Testimonial Tuesday

We continue to be so lucky to have the opportunity to work with awesome clients.  Here are a few recent comments we have received from our customers:

"Very Professional Work.  1st Class LED Products used.  The design was as billed - GREAT LED Lighting!  Installation was quick and without a mess." ~Rob Hennessey

"The tree service crew that worked on our home and property were Excellent.  Very polite.  Knew what they were doing caring for our trees.  Thank You"  ~JoAnn Schenker

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to work for you!  We are grateful and so honored by your comments.  Have we done work for you?  We'd love to hear from you!

Make your lawn happy with these mowing tips

Since we are in a drought, you should raise your mower height to 2 1/2 - 3 inches.  The grass will be stronger and better able to survive the drought when mowed at a higher cut.  It will also discourage germination of weed seeds and insulate the soil against the drying heat.

You should never mow more than 1/3 of the grass blade at a time and it is best to use a mulching mower that prevents the need to bag clippings.  The clippings return nutrients to the lawn lowering the need for fertilizers.

Last but not least, make sure the mower blade is sharp.  A dull blade will tear the grass tips causing them to turn brown. 

What advice do you have for mowing the lawn?

Get your Weekends Back!

Do you hate having to mow your lawn every week?  How about having to fertilize and remulch seasonally?  It can really take up a lot of your precious free time! 

Look to Preferred Landscape and Lighting’s Maintenance and Enhancement department to care for your outdoor living space.  We offer lawn and landscape maintenance to include: grub worm control, organic lawn fertilization service, tree trimming / pruning and tree and shrub care, as well as specialized Oak wilt prevention (arborist services). Our lawn care business can design and develop and maintenance schedule to fit your budget and special needs, even if it is to just fertilize your yard one time.

The Value of a Certified Arborist

Certified Arborists are tree care specialists dedicated to excellence in the field of Arborculture.  They are highly qualified in the care of your valuable trees and shrubs with knowledge of the most up-to-date advances and proven age-old techniques.
They are educated and trained in:
• Diagnosis and treatment of your tree and shrub related problems.
• Proper pruning and management techniques for your valuable trees and shrubs.
• Understanding tree biology.
• Identifying and selecting the appropriate trees and shrubs for your landscape.
• Understanding the delicate soil and water relationships which affect tree and shrub health.
• Nutrition requirements and fertilization techniques to keep your trees and shrubs in peak form.
• Recognizing certain tree hazards and construction damage.

 Preferred Landscape and Lighting has a full-time certified arborist who would be happy to help you with any tree care needs.

Its Raining, Its Pouring...

What a wonderful sight it was to wake up and see rain drops falling this morning!    Don't you wish you could save some of that rain water we received and use it in a few weeks when our landscape will need it again?

A water catchment system is an excellent way to collect rainwater and save it to use on our landscape.  It allows more flexibility to water when we find ourselves in a drought situaton.  Even though San Antonio doesn't get much rain, if you have a correctly designed system it would provide a nice supplemental supply even on the small amounts of rain we receive annually.  Last night, San Antonio received at least one inch of rainfall and one inch can produce about 600 gallons with a 1,000 sq. ft. roof.

If you would like to learn more about a water catchment system, Preferred Landscape and Lighting would be happy to explain the options.  Does anybody have one installed already?  Any advice?

Testimonial Tuesday

Preferred Landscape and Lighting is so fortunate to work with wonderful clients that have made our business successful.  We are honored to get customer comments regarding the customer's experience at Preferred and are excited to share them with you on Tuesdays!

"It has been my great pleasure to have Preferred Landscape and Lighting design a landscape/yard and install a sprinkler system for my new backyard.  Robert Watson was the salesperson I have dealt with and who designed the plans and I couldn't be more pleased.  Mr. Watson is very professional and friendly.  He listened and worked carefully with me in order that we could get exactly what we needed and desired.

Augustine was the gentleman who was and is in charge of the sprinkler system.  The entire crew from the laborers who planted and the irrigation installers were all friendly and hard workers.  I admire each and every one of them.  It would be my desire that this letter be placed in each one of their personnel files."
Sincerely,
Robbie Luitjen

We truly appreciate those very kind words!  Have you had work done by Preferred?  What feedback do you have for us?

Surviving the Drought: Tip #5 Cut back your perennials

When it gets this hot out, many perennials start to really show their lack of irrigation by looking a bit leggy.  If the perennials are cut back, they will look better now and will be ready to bloom again when the rain comes.  Preferred Landscape and Lighting can help you determine which plants are best suited to be pruned and how much to cut back.

Are your perennials struggling?  What do you do to help them look their best throughout the drought?

Tip #4 - Program your Irrigation Systems

In our ongoing series on Surviving the Drought we bring tip #4: Program your irrigation systems.  In order to optimize your ability to water your landscape and follow the watering restrictions, it is important to review your programming for your irrigation system.  Resetting your controller so you are using your drip irrigation on all the allowable days and watering your turf on the correct day of the week will keep your landscape in good shape and keep you in compliance and avoid citations with the watering authorities.

Resetting your controller can seem intimidating but if you read the instruction manual and know your zones, it is fairly simple.  However if you need some help, the irrigation crew at Preferred Landscape and Lighting would be happy to schedule a service call to assist.  Have you reprogrammed your irrigation system yet?  Was it easy or hard?

Tip #3: Drip, Drip, Drip

Drip Irrigation is the best way to water your planting beds as it is much more efficient than traditional irrigation.  As much as 60% of the water used by traditional spray and rotor irrigation is lost to evaporation and never makes it to your thirsty plants.  Drip irrigation, however, is a much more effective delivery system that puts water directly onto the root zones of the plants.  When the drip tubing is properly covered with mulch, almost none of the water is lost to evaporation. 

Water authorities encourage the use of drip irrigation through policy because it is so much more effiecient.  The water restrictions allow more frequent watering with drip irrigation compared to traditional irrigation.  Also, many water authorities offer financial incentives through the form of rebates for converting traditional irrigation zones to drip. 

Preferred Landscape and Lighting promotes drip irrigation on any new planting bed installation.  Do you have drip irrigation?  How does it work for you?

Surviving a Drought - Tip #2

Tip #2 - Prune your Trees

The best time to prune oaks has always been the driest times of the year and it does not get much drier than this.  The beetle that transmits oak wilt is inactive at this time.

Another reason to prune – trees are weakening due to the drought and will be letting more limbs die.  These limbs are more likely to fall during future storms.  Fallen limbs snag and make it tough for the already weak tree to heal and the limbs can cause property damage. 

Check back tomorrow for additional tips on caring for your landscaping during a drought.  Also, we want to hear from you...what do you do to help your landscaping survive a drought? 

Drought in San Antonio

Like the majority of Texas, San Antonio is experiencing drought conditions this summer.  The current water restrictions in place allow homeowners to use their irrigation systems only once per week and that likely will become even more strict in the next few weeks.  Is there anything a homeowner can do to help their landscape survive the drought?  Yes!! 

Tip #1:  Mulch is vital to plants for surviving the drought

There are many benefits to adding mulch to your landscape
1.  Keeps root zones cooler, moist and prevents evaporation.
2.  Prevents weeds which steal water and nutrients from your plants
3.  Properly mulched planting beds hold water longer. 

Come back and check tomorrow as we continue our series on surviving the Texas Drought.