Friday, September 30th, 2011
Much has changed over the last 31 years, and today we’re proud to announce our updated online presence!
Over the years, many of you have asked for tips to help you get the most from your outdoor living spaces. We listened …Continue Reading
Wednesday, February 15th, 2012
With winter close to being gone, anyone who hasn’t already done your landscaping for Spring should act quickly to do so. Your CGreen Landscape Irrigation team has put together a list of the Top 10 Landscaping Tips for Dallas landscapes to help you prepare, yet these are time sensitive, so act quickly. If you have any questions about these Dallas landscaping tips, call us at 972-559-4733 today for help or advice on landscaping your estate.
Top 10 Landscaping Tips for Dallas and the Surrounding Area:
Sunday, February 12th, 2012
Every year I have requests for the “burning bush” Euonymus alatus. Perhaps it is because everyone wants a red fall color and fall has just left us and they are trying to prepare for next fall, or maybe they are trying to get some biblical perspective into their landscape. Either way, I do my best to direct them away from that particular plant. Yes, it does have a brilliant red fall color and yes it does have a cool name and unusual growth along its branches, but it is capable of being invasive, grows taller than you will ever want, and above all it is a euonymus. Need I say more? It is a deciduous shrub native to eastern Asia, with an unusual cork growth along the branches similar to a wing, hence the name alatus, Latin for winged.
But I do have a recommendation for great red fall color and it is native to around here serving Dallas landscapes very well. I have borrowed a great synopsis from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin for basic information. So allow me to introduce you to the Rusty Blackhaw viburnum, my vote for the plant of the week……
Dallas Landscaping Tips from CGreen Landscape Irrigation
Rusty Blackhaw
Dallas Landscaping from CGreen Landscape Irrigation
Viburnum rufidulum Raf.
Rusty blackhaw viburnum, Rusty blackhaw, Southern blackhaw, Downy viburnum
Caprifoliaceae (Honeysuckle Family)
USDA Symbol: VIRU
USDA Native Status: Native to U.S.
This viburnum is a shrub or tree, usually growing to 18 ft. but sometimes taller with bark separating into dark, rectangular plates. Twigs reddish brown with a thin light gray coating. Leaves in pairs, often on short spurs, the petioles covered with rust colored, branched hairs visible under a l0x hand lens; blades up to 3 1/2 inches long, elliptic to oval or ovate, tip rounded or with a broad point, base rounded or broadly wedge shaped, margins finely serrate, firm textured with a shiny upper surface. Glossy, dark-green, deciduous leaves turn a variety of warm hues in autumn. Flowers white, from 1/4 to 3/8 inch wide, in rounded or flattened clusters up to 4 inches wide, appearing in March and April and noticeable from a distance in early spring. Fruit fleshy, bluish black lightened by a waxy coating, up to 1/2 inch long, slightly longer than wide.
Rusty Blackhaw is distinguished from the more northerly Blackhaw, Viburnum prunifolium, primarily by the reddish-brown hairs on foliage and other parts, as well as by the slightly larger leaves and paler blue fruit. The Latin species name, meaning reddish, also refers to the hairs. The two species intergrade where their ranges meet.
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Perennial
Habit: Tree
Leaf Retention: Deciduous
Leaf Arrangement: Opposite
Leaf Complexity: Simple
Leaf Shape: Elliptic
Size Notes: 15-25
Fruit:
Size Class: 12-36 ft.
Bloom Information
Bloom Color: White
Bloom Time: Apr , May
Growing Conditions
Water Use: Low
Light Requirement: Part Shade
Soil Moisture: Dry
Cold Tolerant: yes
Soil Description: Dry soils. Limestone-based, Sandy, Sandy Loam, Medium Loam, Clay Loam, Clay
Conditions Comments: Slow-growing. Hard to propagate. With its waxy leaves, rusty blackhaw presents excellent fall hues of red, lavender, pink, and orange. Tiny clusters of flowers bloom in spring. In Manual of the Vascular Plants of Texas, Correll and Johnston noted that the fruit tastes similar to raisins. Rusty blackhaw is good for understory plantings. Birds appreciate the fruit.
