Wishes

Snow...Good or Bad

Snow...Good or Bad? Not meaning to be wimpy on the answer...both. Snow is a great insulator. Extreme cold temperatures can damage tender roots but snow, like a good blanket, provides enough insulation to protect them. Snow provides moisture. Ten inches of snow equals about one inch of rain. That is a good amount of water going into the water table for plants to use later on. Snow prevents heaving. When soil freezes, it often heaves. This can cause plants to actually be pushed out of the ground. Snow helps prevent this. Snow can be damaging. Unfortunately true. Heavy snow can cause tree branches to break and shrubs to split. A good way to prevent this is to have your trees professionally pruned and to brush heavy snow off of shrubs. If nothing else, a snowy landscape is a beautiful thing to enjoy, especially from inside.

And The Winner Is...

And The Winner Is.... Lady Bug Submitted by the Seneca Lake Elementary Garden Club. See the rest of our wonderful entries at our Facebook Page

Jack-O-Lantern Photo Contest!!

Win $250 in Allentuck Landscaping Bucks for you and for the school of your choice. Here's How It Works (so easy):  Get a pumpkin (preferably not from your neighbor's porch). Carve or paint your pumpkin. Take a picture of your Jack-O-Lantern. Click the "Submit" button below and attach the picture of your Jack-O-Lantern. Tell us your name and school. Go to our Facebook page between October 20th to October 30th and "Like" your picture (we'd sure appreciate it if you would "Like" our page too while you are there). Tell all your friends to go to our Facebook page and "Like" your picture too. Winner and school will be announced on October 31st on our Facebook page and by email. Why are you still reading this? Go get a pumpkin!

A few rules (sorry, have to have a few): Entrants must be from the Allentuck Landscaping Co. service area. You do not need to be a current ALC customer to enter or vote (although we would like you to become a customer of course). ALC reserves the right to reject any photo it deems inappropriate.

Fall Is Great For...

Fall Is Great For ...

 

Fall is like a breath of fresh air, literally. The heat and humidity have faded, the kids are back in school and football is back on television. It is a fresh start for us, and for our gardens. There is plenty to do.

Revive the lawn - Even in mild summers, turf grass takes a beating in our region. Fall is the perfect time to core aerate, apply lime to adjust the pH, install new grass seed and fertilize. Your efforts will be rewarded in the spring with a thick lush lawn.

Refresh the garden - Falls is a great time to add shrubs, trees and perennials to your gardens. Fill in those empty areas, add some new interest or overhaul tired areas. By planting now, the roots will be better established and the plants will take-off in the spring.

 

Energize the garden - Add a splash of color. Pansies, Chrysanthemums, Cabbage and Kale can all be planted now to add super splashes of color to your gardens. It is also time to plant spring bulbs such as Tulips, Daffodils and Hyacinths for spring beauty.

Maintain the garden - Add a layer of mulch to give your gardens a fresh look and protect your plants for the winter. It is also time for that last shrub and tree pruning of the year.

Plan the garden - Fall is an exceptional time to meet with our Landscape Designers and start planning new gardens, patios, walkways and other projects. Give us a call today to get started.

We Give, Because They Gave

We Give, Because They Gave

Abraham Lincoln called it "the last full measure of devotion". He said this in the Gettysburg Address and was referring to a soldier giving his life for his country. It was in respect of his words that Allentuck Landscaping Co. took part in Renewal and Remembrance at Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) this week, an annual event sponsored by The Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) in which 450 landscape contractors from all across the country come to Washington, at their own expense, to spend a day of service caring for America's most hallowed piece of ground.

I had a unique perspective on the day as I have the honor of being the event's chairman. This was Allentuck Landscaping Co.'s seventh year volunteering, and this year we were represented well by eleven members of our staff and families. It was a typical hot and humid Washington day, but that did not deter anyone on our eager team.

The day started with an opening ceremony complete with full color guard. I had the privilege of welcoming everyone to our town. ANC Executive Director Hallinan spoke of the meaning of Arlington and what our work meant to the cemetery and the families that visit there. Finally, we heard from Bob Brophy, owner of one of our equipment vendor companies and a Vietnam Veteran. He spoke of his time in service, the friends that he lost, and a deeper meaning of the day ahead of us. It was an inspiring start.

