Here at True Vine we understand that communication is the foundation for any successful business, which is one of the reasons why we retains long, working relationships with our customers. We listen and understand what your vision is before we get started. Let our experience and quality service help take the stress off of maintaining your property. Enjoy your yard and time with your family. Let us do the work for you! Feel free to look around the site and take a look at some of our sample landscapes. If you like what you see, give us a call! No job is too big or too small.
My name is Erik Bennett and I started the company in 2007, but have been working on landscaping since my dad made me mow the yard when I was a kid. I served in the U.S Army and got out in 1996. I am a single dad of two teenagers and they have both been a great help for this company.
We are a FULL service maintenance company, weather it be for your house, apartment complex, church, shopping center or h.o.a. We do it ALL, mowing, edging, weed control, clean up, hedges, tree trimming. We will design our service around your needs, but know that we treat everyone the same form a house to a shopping center. We are trained
for ATTENTION TO DETAIL
We know irrigation is essential for central Florida, so we really take our time in making sure that your system is running good. Weather it be a whole new system you need, or small repairs. We will
perform a full system check on your system, and pin point the problem and
have your lawn and plants getting the right amount of water they need.
Weather it be a small sod job or a major overhaul you want. We do it all, from major renovations like your whole front and back yards, all the plants removed and re-done, trees removed and
replaced. What ever the project is we will sit down with you, walk through the project with you and complete it in the time we say we will.
If you just want a small walk way on the side of your house or nice planters around you house, or you want us to spice up your pool area.
This is a small representation of the different type of jobs we have done in for various clients.
We at TrueVine are highly excited and motivated to
produce work that is professional, precise and of the highest standard. Because of these we have high skilled workers with years of experience that will produce the result you are looking forward to.
A welcoming front yard landscape is one of the most important factors in creating your home's unique personality. This is especially important when you're trying to sell your home. A few simple, inexpensive fixes can add zip and interest so prospective buyers will want to take a second look.
Preliminary Cleanup
1 Pick up all debris, toys, branches old pots and planters and everything else that doesn't belong in the front yard.
2 Pull out all the tall weeds and dead plants in flower beds, planters and window boxes.
3 Prune and trim any shrubs and plants to make them look neat throughout your landscape.
4 Mow the lawn and edge the flower beds.
5 Sweep the porch, steps, driveway and sidewalk.
Add The Finishing Touches
1 Purchase several bags of bark dust or mulch or have a load delivered if the area is large. Buy enough to cover all the front beds in a 2 to 3 inch depth to create a clean landscape.
2 Lay several thicknesses of newspaper on all the flower beds, entirely covering any remaining small weeds. If the flower beds look too small or are misshapen, use the newspapers to enlarge the area or change the shape of the bed.
3 Sprinkle the newspapers lightly with water to keep them in place.
4 Spread bark dust or mulch over all the newspaper in the flower beds, at least 2 to 3 inches thick, making sure to cover all the newspaper. Water the mulched beds to settle the dust and keep the bark in place.
5 Estimate how many small, blooming plants you will need to make the front yard look cheerful and full of color. Purchase potted plants, such as impatiens or petunias, making sure all of them are full of blooms and buds and are healthy-looking. Choose bright colors to give the landscape a bold punch.
6 Tuck the plants, pots and all, into the bark dust. Be sure the pots are completely hidden under the bark, and keep them well watered. If you keep the plants watered, they will bloom and thrive throughout the season, adding interest to your yard.
7 Paint the front door if it looks tired and worn using a new, bright color. Touch up the paint around windows, shutters, planters, pots and window boxes to give them a new look to compliment your landscape.
8 Keep the front lawn mowed and water it often to keep the grass green. Keep plants watered and don't forget to water the pots, planters and window boxes too. Stand back and admire your work and wait for prospective buyers!
Read more: How to Landscape | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2048931_landscape.html#ixzz1Q8BgFW2V
Instructions
1 First you need to buy the materials that are listed and of course your edging. You then need to dig a trench along the edges of the bed about 3 to 4" deep leaving the edging to stand no less then 1/2" above ground level by digging a vertical wall with a spade that will support the edging.
2 Place the edging into the trench and bend it to follow the shape desired of the bed, you may have to fill in spots with soil that are low and pack these area's firmly.