Benefit
Use Ornamental: Showy, Understory tree, Fall conspicuous, Attractive
Use Wildlife: Nectar-bees, Nectar-butterflies, Nectar-insects, Fruit-birds, Fruit-mammals
Interesting Foliage: yes
Attracts: Birds
Deer Resistant: Moderate
Rusty Blackhaw Winter Color by CGreen Landscape Irrigation
Figure 1 Rusty Blackhaw winter color
Figure 2. Rusty Blackhaw fruit
This spring, think red fall color and when you do think outside the box and think of Rusty Blackhaw viburnum. Need help? Call me Ralph Edge, CGreen Landscape Irrigation 972-880-6731. (Many thanks to Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center for the excellent information)
Enjoy the Life!!
As a valuable member of the CGreen Landscape Irrigation team, Ralph Edge is Texas Certified as a Master Nursery Professional and Landscape Professional and a Texas Licensed Irrigator and Backflow Assembly Tester. Ralph’s years of experience in Dallas landscaping have also earned him the honors of Texas A&M and EPA Certified Irrigation Auditor and the Texas Department of Agriculture Commercial Applicator. When it comes to Dallas landscaping, very few people have close to the level of landscape irrigation expertise of Ralph Edge.
Tuesday, February 7th, 2012
For those of us who have lived in Dallas or the surrounding DFW area for many years, we know that we should never speak bad of rain as we do not get enough of it. Because of this, when it happens, it can cause drainage problems requiring drainage correction with our Dallas landscaping. However, there are ways we can prepare in order to avoid drainage problems for our Dallas landscaping.
It goes without saying that the first thing you can do for your Dallas landscape is to contact a landscape irrigation company skilled, trained and certified in handling drainage correction and drainage problems for Dallas homes and businesses like CGreen Landscape Irrigation. This is our first suggestion no matter if it is CGreen Landscape Irrigation or not (although we would love it to be us:) for many reasons. The most important is that a landscape irrigation company with expertise in dealing with drainage problems and drainage correction can often prepare you before it is too late.
Many Dallas home owners do not realize how to avoid drainage problems before even having a need for drainage correction and the time it takes to put the proper measures in place. So they come to CGreen Landscape Irrigation or another landscape irrigation company to help them. The challenge here is that most of this happens when the drainage problems have already set in and cause damage to a home or Dallas landscape. So again, contact a landscape irrigation company skilled in drainage correction and dealing with drainage problems.
Make sure to watch your Dallas landscape closely when it rains and notice any areas where the water drainage does not look normal and drainage correction may be needed. Gutters can often be a common cause of drainage problems as it is common to find gutters clogged or disconnected and water drainage problems on or around your home. Notice also any areas of your Dallas landscape where water appears to stand for longer than normal periods – specifically in comparison to the rest of your Dallas landscape.
Most importantly… get help! When drainage problems occur, the last thing you need to do is wait to attempt to repair the drainage problems with drainage correction yourself after the fact. CGreen Landscape Irrigation can provide you tips and ideas for Do It Yourself drainage planning if you would like, but don’t wait if you already have an issue and rain is on the way.
To learn more about drainage correction and dealing with drainage problems for your Dallas landscape, ‘Like’ the CGreen Landscape Irrigation Facebook fan page and ‘subscribe’ to the CGreen Landscape Irrigation YouTube channel. CGreen Landscape Irrigation is also a proud member of the Frisco Chamber of Commerce and a Rain Bird Select Contractor.
Sunday, January 29th, 2012
Many cities are implementing drought plans and mandatory water restrictions which limit landscape irrigation to two days a week. While we at CGreen Landscape Irrigation help with water conservation and water restrictions specifically where it pertains to water efficient landscapes, we always encourage you to visit your city’s website to review your particular water restrictions and make preparations to comply by acclimating your landscape to the recommended or mandatory water conservation practices. No matter what your water restrictions are during drought climates, there are numerous things you can do to prepare and help your landscape survive a drought.
Since water use increases 30% – 60% during summer and everyone tends to want to water more during drought conditions, it is important to conserve water in a landscape with efficient irrigation. Study your city’s drought plan and make immediate and long range plans to conserve water. New irrigation technologies and other water conservation landscape practices allow landscape water conservation to be easy, affordable and rewarding specifically during drought conditions.
