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9 Easy Autumn Lawn and Garden Care Tips for Santa Barbara

October 18, 2012 By

Santa Barbara Autumn Landscaping Checklist

Santa Barbara Landscape company

Autumn Trees in Santa Barbara

Autumn is here.  What can you do to prepare your garden for the seasons ahead? Any experienced gardener or landscaper knows that each season offers challenges and opportunities.  In Santa Barbara, Fall is often the warmest time of the year. Some say it feels more like summer than actual summertime. This weather is unique because while the days are often extremely warm, they give way to nights that cool off these warm days.

October often boasts high-pressure systems, a weather pattern that is a key ingredient for these hot, dry days punctuated by warm Santa Ana winds. The short days and cool nights put less stress on the plant material, and this dry time of the year encourages perennials to go to sleep for the winter.
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Filed Under: Garden Maintenence, Landscaping Tips, Planting Tips, Residential Landscaping

Planting a Herb & Spice Garden in Santa Barbara

October 9, 2012 By

Grow Herbs and Spices All Year Long in Santa Barbara.

Last week our blog was unusually quiet because my wife and I went on a trip to Milwaukee to attend a conference. While we were there, we discovered an amazing store called The Spice House. Check out their website— The Spice House. They ship!

Herb Garden - Rosemary

Rosemary

Although we relished the cool days and beautiful autumn leaves, the realization that fall would quickly turn to snow there made us realize how lucky we are to be designing and installing landscapes in  Santa Barbara. Reflecting on this special boon of the Santa Barbara climate causes us to decide that a blog on Santa Barbara herb gardens was in order.
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Filed Under: Landscaping Tips, Planting Tips, Specialty Gardens, Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

Fixing Landscaping and Planting Mistakes

September 18, 2012 By

Common Planting Mistakes

Our maintenance clients often call on us to fix landscaping and planting errors made by other contractors. Here is a case study of a recent landscapee rescue project we just completed.

Case Study – Poor Soil Preparation

Recently we’ve been reworking the planting in the front yard of a client whose has lost trees and shrubs due to a fungus named armillaria and compaction of soil.

Problem:

A large row of Texas Privet hedge and various shrubs were lost. The client desired these to be replaced as the Privet hedge offers them privacy against the street traffic. As that point, we tested the soil to determine the severity of the problem.

Planting and soil Poblem in Santa Barbara

Problem: Undetected Soil Fungus plus Irrigation and Electrical Conduits Not Buried Deep per Code Requirements

Diagnosis:

The causes of the problem was determined to be an undiscovered fungi in soil which caused root disease and poor planting techniques used by previous landscaper.

It is imperative that landscapers test the soil for harmful elements that can cause plant disease.  An example of a harmful soil condition is Armillaria.  A root disease commonly found throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world.
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Filed Under: Planting Tips, Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

Landscaping for Autumn Colors in Santa Barbara

September 1, 2012 By
Autumn color Landscape design in Santa barbara

Autumn Colors in Santa Barbara - Viburnum Opulus, Common name is Snowball

Autumn Colors in Santa  Barbara

The bustling sound of Santa Barbara’s children returning to school has the staff at Down to Earth Landscapes yearning for the beginning of autumn colors. Although the autumnal season does not technically begin until Saturday, September 22, 2012, the signs of our favorite season begin early here in Santa Barbara County.

Many transplants to the area will say that there is no such thing as autumn colors in Southern California and especially Santa Barbara, but natives know that you can feel changes in the environment, including temperature, the angles of the shadows, and the smells in the air, as early as August.

We’ve been feeling those changes this week, which naturally made us think about autumn leaf colors. Those spectacular oranges, reds, and yellows are often considered out of reach here on the central coast. But that is not necessarily true. It is possible to have fall color in Santa Barbara.
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Filed Under: Landscaping Tips, Planting Tips, Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,

Santa Barbara Landscaping for the California Bungalow

August 25, 2012 By

santa barbara landscaperResidential Landscaping Project for a Santa Barbara Bungalow

Many people are aware that Santa Barbara’s uptown area is famous for its beautiful Victorian homes. But did you know that Santa Barbara is also known for the Arts and Crafts era architectural style known as the California Bungalow? At Down To Earth Landscapes, Inc. we love to take on projects that challenge us to restore a residence to its former brilliance, and we recently had the privilege of doing this with a California Bungalow home. Here are some thoughts from the Bungalow.
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Filed Under: Landscape Design, Residential Landscaping Tagged With: , ,

Soil Tips for Santa Barbara Gardens

August 2, 2012 By

What you need to know about Santa Barbara Soils

Have you ever wondered about the soil type you have on your property? In Santa Barbara,  we run into  4 varieties  of soil types.

