Vinca, a Versatile Plant

You know when you drive through a neighborhood and see that house that just stands out from the rest? It's bursting with color and looks like a professional landscaper lives there? It makes you think WHY DOESN'T MY LANDSCAPE LOOK LIKE THAT? Well, most of the time the people in those houses use annual flowers in their landscape beds. The term annual means that they only live for one growing season. Although short lived, annual flowers come in all sorts of colors, textures, and sizes which allow you to put together a really showy landscape! We've done several articles on annuals because we feel they make such a difference to the look of a garden bed. And because you change them out in spring and fall, you can change the look of your yard frequently. This year, we're using more Vinca in our beds.

Here's why we like it: The new and improved varieties of Vinca that we are using tend to be drought tolerant which makes them a good choice for the south. They come in a variety of colors. They look great planted en masse in groupings. Unlike the older varieties which were susceptible to fungus and required deadheading of spent blooms, these new varieties are low maintenance. But even though they don't require much maintenance a well prepared bed and fertilization throughout the growing season will produce the best blooms.

For more information on bed preparation, see this blog from last year: http://aatexlawn.blogspot.com/2011/05/planting-annual-flower-beds.html

Mixed Vinca (one of our favorites)

Wishing you many blooms!

The AA Tex Lawn Team

PLANET Day of Service… It feels good to give back…

On April 20th, landscapers from across the nation will band together to make our communities a nicer place to live. PLANET, The Professional Landcare Network holds an annual Day of Service on (or near) Earth Day. Members of PLANET are organizing volunteer lawn and landscape projects in communities across the country. We at AA Tex Lawn are proud to be participating again this year in Charlotte, NC. We're going to provide the Lois' Lodge maternity home a free "face-lift".

Lois' Lodge is a non-profit organization whose mission is to help women and families experiencing an unexpected pregnancy. Residential services are provided through a family-style home in Charlotte, NC and non-residential services are provided through the Lois' Lodge Mom Shoppe Program. Families are provided with: counseling and support, education, life preparation skills, and enrichment experiences. If you have children, you know how overwhelming it can be to find out you are pregnant, even if you are have planned for it. People who find themselves surprised with pregnancy can be left with a lot of doubt, questions, and choices to make. That's where Lois' Lodge comes in. They provide the resources and opportunities to guide and prepare these perspective parents for the new world they are entering.

Employees of AA Tex Lawn feel privileged to be able to do something to brighten the surroundings for these people going through such life-changing experiences. We'll be planting flowers, adding pine needles, trimming shrubs, limbing up trees, and hauling off debris. It feels good to be able to give back to an organization that is "doing good".

For more information about:

• The national PLANET Day of Service: planetdayofservice.org
• Lois' Lodge: www.loislodge.org
• AA Tex Lawn: www.aatexlawn.com

Thanks,

The AA Tex Lawn Team

Bermuda Maintenance

We talk a lot about fescue maintenance, but what about bermudagrass? This hardy, native warm season grass grows in the summer months and goes dormant during the winter. There are many positives to a bermudagrass lawn. It is drought tolerant, loves the heat (which will cause fescue to go dormant), and spreads to fill in bare areas. To get the most out of this turf type, a little maintenance goes a long way. Here's the AA Tex Lawn schedule for a great looking, bermudagrass lawn.

• Mid Winter -Solu-cal and spot weed control. Solu-cal helps neutralizing soil pH and allows the grass to intake the nutrients provided.
• Early Spring - Pre-emergent, fertilizer, and weed control to assist the control of late spring, summer (i.e. crabgrass) and broadleaf weeds.
• Mid Spring - Quick release High nitrogen fertilizer and spot weed control.
• Early Summer - Slow release High nitrogen and spot weed control.
• Late Summer - Slow release High nitrogen and spot weed control.
• Mid Fall - Pre-emergent and broadleaf weed control- helps prevent winter annuals (i.e. poa annua).
• Late Fall - Cool season weed control.

With our hard clay soils, it is also important to aerate annually to relieve compaction and to allow all three of the important elements to get to the root zone: water, nutrients, and air. We aerate bermudagrass mid spring before the growing season begins in earnest.

If you live in the Charlotte area (Matthews, Indian Trail, Mooresville, or surrounding areas of North Carolina or the Lancaster, Rock Hill, or Indian Land areas of South Carolina) and want help maintaining your lawn, give us a call. We've got a 7 Step program that can assist with making your turf weed free, well fed, and healthy.

With maintenance and regular fertilization, you'll be amazed at the lawn you can have!

Thanks,

The AA Tex Lawn Team