As you learn more about your sprinkler system specifically in drought conditions, it is important to know pop-up fixed spray heads (No Rotation) on average apply water at a rate of 1.75 inches per hour, rotating heads apply water on average at .75 inches per hour, drip irrigation is more variable but will average 1.25 inches per hour. Every landscape and sprinkler system is unique, in order to determine the exact precipitations. Properly designed water efficient landscapes require no more than 1” of water per week which is important to manage in drought conditions.
Many water efficient landscapes require as little as half or less than that amount. Frequency of watering also has an impact on the drought tolerance of your landscape. Deeper more infrequent watering encourages deep root growth requiring less irrigation which helps with drought conditions. More frequent watering encourages shallow root growth requiring more frequent irrigation. Deeper roots have more water available for an extended period. The water conservation and landscape practices below will provide some guidance to keep your landscape alive during a drought.
The immediate actions to prepare for drought are:
On a molecular level soils will absorb water more efficiently after they have been wetted. Use the cycle and soak method by:
Most irrigation controllers have the ability to run multiple start times per day. If you have trouble programming your sprinkler system controller visit the manufacturer’s website, call their customer service line, or contact your CGreen Landscape Irrigation team. And always remember…
Long Term Plans for Landscape Water Conservation
To learn more about drought proofing your landscape in order to deal with water conservation and water restrictions, ‘Like’ the CGreen Landscape Irrigation Facebook fan page and ‘subscribe’ to the CGreen Landscape Irrigation YouTube channel. Also, my personal blogs are posted under Mark Taylor on our website. We always appreciate your feedback, so let us know your thoughts through the Comments below.
Wednesday, January 25th, 2012
You can easily build your own water garden to add interest to your Dallas landscape or contact CGreen Landscape Irrigation for helping in building a waterfall. The process for building a waterfall is not difficult and can be achieved with little expense. We at CGreen Landscape Irrigation are big fans of the waterfall garden, so here’s a step-by-step guide to building a waterfall for your Dallas landscaping.
To first step to building a waterfall is to gather your water garden supplies. Most of the supplies for building a waterfall can be found at hardware stores or discount home stores like Lowe’s or Home Depot. Here’s what you’ll need:
Your waterfalls will run on electricity, so when building a waterfall, remember that waterfalls need to have their own outlet for a power source. Ideally, building a waterfall for your home should be done by a patio, deck, or porch. If you don’t have an outdoor outlet for building a waterfall, one will have to be installed by a certified electrician.
The next step to building a waterfall is to remove all weeds in the area where you will be digging for your pond as your pond is important for the water garden. Make sure the area is level and measure the liner you have chosen so you can dig a hole big enough to hold it. Simply invert the liner and trace around it on the ground. Then start digging!
The depth of the hole for your water garden pond should be the same depth as the liner and the diameter as close to the actual diameter of the liner as possible to insure a nice, snug fit. If you find your hole is a little bigger than the liner, just fill in the sides with sand.
Sand will also be used at the bottom of the hole for your water garden pond, since sand floors provide the stability needed to play with the height of preformed liners. Put about an inch of sand in, so that the top rim of the preformed liner will stand about an inch above ground level — reducing the amount of dirt that will keep falling into your waterfall pond. You’ll be pushing the sand around to get the level of the preformed liner just right.
Next, place the preformed liner into the hole for the waterfalls pond. Check for levelness by placing a carpenter’s level across it — both front to back and left to right. Depending on the readings you get from the carpenter’s level, it is at this point that you’ll have to remove the preformed liner from the hole and adjust its sandy floor accordingly.
Since your prep work is out of the way, it’s time to move on to the water garden itself. Take a look at the rocks you have for building a waterfall. The most important rocks are what might be termed the “spillway” rocks. The spillway rocks are the ones directly over which the water will cascade as you may have seen with other waterfalls.
The spillway rocks should be relatively flat as opposed to rocks that are more rounded in shape. They should also have sharp, squared edges. Water will cascade more cleanly over such edges as you might expect with creative waterfalls. When rocks have blunt, gently-curving edges, some of the water tends to follow that curve and trickle back under the rocks.
The idea behind the selection of spillway rocks for a cascade design is to choose rocks that are most likely to channel the falling water in the precise direction in which you want it to go. How you lay the spillway rocks is also important to this end, as you’ll see later.
