While it is hot now, fall is coming. Remember, fall is the best time to plant shrubs in your landscape. Look around at the shrubs that have not survived the intense cold and then intense heat this year. Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping recommends the following shrubs to replace your dead or dying ones, or to create an entirely new landscape area for your home as well.
Drift Roses
Drift Roses are a low shrub with beautiful large flowers from apricot to coral red. The leaves are dark green. The flowers are 1.5 inches across with up to twenty-five petals. The plant gets up to two feet tall and three feet wide. Drift roses have excellent disease resistance making them a very low-maintenance plant. Plant in full sun. Deadhead spent flowers for the best results and continued blooms.
Ninebark
Ninebark shrubs vary in size and leaf color depending on the variety. The young stems are brown while the older stems have exfoliating bark. Leaves are dark green above and lighter green below. The small flowers range from white to pink and are replaced with red fruit that stays on the shrub through the fall. Depending on the variety the shrub can get from 3-8 feet tall and 4-6 feet wide. The fruit attracts birds and other wildlife. Plant in full sun.
Spirea – Gold Flame
This showy plant has small pink flowers and golden-colored leaves. New leaves are gold, and mature leaves are green gold. This hardy shrub will tolerate partial shade but does better in full sun. It is resistant to deer. Spirea Gold Flame grows up to 3 ½ feet tall and 4 feet wide. The flowers attract butterflies and other pollinators.
Crape Myrtle
Crape Myrtles are a wonderfully versatile landscape plant. They bloom all summer, come in a variety of colors from hot pink and red to white, come in sizes from ground cover to tree, and have interesting bark. In our area, crape myrtles reach shrub size. However, you can find a crape myrtle cultivar to fit almost any space. Plant in full sun for a very showy plant.
Butterfly Bush
Butterfly bush is another plant that flowers in a variety of colors ranging from yellow to orange to red to purple. The leaves vary from deep green to gray-green to silverish gray. As the name implies, the bush attracts lots of butterflies and other pollinators, including Monarch butterflies. The bush grows 6-10 feet tall and 4-10 feet wide and has a pleasing arching form. The size, flower color, and leaf color vary by variety. It requires full sun. One of our favorites is the “Miss Molly” variety.
Rose of Sharon
Rose of Sharon has big flowers that come in blue, red, pink, lavender, purple, white, or a combination of these colors. Some flowers are double blooms, while some are single blooms. The leaves are bright green. Different varieties come in different sizes, but the largest can grow up to fifteen feet tall and wide. Bees and hummingbirds love Rose of Sharon flowers. Rose of Sharon will grow well in partial shade but has more and bigger blooms in full sun.
Oakleaf Hydrangea
Oakleaf hydrangea has large, showy green leaves that turn bronze or other colors in the fall. The flowers are ivory-white when they first come out and may blush pink as they age. The bark on the stems is fuzzy and brown at first, maturing to a cinnamon color. The bark exfoliates its outer layer, lending interest to the stems. Oakleaf hydrangea size varies by variety but is typically 4-8 feet tall and as wide. Dwarf varieties may top out at three feet high. These bushes do best in partial shade or dappled sun. They attract pollinators with their flowers.
Can’t Decide?
Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping’s Garden Care Specialist, Jess Jones, can advise you as to which of these beautiful shrubs will best fit into your landscape. She can help educate you on the alternatives, as well, if none of these strike your fancy. You can call our office at (816) 825-2524 or schedule a consultation to have us come out and help you evaluate your landscape and suggest new plants for your needs.
It is no secret that we are in the middle of a major drought and an historic heat wave. Our landscape plants need water to survive the heat and drought. Here are some things we at Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping suggest to keep your plants and landscapes in good condition this summer.
Trees
Trees add the most value to a landscape of any plant. They take the longest to grow, too. Many trees do not show drought stress until they are already in trouble, so you may not see signs your tree is hurting now. They are definitely stressed between the extreme heat and the drought. Trees use water to cool themselves and will literally cook without an adequate supply of water.