3 Trims your strips to the length desired I find it easiest to use tin snips or you can use scissors, utility knife or pruning shears. To avoid joints being as noticeable avoid placing them at your sharp angles, corners or angles.
4 Now to join the edging you need to slide a coupler halfway into one of your top channels and pinch together your first piece so that it holds the coupler in place and will fit into your second piece.
5 Last step to finish your edging is to anchor your edging with your stakes at about 3 to 4 feet apart from each other you can do this by driving in each stake with your hammer at a slight angle through your lower outside edge.
Read more: How to Install Landscaping Edging | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_4863441_install-landscaping-edging.html#ixzz1Q8EH2uID
Relax, take your time and take a good look around the area you are considering updating or adding a new landscape. As you look around think about what you and your family would like to see changed.
* Some factors to consider, are you landscaping for privacy or to enhance a
area?
*Are you wanting a landscape that requires minimal maintenance or do you have the time to do regular maintenance in your landscape?
*Do you want to create a eco-friendly landscape with native plants to your area or go with standard nursery stock?
*Are there overhead or underground utilities that could interfere with your landscape plan? This includes digging and upright growth that may reach overhead wires.
*Determine how much sunlight each area of the landscape receives.
*Check to make sure your landscape will not block utility meters and service boxes.
*Look and see what area of the landscape can be seen from inside your house and focal points such as a deck, pool, street view and neighbors views.
*If you have pets make sure their favorite area isn't incorporated into the landscape. This will save you time and frustration later.
*Take into consideration locations of outside faucets. This area will need adequate room to allow for hoses and movement to hook up a hose.
2 Take time to write down what you observed while looking over the area you wish to landscape. Make notes about potential problems, hazards and personal notes about what you would like to have in each area. Write down your favorite plants, colors, shrubs and trees. Make this a family project because it ultimately effects everyone and their input is a valuable asset. Get everything from seed catalogs to internet resources to research the plants you desire. Visit local nursery's and garden shops looking for ideas and taking time to read the plant tags. Have a rough idea of what your looking for, such as shade plants, perennials, flowering shrubs and trees or standard trees and shrubs. Pay close attention to their water and light requirements. Take a camera or use your cell phone to take a picture of perspective plants, shrubs and trees. This will come in handy later during the final decision making.
Try asking close friends and family for ideas, most are willing to share their good or bad experiences with a specific plant. The key to success is research.
3 Rough measure the area you are planning to landscape. This may take several different measurements depending on the size and shape of the area to be landscaped. Start by measuring the width and length. Draw a rough shape on paper and add the measurements. Decide if you are going to use a edging or a natural bed edge and if you need to have stepping stones, benches, bird baths, trellises, etc. Organize information in folders, it will make thing easier when your ready to design your plan.
4 Sit down with all your information and measurements and begin the lay out process. Take into consideration plant spacing and allow for future growth so you don't overcrowd the landscape. Draw the shape of you landscape areas on paper showing all measurements. Begin by adding in the plants, trees and shrubs you have chosen. Choose the type of mulch you will be using, wood, rock, pine needles. Plan for shady or sunny areas by placing the appropriate plants in those spots.
5 Sit back and enjoy what you have designed. You will be surprised at what you can accomplish on your own and during the process you are educating yourself about the plants you are planning to use.
It's time to move on the installation phase.
1 Site prep for our simple plan for landscape stone steps. Layouts for the steps can be done with a paint or garden hose or sticks, you can even scratch the layouts in the dirt with a pick. Taking your time on a simple plan for layouts before you start can save you time, back breaking work and money. Simple plan you layouts well.
2 Part of your layouts for this simple plan is how the rise and run of steps work. First measure from the top of where the top steps will be to bottom of where the bottom step will be measuring for height only. then measure the same two points to see how long the stone steps will be from the front of the bottom step to the back of the top step. Now you can figure how many stones you need by dividing the height by seven(inches) and the length by twelve (inches). Up seven inches back twelve inches from bottom to top.
3 Selecting stones for our simple plan in landscape is the first task at hand. You can get stones at local companies that deal in landscape supplies. The ideal stones would be six to eight inches high and two feet long by three feet wide. You might have to get stones that will stack to those dimensions. Try to keep the stacking to make one step to a minimum for safety. You can set stones side by side in landscape steps but their length needs to be at least two foot from front of the step to the back for support. The stone for your bottom step can be taller because you can sink it to the correct height. Avoid cracks and depressions on the top of rocks because water can stand and freeze in them. This causes the steps to be slick and ice can cause breaking.