  • Monterrey ShaleSana Barbara Soil types
  • Clay
  • Sand
  • Sandy Loam

In our last blog, we offered some secrets to planting a low maintenance garden. In the course of writing this blog, we realized that an examination of Santa Barbara’s soil types themselves would be helpful because each soil type needs to be treated and amended in a different way.

1. Monterey Shale

This soil is most often found in the foothills of Santa Barbara County. It consists of a chalky substance that has been compressed over thousands of years. The soil is generally white or light grey in color that is actually useful as chalk. It is mainly found on slopes and hillsides, not in a flat area.
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Filed Under: Landscaping Tips, Planting Tips Tagged With: ,

5 Secrets to Growing a Beautiful and Healthy Low Maintenance Garden

June 27, 2012 By

santa barbara low maintenance landscapes

Growing Low Maintenance  Gardens in Santa Barbara

We will end our Four Part series on low maintenance gardens with tips on planting.

You might be aware that many factors are necessary for planting a successful low maintenance garden. These basic ingredients are the same no matter where on the planet your garden is located. The planting wisdom we are about to share below is universally accepted. However, there are distinctions specific to Santa Barbara landscaping.
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Filed Under: Garden Maintenence Tagged With: , ,

Efficient Low Maintenance Garden Irrigation and Sprinkler Systems

June 6, 2012 By

Hunter sprinkler systems in santa barbara

When it comes to keeping gardens low maintenance, an automated irrigation system is essential.  Installing an automated sprinkler system ensures that your landscape will get just the right amount of water, reducing wasted run-off, while reducing your landscape maintenance efforts.
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Filed Under: Garden Maintenence Tagged With: ,

Using Soil Amendments to Create a Low Maintenance Garden in Santa Barbara

May 11, 2012 By

soil prep and healthy plantsThis week begins a series of blogs that will spotlight methods for creating a low maintenance garden. This week’s topic is “How to Use Soil Amendments to Create a Low Maintenance Garden”.

These blogs will provide you with a few tips on how to transform your garden into one that essentially takes care of itself. Who knows, you may be closer to “going low maintenance” than you think!

Soil Amendment and Low Maintenance

In an earlier blog dated March 14, 2012 we discussed the importance of amending soil. Proper soil preparation and amendment  is the starting point for having a healthy landscape. As a matter of fact, the quality of soil also directly impacts the maintenance required in your yard’s landscape because well amended and prepared soil keeps plant material healthy and strong and the result is a low maintenance garden  that will require fewer instances of fungicide, fertilization and dry soil.
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Filed Under: Garden Maintenence, Residential Landscaping Tagged With: , ,

Santa Barbara Landscaping Company – 5 Customer Service Rules

April 19, 2012 By

Santa Barbara Lanscaping company

Bruce & Mark Koehler " The Natives"

Customer Service Rules for Santa Barbara Landscaping Company

In this week’s blog, I’d like to share a value central to our landscaping business here in Santa Barbara—Customer Service.

In our Santa Barbara landscaping company, we strive to deliver our customers with the highest level of professional service in every thing we do.  Delivering quality customer service begins with devotion to a honing a craft and caring and  respecting the customer’s time and project needs.

Customer service in today’s marketplace tends to range from pathetic to mediocre.  Rarely will you find someone that goes the extra mile.  This is an opportunity to rise above the crowd and make a positive impression.

At Down To Earth Landscapes, Inc. we prefer a “embracing” approach, blending the best the technological age has to offer with old-fashioned craftsmanship and  caring and attentive service. Our team  differentiates itself from other companies through this holistic approach to managing your residential landscaping project.

That means that we are always up to date on the newest horticultural technologies and with internet marketing and social media networking. This means we want to connect with people wherever they feel most comfortable….Face-2-Face or online.
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Filed Under: Residential Landscaping Tagged With: ,
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