Younger trees that have been planted in the last three years are especially at risk. To prevent that, make sure to water your trees thoroughly. Trees need two to three gallons of water per inch of trunk diameter two to three times a week during their first three years. During a drought, they can survive on one to two inches of water two or three times a week to get them through the summer to the fall.
Established trees should be watered deeply with two to three inches per inch of trunk diameter, especially when they show drought stress. These signs include dropping or wilting leaves, small or malformed leaves, yellowing of the leaves, and browning tips of the leaves. Always water in the morning before ten if possible so they dry out by nightfall. This helps prevent fungus and other diseases.
Foundation
We have clay soil that can become a hard, impervious rock during the summer when there is little rain. Your soil will pull away from your foundation when it shrinks in the heat. When it does rain, the cracks between your soil and your foundation fill up and can cause damage and flooding. To prevent this, water around your foundation during the summer. Running your sprinklers twice a week early in the morning will keep your soil moist and protect your house from problems.
Check Irrigation
Speaking of sprinklers, have you checked to make sure all your sprinkler heads are working properly? A busted head can cause a problem anytime. During a drought, you risk plants dying around a head that no longer emits enough water or even erosion problems from concentrated water flow in a specific area. Most homeowners typically check their sprinkler system in the spring when it is turned on and again in late fall when it is turned off. We suggest adding at least one to three summer checks of your system. Ideally, you would check it once a month to ensure the heads are functioning properly and the program schedule fits the climate conditions. If you can’t do it monthly, then maybe a few times during the hottest and driest seasons will make a big difference to the health of your landscape and turf.
We Can Help
Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping can connect you with irrigation specialists that can come and check your system this summer. They can repair any problems with the system, so you are sure all your plants and your foundation are getting the water they need to survive the summer and the drought. Call us at (816) 825-2524 to get help managing your landscape this summer.
For hardscapes to look their best, they need regular maintenance. Hardscapes consist of the non-permeable parts of the landscape like pavers and concrete. Lack of maintenance makes these features dirty and could even destabilize the pavers over time.
Sweep or Blow Clean Regularly
The first maintenance item is to sweep or blow clean your hardscapes regularly. We recommend at least once a month during the season. This removes debris before it has a chance to accumulate. When it rains, debris forms a wet spot that can lead to stains on pavers and concrete. Wet spots can break down the sealant on the paver joints, allowing the sand to erode over time.
Power Wash
The next level of maintenance is the power wash. We typically recommend it at least every year. Be careful when using a power washer on pavers to keep the washer moving and never focus on the joints, so you do not force the sand out of the joints. You want to wash the dirt off, not blow the joints out. Concrete needs power washing, too, to look its best. You can rent a power washer from a tool store if you do not have one.
Chemically Cleaning and Sealing
The next step is to chemically clean and seal pavers and concrete. We use chemical cleaners to clean and prep pavers for sealing or even to strip the old sealer off of the hardscape and really clean the pavers and concrete off. We let this dry, then we touch up the paver joints with new sand, if needed, as mentioned in the Paver Joints – Techniques and Expectations article. We then apply a sealer to protect the pavers from fading in the sun or stains. Most all our clients prefer the wet-look sealer to enhance the color of their pavers and give it the wet look. This process also stabilizes the joints around the pavers and makes the pavers shine. Our wet-look sealer also contains an anti-fungal agent to help prevent moss from growing on your patio in those stubborn shady areas. For concrete, the sealer makes the concrete shiny and silky looking while repelling stains.
We Can Help
Chemically cleaning and sealing pavers and concrete requires special chemicals and equipment to do it right. Since most people only need this done every two to three years, owning such equipment is not cost-effective. We have a program where we will power wash your pavers and concrete every year. We will chemically clean your pavers and concrete, touch up the joints, and seal the pavers and concrete every second year. We already have the specialized equipment and knowledge to do this maintenance safely, so you don’t have to. Contact Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping at (816) 825-2524 or schedule a consult to get on our schedule.
I want to introduce you to Ian Templeton, our hardscape foreman and outdoor specialist. He leads the hardscape team, building paver and stone patios, walls, fire features, and outdoor kitchens. He is currently wrapping up a project in Prairie Village with a front stone walk along with 2 back patios, a fire pit, and a seating wall just in time for the 4th of July holiday.