4 Setting the stones for our simple plan. First dig out the bottom step area to six or so inches and fill with gravel for drainage. Next set the stone in place and get it level. You can put gravel under every step or set the stone on the dirt. make sure stone two sets on the lip of stone one solidly, put gravel under it and get it steady before the next stone is placed. Finish this simple plan landscape project by placing each step in level and solid to the top. If you stack stone to make a step take the time to get them solid before going on to the next step. This will give you a wonderful landscape feature from a simple plan of stone.
1 Locate the deed map for your property. This document will give you the size of your land, the boundaries and the location of underground utility lines.
2 Head to the county recorder's office if necessary to get the deed map.
3 Measure the distance from each corner of your house to your property lines. This will give you reference points for plotting your landscaping.
Create a Scale Drawing
1 Translate the actual measurements of your lot onto the graph paper. For instance, you may wish to make 1 inch on your plans equal 10 feet of yard space.
2 Draw in the locations of underground utility lines, existing trees and walkways that you plan to landscape around. Be sure to translate the measurements to your drawing scale.
Create a Bubble Diagram
1 Place tracing paper onto your scale drawing and copy the lines, indicating existing trees and walkways, onto the tracing paper. As tracing paper is transparent, you can just trace over the shapes.
2 Remove the tracing paper from the scale drawing. All of the blank spaces are areas that you can plan to landscape.
3 Draw circles or ovals (aka bubbles) onto the paper where you wish to plant.
4 Write down the name of each landscape feature in its bubble. For example, label the bubble representing your future patio as "patio."
5 Review your bubble diagram. To change the position of your landscape features, just begin again with a new piece of tracing paper.
Stake out Your Landscape Plans
1 Plant stakes at the edges of one area that you have designated for landscaping. Use your scale drawing to locate the proper area.
2 Connect the stakes with string. This will give you an idea of how your bubble diagram will look when you landscape.
3 Continue staking and stringing until you have staked out each landscape feature on your bubble diagram.
4 Measure each staked area to get specific measurements for each landscaping feature.
Complete Your Landscape Plans
1 Add your newest measurements to your scale drawing and label each area.
2 Color each area an appropriate color. Use light green to represent grassy areas, gray for patios and pastels for flowerbeds.
1 Consider the time frame within which you want to work. Typically, a landscape plan should cover 3 to 5 years. Changes can be made slowly over time to save costs, or performed all at once.
2 Create a main landscape plan page. The page should incorporate landmarks of the area you wish to landscape and show the boundaries of the area. The plan should note the measurements of the area to scale. Use graph paper to make your scale easy to apply.
3 Assign a scale to your symbols. The scale you choose will depend on the size of your paper and the amount of detail you wish to show. For example, if 1 foot (or 12 inches) equals 1 inch on paper, a symbol for a 6-inch plant would be sized at 1/2-inch for use in your drawing.
4 Assign basic shapes or symbols to the plants in your plan. For example, use circles of varying size to represent trees and shrubs, a Y shape for spreading ground covers and a star or asterisk shape for ornamental grasses.
5 Create a unique symbol and/or shape for each variety or cultivar of plant in your plan. Use color or a design to differentiate among plants if you choose to reuse the same symbol for several plants. Using the leaf shape, branch shape or flower color within your symbol can serve as a reminder and give a better picture of the way the plants may work together visually.
6 Note the spread and height of each of your plants. Base the symbol size on the spread of the mature plant. For smaller plants and flowers, homeowners can assume a 4-inch spread; for medium sized plants, start with a 6-inch spread. Mature shrubs may have a spread of several feet.
7 Cut out plant symbols to move and manipulate plants within your plan easily. As an alternative with no loose pieces, create a layer of onion-skin or other transparent paper to overlay your main landscape plan. Make changes and additions on the overlay until you finalize your design.
Instrucitons
1 Draw the site on graph paper: buildings and plants, sunlight and drainage. Take photos and arrange a panorama of present conditions. Decide what to keep and what to change.