In all, our volunteers limed and aerated massive acreage of turf, installed lightning protect and support cables in trees, upgraded irrigation systems, and planted two gardens to protect drainage swales. Suppliers donated three tractor trailers of lime and dozens of pieces of equipment. While we worked, young children of our volunteers enjoyed tours of the facility, a wreath laying at the Tomb of the Unkowns, and got to plant tree saplings and ornamental grasses. We completed close to $250,000 worth of work in one morning! To say I am proud of my staff, our peers and our industry would be an understatement.

It only seems appropriate to say thank you to you, our customers, for allowing us to be a successful business and to have the opportunity to take part in meaningful service such as this. Thank you.

Very Best, 

Bruce Allentuck

Make Your Patio Awesome

Make Your Patio Awesome

A patio is a patio right? Not exactly. We view patios as an extension of your home, your outdoor family room, so to speak. A family room is not a family room right? It is your family room and you have probably gone to great lengths to make it special. Why not do the same with your patio?

Here are a few ways to make your patio awesome:

Add a seat wall - This sounds simple enough, and it is. A seat wall around part of your patio not only provides extra seating capacity, but also creates a boundary to your patio, making it feel cozier and more private. Another benefit to a seat wall is that when other families come over, the children naturally migrate to sit on the seat wall leaving the parents to enjoy the meal even more.   

Light it up - Lighting can greatly enhance any patio room and extend its usefulness into the night. With today's technology, LED lights can also save energy and reduce the need to change light bulbs. An automatic timer makes the whole system care free.

Let there be fire! - What is better than sitting around a campfire in the comfort of your backyard. A fire pit can really make a good evening a great evening. Choose from wood burning or gas, just save us a s'more.

There is no reason in the world to settle for boring. With these options, your patio can be awesome! 

See more of our patios at Our Portfolio.

Hug The Earth

Hug The Earth

We all need a hug every now and then. What better time is there to show the earth a little love than today, Earth Day. Here are ten ways you can show our rock how much you care:

·         Feed wildlife - Many plants have berries and nuts that provide food for our furry and feathered friends.

·         Install a rain barrel - Collect and use water off of your roof to water your plants. It is free!

·         Maintain a health lawn - Turf grass not only looks nice, it puts out a lot of oxygen and filters pollutants before they get to the water table.

·         Create a home for wildlife - Many plants also provide shelter for animals.

·         Use native plants - Plants that grow naturally in our climate are more resistant to harmful insects and diseases so less pesticides will be used to care for them.

·         Plant a vegetable garden - Not only will you get fresh vegetables for your family (and a big feeling of satisfaction), no fuel will be used to truck your vegetables to the store.

·         Keep cool - A shade tree put in the correct place in your yard can shade your home in the summer and let sun in to warm it in the winter.

·         Recycle yard waste - Don't pick up your grass clippings, it is free fertilizer for your lawn. Leaves, when composted, turn into wonderful leafmold for next year's garden.

·         Clean water - A rain garden helps clean the water coming out of your gutters before it goes into the ground.

·         Get outside - Nothing says you care like spending time with a loved one. Go for a hike or a picnic. Enjoy, and hug, our earth. It is the only one we have.   

Make Your Patio Awesome

Make Your Patio Awesome

A patio is a patio right? Not exactly. We view patios as an extension of your home, your outdoor family room, so to speak. A family room is not a family room right? It is your family room and you have probably gone to great lengths to make it special. Why not do the same with your patio?

Here are a few ways to make your patio awesome:

Add a seat wall - This sounds simple enough, and it is. A seat wall around part of your patio not only provides extra seating capacity, but also creates a boundary to your patio, making it feel cozier and more private. Another benefit to a seat wall is that when other families come over, the children naturally migrate to sit on the seat wall leaving the parents to enjoy the meal even more.   

Light it up - Lighting can greatly enhance any patio room and extend its usefulness into the night. With today's technology, LED lights can also save energy and reduce the need to change light bulbs. An automatic timer makes the whole system care free.

Let there be fire! - What is better than sitting around a campfire in the comfort of your backyard. A fire pit can really make a good evening a great evening. Choose from wood burning or gas, just save us a s'more.

There is no reason in the world to settle for boring. With these options, your patio can be awesome! 

See more of our patios at Our Portfolio.

25 Years And Counting

25 Years And Counting

Wow. Who'd a thunk it? Twenty-five years have flown by in a whisper. In twenty-five years we have had the pleasure of working with so many wonderful people and had the opportunity to create and care for so many beautiful gardens.

Yesterday we celebrated by donating and dedicating a new Children's Garden at the Hospice Caring Cottage in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Hospice Caring has been helping terminally ill adults, children and their families by providing practical and emotional support when they need it the most. It has been an honor to partner with Hospice Caring for many, many years and to be able to create this garden for them.

