Create your own butterfly garden in a few easy steps!

Texas has more butterfly species - over 440 - than any other state.  Do you want them to make an appearance in your garden?  Here are some simple tips to start a butterfly garden.
The key to successful butterfly gardening is to select a variety of flowering plants so butterflies are attracted to the food source all summer long.  Plant flowering plants known to provide nectar for butterflies and provide plants known as food sources for butterfly caterpillars.  

Utilize plants of different colors and different heights of flowering plants. Examples of  butterfly attracting plants for Texas gardens are salvia, lantana, turks cap, purple coneflower, verbena, buddleia and butterfly weed.

Create a garden habitat that butterflies will enjoy - a sunny garden surrounded by shrubs.  The sun warms the insects and the bushes provide shelter and protection from predators.  Encourage flowering plants to continue blooming by pinching off dead flowers. 

Another important point is to eliminate the use of insecticides in your garden.  Butterflies and caterpillars are very sensitive to insecticide.

Another Job Opportunity

http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/lab/2807932186.html

Looking for a new job?

Take a look for postions we are hiring.  Please let us know if you are interested!

Irrigation Service Technician

http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/lab/2806676843.html

Landscaping Laborer

http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/lab/2806061168.html

Landscape Foreman

http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/lab/2806065169.html

Maintenance Foreman

http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/lab/2806490061.html

Maintenance Laborer

http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/lab/2806683104.html

Ranch Foreman

http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/lab/2806673272.html

Tree Climber

http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/lab/2806666843.html

Time to plant your flowers

If you have been storing flowering bulbs this winter, it is now time to get them out and plant them.  Some of the common flowering bulbs are tulips, daffodil and crocus just to name a few.  These bulbs like the cool soil temperatures we have now.

A few key points on the right way to plant a bulb.  Plant with the pointed side up - this is the stem of the plant.  You also should plant them at a depth that is 3X the diameter of the bulb.  An example for a 1-inch bulb should be planted 3 inches down into the soil.  If you haven't already done so, add some organic matter to the soil you are planting.

It is also time to plant the cool-season annual flowers such as pansies, petunias, sweet alyssum and snap dragons.   

The early bird catches the worm...

Think it is too early to plan your new landscape plantings?  Now is actually the perfect time to start designing and planning what you want to do once the warm weather is here to stay.

Take a look at garden magazines and catalogues for ideas on new additions to your landscaping this year.  If you need some help getting started, Preferred Landscape and Lighting can design a plan for your entire outdoor living space.

It is also the right time to prepare the soil now for spring plantings.  The goal is to create a garden soil with a minimum depth of 12 inches.  This 12 inches should be composed of 50% organic matter and 50% the soil in your yard.   The organic matter can be composted manure, pine bark mulch, home compost, fallen leaves or a combination of them.  If your soil is really shallow you may have to bring in top soil to get enough soil to blend with the composted materials. 

Time to mow the lawn...

I heard quite a few lawn mowers this past weekend.  With the recent rain and the wet weather, the grass is making a comeback along with a lot of weeds. 

Tired of spending your weekend mowing the lawn and picking the weeds?  Do you wish you could skip the upcoming spring cleanup of adding mulch and annuals to your landscape beds?  Let us do the work for you!

Preferred Landscape and Lighting has a maintenance department that can set up regular service calls to do as much or as little as you want them to.  Just want a quarterly spruce up?  Done.  Want somebody out there every week tending the beds and spraying for weeds?  Done.  We can customize a maintenance plans to meet your needs.  So you can get back to enjoying your outdoor space on the weekends instead of working on it! 

Does your lighting system need a checkup?

Have you noticed a few light bulbs out on your outdoor lighting system?  Is there a light that flickers?  Are some of your lights not positioned where you want them?  If you have any or all of these issues, it is time for a lighting system checkup!

We can set up a service call and have our lighting technicians do a full analysis of your system and change out the lamps you need replaced.  They can also recommend changes or improvements that could be made to your system.  Many of our customers are transitioning their Mercury Vapor lighting systems to the new efficient LED system with just a change of a lamp. 

Please give us a call if we can be of service to you - 210-657-7737.

The Millard Group and Preferred Landscape and Lighting Join Forces to Enhance Strategic Growth

SAN ANTONIO & CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Chicago-based The Millard Group, a national leader in the janitorial services industry, announced today that it has acquired Preferred Landscape and Lighting of San Antonio, Texas. The two companies have complementary customer bases and service niches, and with the addition of Preferred’s capabilities to its core business offering, The Millard Group will integrate services in both horizontal and vertical platforms to strategically grow its business. Preferred will maintain its headquarters in Boerne, and there will be no staff or leadership changes.
Preferred Landscape and Lighting employs 80 people and is well-recognized throughout Texas for its commercial landscape maintenance, lighting and holiday decorating services. The Millard Group provides janitorial, window cleaning, and architectural metal and stone maintenance services to commercial clients throughout the US.
“As we look to strategically expand our business, the growth platform afforded to us with Preferred is very exciting,” commented The Millard Group’s CEO, Larry Kugler. “We look forward to offering our current clients enhanced services in commercial building maintenance, and growing our business in the landscape, lighting and decoration arena.”
David Dunne, Preferred Landscape’s CEO offered additional thoughts, saying, “The opportunity to join forces with a nationally-recognized company like Millard leverages Preferred’s growth potential and enhances our ability to service our customers.”
Preferred Landscape and Lighting provides a variety of outdoor services to businesses in Texas and was founded in 1995. Preferred has been honored as a 2011 Fast Track Company by the San Antonio Business Journal as well as by Inc. Magazine’s 5000 fastest growing companies, and with the North San Antonio Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Leadership award.
Founded in 1915, The Millard Group is a family-owned business with a long history of leadership in the building maintenance industry. The Millard Group offers a full spectrum of janitorial, window cleaning, and architectural metal and stone maintenance services to clients coast to coast. The organization’s customer base includes commercial and industrial real estate buildings, residential properties, educational and banking institutions, health care facilities, regional shopping centers and strip malls. Millard employs 4,000 people and serves over 1,000 clients in 30 states

Happy New Year!

What is your New Year Resolution this year? If you have resolved to get started on some overdue project around the house but aren't sure where to start - we can help!  We would be happy to come out and discuss what you are looking for and can design a plan that fits your needs.