For most of us, summer is not a season of stress. For lawns though, it is. Consistent hot and dry weather over a long period of time can lead to heat or moisture stress. This can cause your lawn to turn brown and even invite a variety of weeds and pests. To keep your lawn at its best and limit the hot summer damage, you should familiarize yourself with some of the basics of this issue.

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If your lawn is looking a little tired, consider a top-dressing of Black Gold, Cole’s highly organic compost. As the hot summer winds down and we move through August into the fall, it is important to start thinking ahead to the next season. There are many benefits to using compost and applying organic matter to your property. Cole Landscaping is proud to offer this all-natural top-dressing service.

The Process

First we will core aerate the complete property. Then we will broadcast this highly organic matter throughout the area along with seed. This gives you a much greener lawn through the fall and it will come back in the spring lush and beautiful.

What is compost and why should you use it?

Compost is the product resulting from the controlled biological decomposition of organic material that has been sanitized through the generation of heat and stabilized to the point that it is beneficial to plant growth. Above all, organic matter is vital to productive soils and healthy plant growth. Compost is certainly an excellent source of organic matter that promotes biologically active soil by adding beneficial microorganisms.

What else can compost do for your lawn?

• Incorporates slow release nutrients in an organic form
• Leaves pore spaces behind for roots to colonize as it breaks down
• Improves soil moisture retention
• Adds life and organic matter to the soil
• Allows micro-organisms to thrive and multiply to fight many soil-borne diseases

The Power of the Bark Blower

Our Cole crew alongside our powerful  Finn Bark Blower can service your property in no time at all. The Finn Blower is designed specifically to convey considerable volumes of heavy material (loam, stone etc.) as well as lighter materials (bark mulch, compost, playground chips) to large areas very quickly. Therefore, it is perfect for all size areas, including hillsides, tough terrain, and hard to reach places!

Contact Cole if your lawn is looking tired and could use some TLC.

The post Black Gold – Cole’s Compost Top-Dressing appeared first on Cole Landscaping.

Is your backyard PARTY READY? When the warm weather comes, there’s no better place to host your celebration than the great outdoors. From weddings and showers to graduation parties and cookouts, prepping your property is no small task. Whatever the occasion, we’re ready, willing and able!

Planning

With the summer season upon us, you’ve got to get your landscaping in order – and we can help! Cole has you covered with crews prepared to transform your property into the perfect setting to host your event.

Concierge Service:

We work closely with wedding and party planners to ensure that the landscape needs are met leading up to, before and during the event. We provide emergency lawn, tree and shrub installations for outdoor events, as well as all watering and irrigation monitoring.

Outdoor Party Ready “To Do” List

Since there are so many details to attend to for the party itself – invitations, caterer, cake – the list goes on – leave the outdoor tasks to a professional.

Property Care Service

Property Care Service will make your property sparkle. This consists of whatever lawn, shrub, plant and flower care that your property may require: re-edging bed lines, cultivating mulch, weeding beds, hand pruning/trimming and general overall property maintenance.

The Lawn

First and foremost, your lawn should be in top shape. Attend to any problems now. With proper mowing, fertilizing and care, your lawn should feel like a lush green carpet.

Shrubs and Flowers

Equally important is pruning shrubs and grooming flower beds. With today’s busy lifestyles, many homeowners just don’t have time for pruning and deadheading. If you need to add more color to your yard this summer, enhance your color pallet with our award winning annuals.

Containers

Decorating with plants and containers adds visual interest as well as seasonal color. If your event has a theme and color scheme, using containers is the best way to incorporate the colors of your choice.

Hardscapes

Don’t forget your walkways! It’s time to polish up the surfaces you walk (and drive) on. The bricks and pavement that make up your patio or walkway may need some attention. Your true hardscape could be hidden beneath a small layer of weathered dirt. Got cracks and broken stones? Cole can help with structural repairs to any necessary areas, including power cleaning, re-sanding, re-pointing, efflorescence cleaning and re-sealing.

Lighting: Landscape lighting, Outdoor Uplighting and Cafe Lighting

Installing lighting along walkways, steps and dark areas allows your celebration to extend into the evening hours. Besides providing safety from tripping in the dark, outdoor lighting also adds ambiance to your festivities.

Firepit

Add warmth and a fun place to gather with the installation of a fire pit. There are many easy-install models to choose from – the possibilities are endless and your parties will last well into the night!

Let the Celebrations Begin!

If you need help getting PARTY READY, Cole knows just what to do. Extend your indoors outdoors and let us take care of those chores. We are your full service landscape provider and we’ve got you covered, from getting your greenery green to cleaning your hardscapes and lighting your walkways.  Our Signature Services will get you “Party Ready.”

The post Are You Party Ready? appeared first on Cole Landscaping.

CURB APPEAL WORKSHOP

284 Bay Road, South Hamilton, MA 01982

April 4, 2019

7:00–9:00 PM

Order Your Tickets Today

Register: $20/person

All proceeds go directly to The Community House.

Each ticket holder will be eligible to win a Gardening Gift Basket including a $250 certificate towards landscape design services at Cole Landscaping

Make a Great First Impression!

Boost your Curb Appeal with Cole Landscaping and The Community House in our spring Charrette Series Workshop.

