Nature West Inc- Landscaping and Landscape Maintenance

Low Water Use Landscape Plant List For Prescott, AZ

Nature West Inc — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:27:29 +0000

The City of Prescott has compiled a list of appropriate plants to choose from when creating a drought tolerant landscape. You can download the PDF here:

Drought Tolerant Plant List For Prescott, AZ

How To Choose A Landscape Maintenance Company

Nature West Inc — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:05:45 +0000

With the recent downturn in the economy many unemployed people have had to search out other avenues for work. Most are willing to take any work available whether they are qualified or not. Anybody with a truck and a rake can call themselves a landscape company. The problem with using this type of service for your landscaping needs is that they most likely will not be around for long. Or even worse, they may do unrepairable damage to your landscape that will not be offset by the money you thought you were saving in the beginning.
Here are some tips to making sure you are choosing a reputable landscape service that you can depend on.

Reputation-

You can research the reputation of Prescott landscape companies online at sites such as The Better Business Bureau or the Arizona Registrar of Contractors. Both of these will give you an idea of how ethical the company is and how long they have been in business. If any complaints have been filed it will disclose how those complaints were handled by the landscape company.

Knowledge/Skill-

As mentioned above, often times people offering landscape services are not qualified to handle the work at all. Be prepared to ask them questions about their credentials. You can also ask other business owners in town in a related business. For example, there are several garden centers in Prescott all of who are familiar with landscape companies in the area. They should be able to provide some valuable insight.

References-

When you are interviewing landscape companies you should always ask for references. Most will even provide addresses of properties that you can drive by to see if you agree on the quality of work they provide. Take the time to look at their website of work they’ve completed. For example, take a look at our portfolio here to see projects that we have completed and maintain.

How to get started with an organic landscaping program.

Nature West Inc — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 23:35:13 +0000

I am frequently asked, “What is an organic landscape?” and “How do I get started?”
The answer to the first question is difficult to answer because it depends on the individual. For me it is simple, an organic landscape is a landscape that relies on natural processes to maintain its health and appearance without the use of chemicals or synthetic ingredients. It is a safe environment for children, pets, and wildlife. It is low maintenance, and sustainable.
How to get started is simple. Here are a few steps to get you headed in the right direction.
1. Stop Using Chemicals (Including pesticides, fungicides, and synthetic fertilizers)- This is the easiest and most important step. In an organic landscape program, we focus on soil health along with plant health. You need to allow your soil to detoxify and give the beneficial soil dwelling organisms a chance to recuperate. They cannot do this if you repeatedly apply toxic chemicals to your yard.
2. Test Your Soil- This is very important in an organic landscape program. Soils are rarely perfect and usually require some input from the gardener. Nutrient levels can be too low or too high or anywhere in between. It is impossible to know without getting a good reliable soil test. Most universities or cooperative extensions will provide these tests for under $100 for a complete analysis.
3. Apply Amendments- Based on the results of your soil test you will be instructed how many “lbs per 1000 sf” you need to apply to get within ideal growing conditions. Sometimes it takes a few seasons to get your soil fertility where it needs to be, but you will most likely notice an improvement in plant health the first year.
4. Use Organic Fertilizers- Always use organic sources for fertilizers and mineral products. It is easier to find organic fertilizers today than in the past with most big-box stores carrying some sort of organic product line. Be sure to read the labels and ask questions, though because a lot of products are misleading using terms such as “all-natural” and “environmentally friendly”. Often times they are not what they appear to be. Your best bet would be to visit a local garden center that promotes organic landscape practices and speak with someone who understands your soil test results. They will be able to guide you toward the best product for your situation.
5. Start Composting- Everybody should compost. No excuses. Whatever your situation, there is a composting system for you. It may be a large pile in a hidden corner of your yard, or a self-contained unit under the sink in your kitchen. Composting keeps you connected to the natural processes that are so important in healthy soils that lead to healthy plants… and it’s fun!

Our Most Recent Work…

Nature West Inc — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 01:53:41 +0000

Here is a small spiral flagstone patio we recently completed for a customer. We added some boulders and drought tolerant plants around the edge to create a natural feel. The stones are laid on a bed of concrete for stability, but joints are filled with soil to give it a more organic feel. Eventually plants will fill some of the gaps.

Mulches

Nature West Inc — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 01:45:57 +0000

Mulches

What is Mulch?

Mulch is any loose material placed over the soil to control weeds and conserve soil moisture and provides habitat for many beneficial soil organisms. Mulch is usually a coarse organic matter, such as leaves, clippings or bark. Mulch can also be composed of plastic sheeting and other commercial products.

Types of Mulch

Organic Mulch are mulches that used to be living material, such as bark, straw, leaves, grass clippings and pine needles. Organic mulches improve the soil by adding nutrients as they decompose and encouraging earthworm activity. Organic mulches attract insects, slugs, cutworms and many beneficial organisms to your soil. They decompose over time and need to be replaced after several years.

Inorganic mulches are made from man-made materials that do not decompose or decomposes very slowly. Although they rarely need replacing, they do not do much to contribute to the long term health of your soil. Inorganic mulch are made from recycled rubber, plastic, brick, stone, landscape fabric, etc. They do have an application in some situations where inorganic mulches are impractical.

Where to use Mulch

Mulch can be used almost anywhere. However, mulch is more useful around tree trunks and around the soil of new plants.

Mulching is a very important step in growing a healthy plant. Mulch helps to conserve moisture in the root ball of the new plant until the roots have grown out into the surrounding soil. Mulch also helps to prevent tree trunk injury by mowers and trimmers. Newly planted trees require a circle of mulch 3 to 4 feet in diameter. Maintain this for five years. Mulch entire beds of shrubs, trees, annuals, herbaceous perennials and ground covers.

Light-weight mulch such as dried grass clippings and pine straw can be used as a temporarily cover for low-growing plants during the winter season.

Benefits of Mulch

•Mulching your flower and vegetable beds will drastically reduce the amount of time spent weeding, watering and fighting pests.

•Mulches provide habitat for beneficial soil organisms to colonize plant beds

•Mulches prevent loss of water from the soil by evaporation.

•Mulch reduce the growth of weeds.

•Mulch maintains a more even soil temperature by keeping the soil cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.

•Mulches prevent soil splashing, which stops erosion and keeps soil-borne diseases from splashing up onto the plants.

•Organic mulches continuously improve the soil structure and add nutrients to the soil.

•Mulches improve the absorption and movement of water into the soil.

•Mulches prevent the trunks of trees and shrubs from damage by lawn equipment.

•Mulches help prevent soil compaction.

•Mulched plants have more roots than plants that are not mulched, because mulched plants will produce additional roots in the mulch that surrounds them.

First significant winter freeze on it’s way

Nature West Inc — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 16:38:02 +0000

If you haven’t done so already, now is the time to get your irrigation system winterized. With cooler weather on its way plants will not need watering for some time. Even if we do not get significant precipitation form this storm it is still a good idea to shut your system down. This will prevent ice from creating dangerous conditions on sidewalks.

If left pressurized, freezing can rupture many parts of your irrigation system resulting in costly repairs.