2 Use colored highlighters to designate public, utility, private and problem areas on your drawing. Mark highly visible areas (front yard, entertaining garden) pink for public. Locate the utility areas (trash can corrals, storage sheds, above-ground meters) and color them yellow. Denote private sitting areas in blue and mark problems such as impossible-to-remove rocks and poor drainage in green.
3 Plan to spend half your budget - of both money and initial time - on the public areas, to create welcoming but low-maintenance plantings. Draw in beds to feature evergreen ground covers, reliable flowering shrubs and a small lawn.
4 Locate any truly lousy views - neighboring properties, garbage cans, utility boxes - and lose them organically. Consider making a trellis (see "How to Build a Trellis," under Related eHows) or pergola for roses or grapes if fast-growing blueberries and blackberries aren't enough.
5 Create a desirable view as the focal point of the private garden - right out the back door usually works - and make it a diverse garden of food and flower. Plan fruit trees for shade here and as a backdrop to your herb and perennial flowers.
6 Provide room for a garden center to make caring for the landscape easier. Build a potting shed or add a covered area to an existing storage building. Remember to leave room for compost bins.
7 Add a water feature and bird feeding center to encourage beneficial insects and winged visitors. Plan a diverse garden full of flowers, herbs and vegetables for the same reasons.
1 Choose plants that fit into your space requirements. For a windowsill container garden, you may be confined to herbs, air plants, small cacti and other small plants. In a living room container garden, by contrast, you may have room for ferns or even small trees and, on a patio, you may be able to accommodate medium ornamental trees such as Japanese maples. Also, consider whether you plan to move your containers around frequently. Large plants in large pots will be much more difficult to rearrange than smaller ones.
2 Pick plants suitable for the microclimate you are growing them in. Water plants, fruiting vegetables and flowers require eight hours of daily sunlight, rooting veggies need six hours and leafy veggies, four. Other plants such as ferns and other understory plants require indirect or filtered sunlight. If you are growing your garden indoors, the window space you have available for your garden will determine what plants you should grow there. Also, consider humidity. If you live in a climate with cold winters, your house will be dry inside during the winter. If your garden is inside, you will have to run a humidifier or build a miniature greenhouse to nourish plants that crave moisture.
3 Choose plants that fit with your diligence and skill as a gardener. If you tend to forget about your plants, restrict yourself to plants that handle neglect well such as cast iron plant and mother-in-law tongue. If you are a more attentive grower, however, you can chose plants that require frequent watering, fertilizer and care as well as plants that don't.
4 Chose plants that complement each other. The University of Illinois Extension, recommends that a container garden have a combination of tall plants or "thrillers," round plants or "fillers" and overhanging plants or "spillers." In addition, chose plants with different leaf shapes and textures. This variety will provide visual interest in your container garden. Also, choose plants with pleasing colors. Use an indoor container garden to accentuate the colors used to decorate the room, and an outdoor one to harmonize with the landscape.
1 You certainly have a feeling of great abundance with you see plant-packed containers on your deck, patio or in your garden. There is nothing like container gardens to link the indoors and outdoors between home and garden. Today, we all want to see out outdoor space turned into a wonderful new addition to our homes.
After choosing the right planters, pots and containers from a wide range of materials, styles, colors and sizes, the time is right to think about what you are going to put in the planters and where to place them.
2 You can use your planters, urns and pots in many areas. Think about where they would be best - to set off your doorway or deck entrance, to hide unsightly utility areas or storage spaces, or to show off the best views on your deck, garden or patio. You can move your containers around to capture the afternoon shade, provide protection from wind and to avoid those extreme hot spots in summer heat. Do plan to enjoy those fragrant plants and always have them close to your seating areas, or to brush against next to walkways. A rule of thumb, buy larger planters than you think you may need, small little pots will get lost in the space and never achieve that WOW look in the area.
3
We know that we need to plant containers properly and of course to water when needed. Now to get started! Pick containers that will handle the size of the plants you are considering. You can contrast large and small containers together for a stunning effect. Annuals and bulbs are very popular choices for pots and planters.
4 When you are ready to plant, fill the containers to within about three inches from the top and gently firm down the soil. Set the plants you have chosen and place on top of the soil and then step back and visualize how they will look when they fill out and create an overall view. Containers that will sit next to a wall or fence position the tallest plants at the back of the planter and surround with other plants. When you have large containers or when they will be seen from all sides, set the tallest plants in the middle and surround with the other plants.