In addition to seeking out relatively flat rocks with sharp edges, see if you can’t find rocks that are slightly cupped when building a waterfall. That is, occasionally you’ll come across rocks that curl up ever so slightly at the edges, leaving a depression in the middle. The natural channel in such rocks will be greatly advantageous for the creation of the spillways in your cascade design. Their raised edges will help keep the water from deviating where you don’t want it namely, behind the rocks.
You’ll essentially be building four mini-rock walls around the pot, to box it in. Make a small trench for the tubing to sit in under the rocks, so that the rocks don’t weigh it down. This will keep the tubing free, so that you can slide it through the pot up or down, at will. This gives you the leeway that you need, since you won’t know at exactly what height you’ll want the water spouting out until you’ve finished laying the rocks.
You may have been wondering what the flower pot in the supply list is for. You’ll need a pot about 11” high with a drainage hole in the bottom that matches the diameter of your tubing. The pot functions as housing for the tubing within the cascading structure for the waterfall. You could easily substitute something else that might work better and can use either a terra cotta or plastic variety. The idea is to have some sort of housing to hold the tubing in place, while you lay up the rocks all around it. This housing won’t show when you’re finished: it will lie hidden at the center of your rock work.
After laying a first course of rocks in the front, cover them with a sheet of black plastic. Extend one end of the plastic up to the top of the plastic pot, while tucking the other over the lip of the preformed pond liner and down into the water. Then disguise the plastic with rocks, so that it wouldn’t be visible in the pond. The plastic serves the purpose of catching more water than the rocks alone could and funnel it into the pond. Much of the water that would otherwise be lost to splashing strikes against this plastic and falls back into the pond, instead.
Also after laying the first course of rocks in front and just after laying the black plastic, lay one long, flat rock spanning them all and sitting right on top of that plastic. The long, flat rock juts out in the direction of the pond, forming an overhang. It will serve as a shelf for your first spillway rock, so it will be referred to as the “shelf rock.”
Invert the flower pot and thread your tubing through the hole in its bottom. Place the pot on the ground (still inverted) at the center of what will be the rock waterfall structure. How far in back of the pond should this be? Well, that depends on the depth of your rocks. You’ll want the rocks that face the pond to abut it; if possible, they should even overhang the pond slightly. So if the rocks you’ll be using there are 8″ in depth (i.e., front to back), the front side of the pot should be about 8″ back from the edge of the pond.
How long should the tubing be? Leave yourself with a length that is longer than what you’ll need, and trim later as necessary. This will make your job a lot easier! As to where to run it along the ground, choose either the left or the right side of the pond and rock waterfall. As a cosmetic touch at the end of the project, you can go back and hide it with stones and/or mulch.
Typically, when building rock walls, it’s a good idea to stagger the seams. Of course, these will be very small rock walls, so it’s not a structural concern here. Still, try to do some staggering, if only because it looks better.
As already mentioned in speaking of rock selection, after the first course of rocks in the front was down, you put one long flat rock spanning them all. Why? Because this rock’s function is to form an overhang, it’s a key piece in your cascade design. Using it as a shelf, you’ll place your first spillway rock on it, in such a way that the spillway rock overhangs the pond even further.
The next step of building a waterfall is to continue laying the 4 walls, until you’ve reached the height you desire. Once you’re done encasing the pot with the 4 walls, you need to place 2 longer stones across the top (either front-to-back or left-to-right) to span the walls. Pull up the tubing to gain more length, if necessary, and gently sandwich the tubing in between these 2 longer rocks to hold it in place.
Next when building a waterfall, begin trying to position your first spillway rock on top of your shelf rock. It should jut out over the pond even further than does the shelf rock. Ideally, the tip would line up over the middle of the pond, although this is difficult to achieve. Elevate the first spillway rock in the back, to achieve better water run-off. You can elevate this or any rock in the wall by using shims in small flat stones.
Bend the end of the tubing down towards the pond and place one or more capstones over it. It is under here that the waterfall’s “spout” will rest, so to speak. By “capstone” I mean a stone that will partially hide the tubing and/or gently press it down against the second spillway rock. Make sure most of the capstone’s weight rests on the rocks between which the tubing is sandwiched or on shims, so that the tubing doesn’t become flattened. You’ll have to play with the level of the spout, as you begin to fit in the second spillway rock.