Come to Wine & Design and learn about landscape design. You take pride in your home, you want to make a statement.  You love your neighborâ€s house and landscape and want something beautiful too, but you are stumped as to where to begin. This charrette will focus on improving your home’s curb appeal through landscape design.

Meet Mara Robinson, ASLA at Wine & Design

Join Mara Robinson, ASLA for another fun-filled evening of Wine and Design: Curb Appeal Workshop. We will learn how softscape and hardscape ideas can make a statement in your neighborhood.  We will analyze the site, consider the direction of sun travel, topography and location, natural site features, style of home, level of maintenance, and budget.  Sometimes even the smallest changes go a long way, so letâ€s sharpen our pencils and think something AMAZING!

What you Need to Bring

Come with a plan of your house (tax map from assessorâ€s office or survey), and/or photos of your home and ones you admire. Even a Google Map overview may be helpful. Feel free to bring along photos from magazines that inspire you or Pinterest posts that you’ve pinned.

Letâ€s get the wheels turning and think about what we really want for our home, and how simple ideas can go a long way with some guidance. Grab a glass of wine and settle in for a fun and informative charrette on the exciting process of designing outdoor living space. If you are looking to sell your home and want to maximize your profit, or you just want a landscape do-over or enhancement, sign up today!

The post CURB APPEAL: Wine & Design Charrette Series appeared first on Cole Landscaping.

Landscape Design for The Community House

284 Bay Road, South Hamilton, MA 01982

November 15, 2018

7:00–9:00 PM

Order Your Tickets Today

Register: $20/person

All proceeds go directly to The Community House.

Each ticket holder will be eligible to win a Gardening Gift Basket including a $250 certificate towards landscape design services at Cole Landscaping

Meet Mara Robinson, ASLA at Wine & Design

Come to Wine & Design and learn about landscape design. Grab a glass of wine and settle in for a fun and informative charrette on the exciting process of designing outdoor living space. Meet Mara Robinson, ASLA, Cole Landscapingâ€s own landscape designer. Mara is a graduate of the UMass Amherst School of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning. With over 18 years of experience in the field of landscape design and construction, Mara will provide us with insight into the process of design. She will also discuss how you, the homeowner, are an important contributor to the creation of your dream landscape.

What is a Charrette? (pronounced /SHaâ€ret/)

In the world of architecture, Merriam-Webster defines a charrette as the intense final effort made by architectural students to complete their solutions to a given architectural problem in and allotted period of time. Outside of the industry, it simply means a meeting devoted to planning a project or solving a problem relevant to all stakeholders. It’s safe to say that here won’t be any assessments at the eveningâ€s workshop, but collaboration and conversation are highly encouraged. The charrette will focus on the Community House Front Garden Project.

The Tools of the Trade

Landscape Design is about shaping functional and aesthetically pleasing outdoor spaces where we can create long-lasting memories with family and friends for generations to come. The landscape designer really needs to understand their clients†needs and ask all the right questions. Your outdoor space is an extension of your home, and it should reflect the same level of beauty and comfort as is within. At our Wine & Design event, you will learn the value of having a landscape designer to guide you through each phase of your project.

Important Considerations

Who will use the space and how will the space be used? At the Wine & Design event Mara will review the importance of scale and proportion. She will address minimum requirements for setbacks, driveway widths, walkway widths and patio sizes. The focus of this charrette will be to create a sustainable space for the Wenham/Hamilton community. This community space will be inclusive of all ages, cultures, economic and social groups. The goal is to create an area that is beautiful, meaningful and engaging for the people that will use it. Below is an example of steps involved in a particular detail for a client project.

The Process

As Mara walks you through the redesign of the Community House front garden, you will get an idea of how you as a homeowner could collaborate on your own dreamscape. You will learn to ask the right questions to ensure that your project will fulfill its intended purposes.

The post Wine & Design Charrette Series appeared first on Cole Landscaping.

First we will core aerate the complete property. Next, with our new Finn Bark Blower we will broadcast this highly organic matter throughout the area along with seed. The end result is a greener lawn in the fall that will translate to a lush and beautiful lawn next spring.

The Bark Blower is the largest and most impressive truck in our fleet. Team Cole is excited to work with this powerful machine. Besides being the most versatile performer, it always delivers high quality results. Most importantly, the Finn Blower is designed specifically to convey considerable volumes of heavy material (loam, stone etc.) as well as lighter materials (bark mulch, compost, playground chips) to large areas very quickly. Therefore, it is perfect for all size areas, including hillsides, tough terrain, and hard to reach places!

What is compost and why should you use it?

Compost is the product resulting from the controlled biological decomposition of organic material that has been sanitized through the generation of heat and stabilized to the point that it is beneficial to plant growth. Above all, organic matter is vital to productive soils and healthy plant growth. Compost is certainly an excellent source of organic matter that promotes biologically active soil by adding beneficial microorganisms.

What else can compost do for your lawn?

• Incorporates slow release nutrients in an organic form
• Leaves pore spaces behind for roots to colonize as it breaks down
• Improves soil moisture retention
• Adds life and organic matter to the soil
• Allows micro-organisms to thrive and multiply to fight many soil-borne diseases

Contact Cole if your lawn is looking tired and could use some TLC.

The post Nourish Your Lawn with Compost appeared first on Cole Landscaping.