Once you are pleased with the temporary arrangement, dig out holes with your trowel or your hands and set the plants in place. Gently firm the soil around each plant. Be sure to leave three inches from the top of the pot to allow for proper watering. When planting, a good tip is to make sure that the roots of the plants are very damp or wet before planting. Then water your container thoroughly when you have completed your arrangement.
5 Now is the time to move your garden planters and containers to create the overall look that you would like to achieve in the chosen space. It is always a good idea to keep the sun loving plants together and separate from the shading loving ones. Don't make any combination too upright or too sprawly, have a good mix of both - one will enhance the look of the other.
Mix large containers with the small ones, arrange in groupings. Place one or two on plant stands to create a focal point in your arrangement. You may wish to cruise around your neighborhood, go to garden centers or even view the latest magazines to do some creative stealing for more design ideas.
1 Clean all dirt and soil from the garden tools. As tools age the steel gets pitted. Scrub out all traces of dirt before sanitizing.
2 Find a bucket large enough to completely encompass the tools' steel parts -- shovel blades, fork tongs and pruning shear blades.
3 Mix a solution of 80 percent warm water and 20 percent household detergent; lysol works well, does not corrode tools and is relatively safe to handle.
4 Dip each garden tool into the solution, making sure all parts of the blades come into contact with the liquid.
5 Set the tools on a clean, dry surface to air dry. Put tools away when dry or use them in the garden.
The Facts
Evaluating your gardening goals and needs will help you decide the best gardening tools to fit you and your garden. A gardener plagued with weeds each year might benefit from a short or long handle weeding tool designed to weed close to the plant and remove the weed at the root. A gardener with partially stubborn soil might consider using a rototiller to break up and prepare the soil for planting each year. Garden tools are either power or hand tools and are made out of wood, plastic, aluminum and other materials.
Function
Gardening tools are designed to make gardening process easier and more efficient for the gardener. The best garden tools are ones that help provide the gardener with the outcome she desires and are functional to use. Most tools provide the functionality to dig, cut or cultivate in the garden. According to the Garden Accessories and Tools website, gardening tools are essential to maintain a garden. If maintained properly, garden tools can be durable enough to last for many years.
Types
Some of the basic gardening tools include a set of work gloves, spade and pruning shears. Work gloves help you get a tighter grip on weeds or plants without harming your hands. Spades are a valuable tool that allow the gardener to dig a hole to place seeds or plants or harvest as well as cleaning out the garden after the growing season. Pruning shears can be used to trim back lower branches on vegetables, such as tomatoes, or to cut out dead vegetation and can be used throughout the yard as well.
Considerations
It may be tempting to buy the latest gardening tool, but consider its actual application and potential degree of use in your garden to make sure it is the best tool for your needs. Woman gardeners may want to think about finding tools to suit their height, body and strength output comfortably since many tools are designed for men. Other gardeners in your neighborhood might be able to make suggests about the best gardening tools used in your soil makeup.
Knowing when your lawn needs water and how much water it needs goes a long way toward keeping the lawn healthy and conserving natural resources. Proper lawn care, including techniques such as dethatching and aerating, helps your grass make the most of the water it receives and prevents waste.
Timing
Wait until the lawn shows signs of stress before watering. Grass that needs water has a bluish-gray cast, and the individual blades of grass wilt, roll or fold in response to low water stress. When you walk across a lawn late in the day, your steps leave footprints where the grass blades compact and low water levels prevent it from springing back up. Another method to determine whether the lawn needs to be watered is to use a screwdriver to dig a hole 3 inches deep. If the soil is moist at that depth, there is no need to water.
Quantity
The typical lawn needs about 1 inch of water per week, and bluegrass lawns make do with 1/2 inch. Use this simple method to determine how much water your sprinkler system delivers: Place 5 to 10 straight-sided cans, such as coffee or tuna cans, in the path of the sprinkler. Let the water run for 15 minutes, and then dump all the water into one container. Measure the depth of the water in inches and divide it by the number of containers. The result tells you how much water your sprinkler delivers in 15 minutes. Multiply by 4 to get the rate per hour.