The garden has a stone labyrinth, shrubs that will bloom throughout the year, and evergreens to create a sense of privacy. A butterfly house, bird house, moon gate and statue of a turtle will be added later. The garden was dedicated to the memory of David and Helen Allentuck, Bruce Allentuck's grandparents.

Montgomery County Executive Ike Legget and City of Gaithersburg Mayor Sidney Katz presented the company with a proclamation honoring the company's twenty-five years and dedication of the garden. Lastly, our team gathered for very proud company photographs.

A company does not make it twenty-five years without a ton of support from a lot of people. Thank you to our fabulous customers, staff and partners for helping us get to this milestone.

Winter Gets One Last Laugh

Winter Gets One Last Laugh

Surprise! A last minute snow storm is bearing down on our area just when we were getting ready for spring. We have been fielding a lot of calls in the last few days, all wanting to know; "Will the late snow harm my plants?"

The answer, probably not. This may not be the definitive answer you were hoping for so let's dig a little deeper (pun intended).

The temperatures are still fairly mild so we should not expect any cold damage to the plants. In fact, the snow may actually help insulate tender flower buds and shallow root systems.

The snow will actually bring a benefit to our gardens...water. Although we are not in a drought situation this year, the added precipitation will end up being mostly a good thing.

The one thing we do need to be concerned with is the weight the snow may put on shrubs and trees. This weight could break limbs. If it is a heavy snow and you are concerned, simply take a broom and gently brush the snow off of the plants periodically.

Do not forget about our furry and feathered friends. A blanket of snow can prevent them from getting to their food. Be kind and put out some seeds for them.

Enjoy this, hopefully, last taste of winter. Spring is coming...we promise.

Experience Our Patios

Experience Our...Patios!

Patios bring friends and family together. Watch this video for ideas and then give us a call to get started on yours!

More Harbingers Of Spring

More Harbingers of Spring We know spring is just around the corner when we spot these two plants, both of which were spotted by our staff this week!    Witch Hazel - This beautiful shrub blooms yellow to red before leaves appear. A versatile plant that thrives in full sun to partial shade.       Crocus - This small bulb sure can add a splash of color to any garden. Yellows, purples and whites will bring a cheerfulness to your day!

Here Comes Spring!

Here Comes Spring!

Over the next few weeks you will see landscape truck after landscape truck carrying mulch, including of course, Allentuck Landscaping Co. trucks. Besides that fact that mulch makes our gardens look nice and is sort of a harbinger of spring, did you ever wonder why we put mulch down? What are the benefits? We have the answers:

·         Reduce surface evaporation from the soil

·         Improve water penetration and air movement

·         Moderate soil temperature fluctuations

·         Protect shallow-root plants from freeze damage and frost-heave

·         Discourage weed growth

·         Improve soil structure and nutrient availability as they decompose

The next question that you probably have on your mind is; "Must mulch be put down in the spring?" Great question. I am glad you asked. The truth is, mulch can be put down any time of the year. The fact that most mulch is installed in the spring has more to do with aesthetics than horticultural benefits. Of course, just making our gardens look great is good reason enough.

What A Team!

What A Team! 

Two of the best. Samuel and Jose have been with ALC for 19 and 16 years respectfully.

I was recently compiling some employee data and decided to run a query on the gang here at Allentuck Landscaping Co. I used hire dates to look closer at the average tenure of our staff. Landscaping is typically a high turnover industry, but amazingly the average tenure of our Crew Leader Corp and Management Team is 13 years! That average includes a number of folks who were hired within the last year or two! Now that tells us a few things; 1.) We have an extremely dedicated and loyal staff. 2.) There is a real atmosphere of family that pervades our culture and 3.) We have a lot of talented and experienced industry seasoned folks on board! It says a lot about our belief in our company values, as well as the current leadership team that has carried these values forward for so many years.

It is great to do what you love, to have passion, to get excited about your work, even in an extremely challenging economic environment. But for many of us here at Allentuck Landscaping Co., this is not the first time we have been challenged. We learn from our experiences on and off the job site. We bring that passion and skill set into all that we do. We treat every project as if it were our own and we never cut any corners in our workmanship nor the outcomes.

Now, I am not saying that every day is a walk through the park. We have the normal frustrations and hiccups that everyone has in their daily work life. But, we have a passion for landscaping and we love to share it with our clients, we like to call it the Allentuck Difference. That can only occur with a group of longstanding dedicated employees.