You are well on your way with building a waterfall so, not begin trying to position your second spillway rock on top of your first spillway rock. Again, elevate the rock in the back using a shim, to achieve a steeper pitch. One way to think of the placement of the 2 spillway rocks is that they’re like 2 shingles on a roof. They’re both on a slant, and the top one overlaps the bottom one, forming a continuous chute down which the water can pour.
The position of the end of the tubing that forms the spout can now be determined more precisely, as you size it up on the surface of the second spillway rock. Again, pull to lengthen or shorten your tubing, as necessary.
You’re ready to fill the pond with water, plug in the pump’s cord, and test the flow of your natural rock waterfall. No doubt, you’ll have to make several adjustments before you get everything right. The objective is to get the water to fall as close as possible to the middle of the pond, so that you can minimize water-loss from the splashing that will incur.
There is some compromise involved with your cascade design: greater height equals greater visual impact, but greater height also equals greater water-loss as the splashes will be more violent. Another consideration on height: keep your natural rock waterfall in proportion with the pond. A general rule of thumb would be, the smaller the pond, the shorter the rock waterfall.
The entire water garden is built with the intent to minimize water loss, but regardless of how well you do at minimizing water-loss, it is prudent to check the level of your waterfalls pond water periodically. Should the pond go dry due to water-loss, you’ll burn out the pump.
Consequently, you must turn off the pump overnight or when leaving your property which is not normally something you think about when building a waterfall. Of course, if you’re frugal, you’ll unplug the pump when you’re not around anyhow, to save money on electricity. Since this water feature is intended only for decoration and for relaxation (it’s not a fish pool), there’s no reason to keep it running if you’re not there to enjoy it.
To learn more about building a waterfall, ‘subscribe’ to the CGreen Landscape Irrigation YouTube and ‘Like’ the CGreen Landscape Irrigation Facebook fan page. CGreen Landscape Irrigation helps home owners with building a waterfall and all water garden needs.
Friday, January 20th, 2012
Xeriscaping in Dallas
Many people often ask “What is Xeriscaping” and for good reason these days as water conservation is becoming increasingly important for landscaping and irrigation in Dallas. Xeriscaping was a term coined back in the 1970s not in Dallas, but in Denver, to mean water wise or water efficient landscaping. The drought of the 1970s in Colorado was of biblical proportions and this helped change the way we think of the term “water wise” and now xeriscaping. Did you know that the historians normally say the Colorado drought lasted from 1974 until 1981….WOW! Xeriscaping at a different level than we have seen.
We’ve heard the history lessons of the dustbowls of the 30s and some of us at CGreen Landscape Irrigation remember the dust storms in West Texas in the late 50s. With proper planting and correct conservation of water, we can help ourselves in this current drought environment with water management practices. Think of this as a basic “primer” to your spring planting and landscaping. In future CGreen Landscape Irrigation blogs, we will look at the 7 principles of Xeriscaping in more detail… think of it as a “cliffhanger” so you will want to come back and see the next segment….:)
So what is Xeriscaping? The term xeriscaping is derived from the Greek word xeros, which means dry. Don’t let the definition of xeriscaping mislead you into thinking we’re talking about deserts and cactus or even a drought plagued, barren landscape. Xeriscaping is a method of gardening that involves choosing plants that are appropriate to their site and creating a landscape that can be maintained with little supplemental watering.
Xeriscaping is NOT dry only.
Xeriscaping is NOT just rocks and gravel.
Xeriscaping is NOT about native plants only.
Xeriscaping Plant is technically a meaningless term.
By applying these simple techniques you will be conserving water and improving local water quality – all while still having a beautiful garden.
7 Principles of Xeriscaping
Remember we have a finite amount of water the better we plan the better use we have of the water that is available. When your neighbors allow their sprinkler system to run water down the street and into the storm sewer, they steal water usage from you and we all end up short of water, with dead plants and generally a bad attitude. So plant water wise plants, conserve your irrigated water and help your neighbor.
Thanks for following CGreen Landscape Irrigation where your landscape is our passion. To learn more and keep up with landscape irrigation news and tips, ‘Like’ the CGreen Landscape Irrigation Facebook fan page and ‘subscribe’ to the CGreen Landscape Irrigation YouTube channel. You can also keep up with me – Ralph Edge – via my personal blog as I will be sharing more about xeriscaping over the next few weeks.