Dethatching
Excessive thatch causes the water to run off instead of sinking into the soil. Dethatch the lawn when it is more than 1/2 inch thick. Dethatch cool-season lawns such as bluegrass or fescue in early spring or late summer. Dethatch Bermuda grass lawns in late spring. Proper watering, mowing and fertilizing reduce thatch buildup.
Scheduling
The best time to water is early in the day when the lawn is normally covered with dew. When watering in the middle of the day, some of the water is lost to evaporation. Watering late in the day doesn't allow the grass to dry before nightfall, which increases the chance of diseases.
Aerating
Water doesn't penetrate compacted clay soils easily. In small areas, loosen the soil with a spading fork. On large lawns, use a power tool to create small holes in the lawn. The holes allow water to sink into the soil and serve as water reservoirs that help reduce runoff. Aerate cool-season lawns in fall and warm-season lawns in summer.
1 Make a sketch of the property, including the location of the house and other buildings on the property, and any existing trees or shrubs you may wish to keep. These plants may provide needed shade or privacy and may be integrated into the design. Make several copies of your sketch.
2 Make a list of the types of fruit trees, nut trees, fruit-bearing vines and berry bushes you want to include in your edible landscape. Select trees, vines and bushes that are indigenous to your region or have adapted to the regional climate conditions.
3 Note the required growing conditions of each of these plants and include the information on the list. These conditions include the type of soil needed, amount of water required, and sun and shade exposure. Also note such factors as final size of grown plants, potential yield, and planting and harvesting dates.
4 Create a list of vegetables to include in the edible landscape. Categorize the vegetables by their planting seasons. For example, in spring, you may plant lettuces and greens, tomatoes and summer squash in your region. These vegetables are listed under Spring Planting. Continue to categorize all the vegetables you wish to grow throughout your growing season.
5 Note the required growing conditions for the vegetables as you did with the trees, vines and bushes.
6 Begin placement planning using a copy of your sketch. Place trees and bushes first, grouping those together with similar requirements whenever possible. Mark locations for vines as well, noting that these require trellises or other means of support such as pergolas or fences.
7 Mark locations for several vegetable beds within the landscape, making note of sun exposure and the availability of a water source for each bed. Allow for enough beds within the landscape so you can practice crop rotation throughout the growing season. One or two beds may be left to lie fallow (left empty or contain a cover crop such as alfalfa to be turned into the soil) to maintain soil health.
8 Use the copies of your sketch to revise the landscape plan as needed. The goal is to create a final plan that groups plants together with similar water, nutrient and sun requirements, and allows you to plant and harvest according to season.
Hundreds of flowering perennials and flowers exist, and most of them prefer partial to full sun. Local nurseries and garden centers carry plants that grow well in your area and many offer a guarantee on their plants. When buying plants, choose a complementary color scheme, and start with three or four favorites. A few well-chosen plant varieties generally look better than many different kinds of flowers, unless you have a large garden.
Plant Selection
Carefully select sun-loving flowers that thrive in your area. Perennials, such as coneflower, Jupiter's beard, lavender, salvia and coreopsis, grow in almost any soil and tolerate drought. Others, such as roses, clematis and lupine grow best in a sunny location with evenly moist soil. Choosing plants that thrive in the conditions naturally present in your garden creates healthier plants and reduces maintenance.
Soil Amendments
Few soils are the perfect combination of sand, clay or silt, known as loam. Adding a few shovelfuls of well-rotted compost or manure to soil improves drainage and texture and adds nutrients. Till soil for a perennial bed to a depth of 12 inches, since the bed is permanent.
Planting Times
Sun-loving flowers suffer some shock after planting, just like any other plant. To minimize transplant shock, plant in the spring and plant in the evening, on a cloudy day if possible. Water the plants thoroughly after planting and keep them evenly moist for the next four weeks, until new growth emerges. Perennials may be planted through the summer and early fall, but their growth may initially suffer because of hot weather. With adequate water, they rebound quickly.
Maintenance
Feed plants with a starter fertilizer after planting and thereafter, annually, in the spring. Many perennial and annual flowers benefit from deadheading (the removal of dead blooms). This practice keeps the garden tidy, reduces self-sowing and encourages more blooms. A wood chip mulch conserves moisture and minimizes weed growth. Mulches also stabilize soil temperatures, keeping soils cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.
