can be part of your outdoor space) here.

Re-think Your Irrigation Systems

If you haven’t evaluated your irrigation systems for some time, you might be surprised at how options have evolved to be better for the environment and for your budget. Newer system options can decrease the amount of water used. It can also ensure that water is being used in the right spots and at the right time. A consultation with your local landscape architect can tell you if your system could benefit from an upgrade or a redesign.

Want to learn more? Reach out or visit us on Facebook!

By Lisa Allen Landscape • • • • • • • • • 0 Comments

How to De-Winterize Your Home Landscape and Prep for Spring

Goodbye winter, hello sun!

Spring spruce-ups aren’t just for kitchen cabinets and family rooms! Daylight Savings Time has given us back a bit more daylight and the temperatures will start to tick upward. This means it’s time to start thinking about how to de-winterize your home landscape and prepare for the upcoming warmer weather. And what you do now is particularly important to creating a home landscape that you’ll love all year. Keep reading for easy steps to take to prep your yard for spring.

Undo What You’ve Done

Did you winterize water lines or outdoor kitchens before freezing temperatures hit? If so, it’s time to reverse those actions. Turn the water back on and flush hoses and lines. Make sure lines are clear, and check for any maintenance issues. Be sure to pay special attention to your irrigation system so you’re ready to properly water plants once the time is right.

Out With the Old

The best landscapers in Olathe will tell you that the difference between a typical lawn and a landscape that wows is part planning, part hard work, part timing. Now’s the time to think about what you want your space to look like and to speak to your lawn and landscaping experts.

The first step is to clean up what winter left behind. Are there dead branches and debris? Plants that need to be pruned and/or relocated, because they’ve outgrown their current space? As you clear what’s no longer healthy and/or attractive, think about replacement options.

Plan Ahead

You might not be thinking about weeds just yet, but now is the time to get a head start on weed control. The best way to control weeds is to prevent them, and landscape experts know when and how to prevent weeds in your lawn and garden.

Now is also the time to think about a schedule: do you know when to plant, when to fertilize, when to aerate? You can search online to find tips, but the best way is to trust the experts. We know Johnson County and can help you create the lawn and landscape you’ve always wanted.

By Lisa Allen Do It Yourself • Landscape • Tips and Tricks • • • • • 0 Comments

3 Olathe Landscaping Tips for Maintaining Your Lawn During the Hot and Dry Summer Season

With summer comes hot, sticky days; and for Olathe landscaping, it could mean trouble. Most sources say temperatures in the Kansas City metro area hover in the 90-degree range. If that makes us sweat, imagine what it does to our lawns! If not properly cared for, lawns can suffer in the summer. Grass can wilt and even burn if the temperatures rise and care isn’t adjusted to beat the heat.

The good news is that there are ways to help keep your Olathe landscaping and lawn healthy and beautiful all summer long—and one of those tactics means you get a break from being outside!

1) Water More When the Temperature Spikes

Just like your body needs more water when the temperatures rise, your lawn requires additional moisture to stay healthy. Believe it or not, there’s science behind how often you should water your lawn. Factors that matter include the type of soil in your lawn, the slope of your property, and the type of grass you’ve planted.

Kansas City’s dirt is clay-packed and absorbs water at a rate of no more than two-tenths of an inch per hour. Slope matters here too: a flat area can take less water than an area that is sloped.

There are different schools on summer watering. You can learn about the soak and cycle method, which is what the K-State Research and Extension Office recommends. Or you can call us, and we’ll help you devise a customized plan to keep your summer lawn lush.

2) Mow Less

That’s right—stay inside and drink something cool, and don’t worry about mowing as often as you do in the Spring. When you do mow, make sure to mow no lower than 3 inches. Doing so alleviates some of the stress lawns experience due to dryness and heat.

Of course, exactly how often a lawn should be mowed will depend on too many variables to account for here. A general rule of thumb, though, is to mow less often than during cooler months. We can help you understand when to cut your grass and when to let it grow. Just ask!

