Composting
image courtesy of squawkfox.com
Home composting is a great way to recycle kitchen and garden waste. Compost (also referred to as humus) is the dark, earthy, soil-like material resulting from the natural decomposition of organic matter. It is nutrient rich and great for conditioning the soil for houseplants, container gardens and the landscape, not to mention a fantastic substitute for commercial fertilizers. Composting at home is not only a rewarding landscape asset it is vital to reducing the large amount of waste sent to the dump. Did you know? According to the EPA, kitchen and garden waste makes up about 26% of the total U.S. municipal garbage sent off to the landfills and nearly 1/3 is compostable materials. Unfortunately, the waste does not break down nearly as well as it would in a home compost system. In order to decompose, the correct amount of air circulation, moisture and the proper ratio of “green” vs. “brown” materials are necessary for success. View a more detailed list of compostable materials below and read on to learn more about how and what to compost.
Outdoor Entertaining Tips & Ideas
landscape project by Crimson Valley
Summer is great for outdoor get-togethers and barbeques. This is the perfect opportunity to show off your landscape. Throwing a party doesn’t have to be expensive; whether it’s enjoying the outdoors with cheese and wine, a barbeque or a potluck. Set the scene with cut flower arrangements from your garden and great lighting; provide guests with plenty of seating, cool drinks and an opportunity to get out of the hot sun. Plan your party, prepare yourself in advance and do take the offer to help when your first few guests arrive. Remember, this low-key event is for you to enjoy as well.
Plant a Cut Flower Garden
image courtesy of joenesgarden.com
Cut flower gardens; also referred to as cutting gardens are planting beds grown primarily for harvesting foliage, flowers and seed heads to make beautiful bouquets and flower arrangements to bring a piece of the outdoor landscape to the indoors.
Select a nice location alongside a garage or at the back of your property. If there isn’t a space available to designate specifically for cut flowers, plant a variety of cut flowers throughout your vegetable garden or landscape. You will continuously cut the flowers and foliage to make bouquets, which makes a veggie garden a great space to incorporate your cutting garden. Some herbs with colorful foliage are very aromatic and make beautiful additions to garden bouquets.
Summer Lawn Care
With warm weather on the rise, it is extremely important to keep newly installed lawns watered thoroughly. Pay attention to rainfall and compensate for the lack of water by running your irrigation system or hand watering your lawn. Newly planted and established lawns need at least 1” of water a week. Keep track of weekly rainfall with a rain gauge and apply the necessary amounts. If you do not have a rain gauge, just placing a small empty tuna can in your yard is a great way to judge the amount of water your lawn is getting. This will help make sure that your lawn is receiving all the water it needs to establish and flourish.
Meet Christine
meet Christine Chaney
Crimson Valley is thrilled to have a new aspiring photographer joining us to capture our landscape projects on film. We would love the opportunity to see our clients’ landscapes grow and flourish over the years and through the changing seasons.
Christine Chaney is a college student with a passion for photography and graphic design. As a child, she would take her mom’s camera to shoot nature and their family pet. The outdoors has always been an inspiration for her and she looks forward to expanding her experience and love for nature by photographing the landscapes of Crimson Valley clients.
Find us on Facebook… Post your landscape pictures, we would love to see them! …and we might just send Christine out to take some photos of your home and landscaping!
Rain Gardens
Cutting the curb allows more runoff from the street to soak into the rain garden. photo courtesy of thecoves.ca
A rain garden is a depression in the landscape planted with native plantings that allows rainwater to runoff of impervious surfaces such as roofs, driveways, walkways, parking lots and even compacted lawns and gives it an opportunity to soak into the ground rather than into the stormwater systems.
Do areas of your landscape collect water? With spring season rainfall, you may notice the low spots in your landscape where water flows naturally. Turn those undesirable low spaces into functional and beautiful rain gardens. Rain gardens are a great way to beautify an unsightly area and reduce the amount of stormwater runoff. Designed with native plants, these gardens break up soil, filter water from impervious surfaces, and replenish our depleting ground water supply. If a low spot does not occur naturally, create one and place in between areas where run off occurs; eliminating much of the water in its path from reaching the storm water collection systems.
Landscape Outdoor Living Display at Sonco
Work in Progress... April 22, 2010
Crimson Valley is excited to join Sonco Pools & Spas and Estate Deck & Fence to build a beautiful outdoor living space at Sonco’s location on Riverside in Loves Park, Illinois. This display garden and landscape will be a great way for the Greater Rockford Area to check out many of our products and services at one location. Crimson Valley will feature an outdoor kitchen and outdoor fireplace along with a stone tile paver patio and outdoor lighting. Paired with a Sonco pool and Estate Deck & Fence’s deck and pergola; this display will offer our clients an atmosphere to help envision the ideas they want to feature in their landscape.
Rain Barrels
image courtesy of Barrel Depot
Spring is finally here! We should expect to see plenty of rain this season. Did you know that you could collect the rainwater falling on your roof and reuse it in your garden? When planning your landscape for this season, considering how installing rain barrels at your home will benefit the environment and your wallet. Rain Barrels are a great way to recycle rainwater. Rainwater is nutrient rich and naturally soft. This is far more beneficial to your landscape and vegetable or herb garden than watering with chemically treated municipal water. Not only will you be saving money by cutting the use on your municipal water to water your garden you will be helping the environment be preventing some of that water from running off your property and into the storm water collection system.
Outdoor Fireplaces
photo courtesy of Rockwood Retaining Walls
Gather around and enjoy the outdoors with family and friends, even when the weather is chilly with an outdoor fireplace. Built just like an indoor fireplace, outdoor fireplaces are a great way to enhance your outdoor living space. There are varieties of different fireplaces available for the outdoors. Custom-built fireplaces with natural stone and brick or pre-manufactured fireplaces; both have the option for wood burning or natural gas construction. Custom-built fireplaces are design and constructed to match your home and patio entertaining space. These are the most exclusive option but are unique to your home and personal style. Pre-manufactured fireplaces are a more cost effective way to enjoy warmth on cool days and nights. Although they tend to have a more simple finish, our talented construction team can help enhance your fireplace to give it a one-of-a-kind look and feel. Either option will give you a beautiful outdoor room to enjoy with friend and family, whether roasting marshmallows, dining al fresco or entertaining.
Welcome to the Crimson Valley Blog!
Welcome and thanks for visiting our new blog! We are a landscape company located in Rockford, Illinois and are proud to serve northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Our full service landscaping business specializes in landscape design, construction and maintenance. We are looking forward to the spring season and are excited to start posting landscape & garden tips and ideas for your home.
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- Landscape Project
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