VOLUME 8 ⚪ ISSUE NO. 9 ⚪ MAY 7, 2024

IN THIS ISSUE

◻️ Day of Service

◻️ Seedling Explosion

◻️ Summer Celebrations

◻️ Perennial Power

On Saturday, April 20^th, we held our annual Spring Day of Service in honor of Earth Day. Employees and their families, friends, and business associates joined together to perform spring clean-ups and spread 17,000 lbs of mulch on seven non-profit properties in our community. This initiative is especially important to me as it reinforces my personal passion for what we do as landscape professionals:

“We believe that everyone everywhere benefits from a connection with nature.” ~Shayne

2024 SPRING DAY OF SERVICE

After coffee and bagels, safety reviews, and remarks from Shayne, the volunteers split into their assigned teams and loaded up the trucks with the needed equipment. Groups worked downtown at Village Center for the Arts, New Milford Public Library, Nathan Taylor House for the New Milford Trust for Historic Preservation, and The Children’s Center. Other teams cleaned up at Pratt Nature Center, The Nature Conservancy at Sunny Valley Preserve, and a Habitat for Humanity home. We also had a team volunteer to pick up roadside litter on Aspetuck Ridge Road and Candlewood Lake Road.

YardScapes recognizes that community engagement is beneficial for employee morale and helps our team members feel connected to the neighborhoods in which they live and work. These events also help them showcase their unique talents and professional skills while demonstrating not only their commitment to YardScapes’ mission, but also a commitment to the entire town.

Well-landscaped areas benefit the community as a whole in many ways too. Studies have shown that nicely landscaped areas can reduce stress, improve concentration, curb crime, and promote general feelings of well-being. Quality landscaping can also strengthen local economies by attracting new residents and investors to a town.

After all work was performed, the volunteers returned to YardScapes headquarters for a well-deserved cookout.

SEEDLING EXPLOSION!

Have you also noticed what looks like hundreds, maybe thousands, of poison ivy plants sprouting everywhere in every lawn and garden bed?

Connecticut is in the midst of an explosion of maple seedling across the state. According to Tom Worthley, a forester and extension professor at UConn, “it’s a very real thing, especially in places where there’s an abundance of both red maple and sugar maple,” he said. “Both species had abundant seed production last year.”

When a tree is stressed, it produces more seeds to ensure the survival of the species. With a warm and humid 2023 summer, plus a foliar fungus, conditions were right for a much larger crop of seeds than normal.

Despite the annoyance to homeowners, landscapers, and gardeners, they can be relatively easy to deal with if addressed quickly. The easiest way to remove them is hand pulling. When they are small, they can be plucked right out of the ground with ease. After a short time, their roots take hold and hand pulling them may become more difficult. Cutting them with pruners and digging up the root will work at that point. Alternately, some gardeners prefer to transplant the seedlings in another location.

Unfortunately, the numbers of seedlings may be too high or inaccessible to make hand-pulling an option so spot-spraying could be an option. But, in the lawn, there is no need for herbicides since a few mows will chop off their tops and kill them before they can put down significant roots.

What may be annoying to us is great news for our forests and we should be happy CT’s 2024 emergence is trees – not cicadas.

SUMMER CELEBRATIONS

The last week of May brings us the “unofficial” start of summer and one of the busiest few weeks for us. If you are having a Memorial Day picnic, graduation party, summer wedding 4^th of July celebration, or any other gathering and have concerns on the timing of your services, don’t wait to let your landscape consultant know.

Our routes are carefully planned and set to ensure efficiency and, as such, we are unable to accommodate last minute requests. Letting your consultant know your plans ahead of time allows us some flexibility to make sure your property is party ready!

“And all the world is glad with May.”

— John Burroughs

PERENNIAL POWER

Perennial plants offer numerous benefits to a home or commercial landscape.

Low Maintenance: Perennials are often low maintenance. Once established, they require less care than annuals because they return each year. This can save homeowners time and effort in the garden.

Year-Round Interest: Perennials can provide year-round interest in the landscape. Many have attractive foliage that looks great even when the plant is not in bloom. Some perennials, such as ornamental grasses and evergreens, provide winter interest.

Biodiversity: Perennials can help increase biodiversity in your garden. Native plants will attract a variety of pollinators, such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, which help pollinate other plants in your garden. This can lead to a healthier and more productive garden.

Soil Erosion Control: Perennials, especially those with deep roots, help control soil erosion by holding the roots and soil in place, preventing soil from being washed away by rain. This can be particularly beneficial in sloped areas.

Cost-Effective: While perennials might have a higher initial cost compared to annuals, they can be more cost-effective in the long run. Since they come back year after year, you don’t need to purchase new plants each season.

Variety: Perennials come in a wide range of different shapes, sizes and colors!

Longevity: Annuals live one year, biennials live two. Perennials, however, can live anywhere from 3-15 years, or even indefinitely. Peonies are known to live over one hundred years!

Sustainable: Native perennials typically require less watering and fertilizing than annuals making them an environmentally friendly choice.