3) Utilize Water Efficient Seeds and Fertilizers

There are countless scientific advances that benefit our lawns and landscapes, especially when temperatures are a concern. In summer months, it’s best to opt for seeds and fertilizers that are optimized to work best with less water.

Doing so doesn’t just make your space prettier, it also conserves water during the summer, which is vital to the community as a whole—and it sure helps with those water bills!

Curious which water-efficient seeds and fertilizers are right for your lawn? We’re here to help.

By Lisa Allen Do It Yourself • Landscape • Tips and Tricks • • • • • • 0 Comments

Fall Landscaping Tips for Olathe Lawns and Landscapes

Temperatures are starting to dip ever so slightly here in the Kansas City metro area, which means our thoughts turn to everything warm and cozy: sweaters and blankets, apple cider and pumpkin lattes, just to name a few. Just as this is the perfect time to switch out Spring and Summer décor for Fall colors and accessories in your home, it’s also the prime time to turn your attention to your landscaping areas, such as your lawn and outdoor living areas.

Just because it’s getting colder doesn’t mean it’s time to stay indoors! Take advantage of this time to not only bring some new color to your lawn and garden, but also to plan for the upcoming Winter weather. But first, here’s the trick to bringing all of the following tips together: sit down with a calendar and plan when, what, and how you’ll plant, tend, and maintain your landscaping as the weather grows colder.

Landscapers Share Tips for Fabulous Fall Lawns

How can you take advantage of this cooler weather to make your landscaping shine? Prune and mulch your perennials to be sure they’re as well insulated as possible before colder weather hits. Spend a sunny but cool morning planting bulbs, then make a schedule to feed and water what you’ve planted so each can spend the Winter growing and preparing to burst through thawed ground once Spring hits. Take special care with trees—studies show that trees planted in the Fall are more successful and the cooler weather means less watering and maintenance for you. The little bit of patience you’ll need now will be well rewarded once Spring comes again.

Here in Johnson County, it’s also wise to get a jump on weed control now, rather than waiting until Spring or Summer. Why? K-State Research and Extension Center explains that broadleaf weeds (think dandelions, henbit, and chickweed) germinate in September and October, then overwinter as small plants. You have to look closely to see them—they’re no bigger than a quarter. Taking care of those weeds now means the Spring and Summer proliferation that so often overtakes even the most methodically attended lawns can be stemmed before it starts. Be sure to choose your control method wisely; granular and liquid chemicals both work, but each has distinct advantages and disadvantages.

Olathe Landscaping Company Huston Contracting is Here to Help

Fall Landscaping Tips for Olathe Lawns and Landscapes

And this is why having a schedule matters: if you plant grass seed in the cooler Fall months, you shouldn’t treat your lawn with herbicide until those seedlings have been mowed two-three times. Taking a few minutes to think about coming weather conditions and how you’d like your landscaping to look once the snow melts.

Want to know more about prepping your lawn for cold weather? Have questions about what an Olathe landscaping company can do for you now and through the year? We welcome questions and would love to hear what you think. Send us a question or give us a call—we’re here to help!

By ddmg Landscape • Renovation • Tips and Tricks • • 0 Comments

How to Make the Most Out of Your Landscaping Projects

It’s summer. The heat has rolled into town. You may or may not be thinking about Olathe landscaping projects right now. But, if you are, we wanted to give you some quick tips and tricks to ensure you make the most out of them.

See, landscaping isn’t easy. In fact, it can be downright tough. For that reason and many more, it’s worthwhile to make the most out of your Olathe landscaping projects. No reason to sweat outside for hours on end and not see stunning results. Or spend a ton of money and not be thrilled.

Make the Most Out of Your Landscaping Projects

Let’s dive in and look at a few ways to get the most out of your efforts in Olathe:

  • Think Long Haul

When getting the most out of a project is on your mind, you shouldn’t be thinking seasonal. It should be long-term. I’m talking yearly.