This is a wonderful career, we get to make the world a more beautiful place, we work with nature, and we get put our individual signatures on everything we do. You have to love what you do and we are fortunate to have so many people that do, each and every day.

BRRRRR!

BRRRRRRRR!!!!

Baby its cold out there!

In fact, these are the coldest temperatures we have seen in several years. You and I may be able to bundle up, but what about our plants? Is cold weather bad for plants?

Let's first assume that you have plants that are correct for our area. Obviously, plants that are normally found in southern regions will not do well in our coldest winters.

Interestingly enough, plants are very adept at preparing themselves for winter's cold.

During summer days, leaves make more glucose than the plant needs for energy and growth. The excess is turned into starch and stored until needed. As the daylight gets shorter in the autumn, plants begin to shut down their food production. As the amount of daylight gets too brief for the leaves to adequately produce food, the plant essentially cuts off the leaves from the rest of the plant. This is when we get the brilliant colors of fall. The leaves soon fall off and the tree rests for winter until the whole cycle begins again.

Evergreens, however, keep most of their leaves during the winter. They have special leaves, resistant to cold and moisture loss. Some, like pine and fir trees, have long thin needles. Others, like holly, have broad leaves with tough, waxy surfaces. On very cold, dry days, these leaves sometimes curl up to reduce their exposed surface. Evergreens may continue to photosynthesize during the winter as long as they get enough water, but the reactions occur more slowly at colder temperatures.

If only we could adapt as well to the cold!

Shades Of Green

Shades of Green

Who say winter needs to be all gray and dull? There are plenty of interesting evergreens to fill the space and add some life to the humdrum of the colder months.

We thought about making this email 50 Shades of Green but knew that no one would read such a long list. Truth be told, there are tons of plants with winter interest and color. Here are five of our favorites:

Gold Thread Cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Filifera Aurea') - Say that three times fast. Striking golden color and a floppy dog form, this is a terrific plant to use in mass or as an accent plant.

Skimmia (Skimmia japonica) - A plant for the shade. This plant has a deep olive leaf color, a white flower and red berries. No shade garden should be without it. Deer do not like to eat it!

Japanese Cedar (Caryopteria japonica 'Yoshino) - With its upright habit and interesting folliage, this is an excellent screening tree. Deer tend to leave it along so it is a wonderful alternative to Arborvitae and Leyland Cypress.

Japanese Plum Yew (Cephalotaxus harringtonia 'Prostrata') - Yes that is a mouth full but it is worth it. This low growing shrub has a very soft texture and a great year long emerald color. It can be used in sun of partial shade. Best of all, deer leave it alone!

Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina domestica) - Do not let the name fool you, this plant is not in the bamboo family. It is a brilliant semi-evergreen, meaning that in most winters it keeps it leaves. With white flowers in the spring, red berries in the fall, and reddish leaves on new growth, this is a shrub not to be missed.

   

Be Ready For Snow & Ice

Not All Salts Are Created Equal 

We've got good news and bad news for you. The good news, there is no prediction of winter precipitation in the near future. The bad news, It will get here sooner or later. Like it or not, winter weather is coming and you need to be prepared.

  

One of the questions our customers ask us the most is "Which ice melting products should we use"? Some products melt ice better than others, some are safe on concrete and some are not, and which ones will not harm plants. To give you the answer, we took a trip to Home Depot to see which products are readily available.

Blizzard Wizard  - At the very least, this product wins the competition for catchy name. It is available in a 40 pound bag and in a smaller, more manageable shaker container. Blizzard Wizard Ice Melt is a traditional ice melter encapsulated with liquid magnesium and a proprietary formula to provide an environmentally friendly product with very little dilution. Cost is $8.97 for the 40 pound bag.

Halite Salt Crystals - This product is available in a 50 pound bag and is made up of Sodium Chloride. It may be harmful to plants and corrosive to concrete if used too heavily. Cost is $6.98 per bag.

Mortons Safe T Pet - This product is made from urea and has no salt of chloride. it is labeled safe for pets, people, plants and surfaces. Cost is $11.98 for an 8 pound container.

No matter which product you choose, here are a few precautions to follow:

De-icer Precautions

·         Do not over apply, follow instructions on the label.

·         Do not try to melt everything. Clear snow first.

·         Wear gloves. Ice melts are an irritant.

·         Do not use on new concrete that has not fully cured.

·         All products have some effect on the environment. Flush area with water if over-use is suspected or damage appears on plants.