Ian’s Experience
Ian worked in a warehouse running machinery before coming to Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping. When he got here, Ian started as a basic laborer, digging ditches and lugging equipment around. In the six years he has been with us, Ian has risen from the bottom to the top of the hardscape crew.
As Andy says, ”Ian is our longest-term employee and it has been a pleasure to watch him grow and develop over the years. He has been a part of some major outdoor living transformations and has built over 100 hardscape projects. This season he continues to improve his skills in project planning, logistics, and leadership. We look forward to having Ian on our team for many years to come.”
Ian says his favorite part of the job is running the machines. He also likes it when the job is finished, and he can look and see all the hard work pay off. He loves it when the customer is thrilled with their new outdoor living area.
Coming To Royal Creations
Ian was looking for another job while at the warehouse and a buddy told him about an opening at Royal Creations. He applied for the job and got it.
Local Boy
Ian was born in south Kansas City, so he is a local. He moved to Independence at the age of seven and still lives there. As a local boy, Ian is used to the worst the climate can throw at us, from deep snow and ice that make digging impossible to the heat of summer. On one job, the soil was so frozen that picks and shovels couldn’t penetrate, so Ian had to rent a trencher. The trencher could barely dig the trench, the soil was so hard.
Other Interests
Ian likes to play computer games, especially Fortnight, with friends. He likes it so much that he built a gaming PC with a lot of RAM, a big graphics card, and a lot of memory to run his games. He dreams of a more powerful PC to make his games run even better.
What Ian Can Do For You
We do more hardscape work in July and August than during the rest of the year. If you want Ian and the Blue Crew to tackle your hardscape projects, go to our website at Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping and schedule a consultation. Our calendar is filling up fast, so contact us today.
As wonderful as summer is, the season brings weeds to our landscape beds. Hopefully, your landscape beds have had a fresh coat of mulch this season, which will be the best way to help keep weeds at bay, but there most likely will still be some. Here are some ways we deal with weeds at Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping.
Hand Pull Weeds
The first way to tackle a weed is to pull it out of the ground and throw it on the compost pile or in the trash. Pulling weeds is the most environmentally friendly way to kill them. Make sure you pull the entire plant including the roots or the weed will just grow back. That can be tough if the weed has a long taproot, but it is important. If you can stay on top of regular weeding weekly or monthly, this can usually do the trick for most of your mulched areas.
Spot Spraying
If you have tough weeds that just won’t die, or you are renovating landscape beds that have major weed problems, you can use herbicides to treat the problem. When you spot spray, you must be very careful to only spray on the target weed. If the spray hits a plant you want to keep, it will cause damage and may kill it. Only spray on calm days because the wind will cause the spray to drift onto nearby plants. Spray the weeds thoroughly so that you can make sure to eliminate the plant.
Reapply Pre-Emergent
After we have removed the problem weeds, we reapply pre-emergent to the mulch in the landscape beds. We first applied pre-emergent when we freshened the mulch for spring. Most pre-emergents work for thirty to ninety days, so it is time to apply again. Weed seeds are spread by the wind, by birds, and by animals, so they can land on top of the mulch. While the mulch keeps most weeds from growing, a few will sprout in the mulch. These weeds are the ones we treat with pre-emergent. Typically, we will treat our clients’ mulch beds with pre-emergent 3 times during the growing season.
Weed-Free Guarantee
If you sign up for our garden care program, we will come weed your landscape beds for you. We will hand pull the weeds we can, and spot-spray the stubborn ones. Once your garden is weed free, we will apply another coat of pre-emergent to take care of the weeds through the summer. If you are bothered by weeds between our visits, we will come back and remove them at no extra charge. The benefits of our garden care program depend on the level you choose but can include spring mulch, spring plant health care, six monthly weed control visits, fall mulch, fall plant health care, winter plant health care, and summer plant health care, and even some annual flowers for our Royal Treatment customers.
Sign-Up Now
If you would like to have a weed-free landscape, then you can Sign-up for our garden care program by calling Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping at (816) 825-2524. Get on our schedule now so you can enjoy a weed-free summer.