Think outdoor kitchens, retaining walls, flower beds, and evergreen plants. You can get a great bang for your buck by building your landscape around long-term structures built to last years – not months.

  • Plant Perennials

We all love flowers. They bring beauty to an Olathe landscape in a way no other plants can. But you don’t want to replant them each and every year. You want them to continue blooming year after year.

If that’s you, then you’ll want to plant perennials all around your landscape. They take the same time to plant and prosper year one, but after that you’ll have flowers for years on end.

  • Pay Attention to HVAC

Your HVAC units can hinder your landscaping and hurt your plants. Luckily, this is an easy fix that’ll ensure you get great results from any landscaping in Olathe.

If you’re doing it yourself, make sure to keep any and all landscaping at least 2-3 feet away from your HVAC units. This will ensure the plants don’t bother the unit – and vice versa. A professional Olathe landscaper will do this automatically.

  • Build a Berm

One underutilized landscaping trick is building a berm. If you have a boring area around your landscaping that needs a little sprucing up, then add a berm. The berm will give your home that “golf course” look you’ve always dreamed of.

  • Plan and Prepare

When working with professional landscapers, we love it when you’re as specific as possible. Then we can get you an estimate and scope down to the dollar. This helps eliminate any issue moving forward.

We want to work with you for years on end. This means getting the job done right and on budget – our main goals. So, the more details you give us – the easier it is to stay on budget for you.

Olathe Landscaping Projects Made Easy

If you’re looking to get any Olathe landscaping projects done this year, please reach out. Our team at Huston Contracting is here to make your projects last a lifetime!

By ddmg Do It Yourself • General Information • Landscape • Management • Tips and Tricks • • 0 Comments

Going Green! 5 Ways to Conserve Energy Through Landscaping

Going green has become popular in nearly every industry. We’re all trying to be environmentally-friendly these days, and that’s a great thing. However, most industries have to make huge changes to help the environment while improving their operations.

With Olathe landscaping, things are a little different. See, by changing your landscape just a little bit, you can also help the environment. There’s tons of ways to do this. Why? Because your landscape is the environment.

A tweak here and a change there can mean hundreds in savings for homeowners. Plus, the environment wins, too. A true win-win situation!

5 Ways to Conserve Energy Through Landscaping

So without further ado, let’s dive into the five ways you can conserve energy with your Olathe landscaping:

  • Shade Over Everything

The easiest way to save money on your landscaping is to shade your home. When the sun beats down on your home, things heat up inside. In the summer months, this means your home continually gets hotter and hotter. A hotter home always equates to higher A/C bills.

By using leafy trees to shade your home, you can drastically lower your utility bills in the warmer summer months. At Huston Contracting, we believe this is the best way to go green. Add some large trees to your property.

  • Wild Wind

In the winter months, the cold wind actually does more damage to the inside temperature of your house than just the cold. As such, you’ll want to insulate your home from the wind as much as possible.

How do you do that? Simple, add some evergreen trees and shrubs around the sides of your home. These plants will take the brute force of the cold winds and keep your home as warm as can be. This will lower heating bills.

  • Landscape Design

One costly concern for landscapers around the world is water. In Olathe, there are many months that our lawns need water. As such, many Olathe residents spend hundreds of dollars a year watering their lawns.

There’s nothing wrong with this, but it’s certainly not a “green” principle. Luckily, there’s a simple solution. By working with a landscape design professional, you can incorporate drainage solutions and irrigation systems into your landscape.

By adding these two things to your landscape, you’ll be able to significantly lower your water bills in the hot months. We believe this is one of the more efficient ways for Olathe landscapers to truly go green.

Go Green Today!

If you’re looking to increase efficiency within your home through landscaping, get in touch today. At Huston Contracting, we have dozens of ways for specific homeowners to lower energy bills through their landscape.

We look forward to hearing from you!