How to Select the Right Grass For Your Lawn

  Upstate South Carolina (Greenville and Spartanburg counties) is my location and it is the climate in which I know the most about grass types.  From Birmingham, AL to Atlanta, GA and then along I-85 up to Richmond, VA encompasses a similar sort of soil types and climate as mine.  The USA hardiness zone we are in is "7b".  When specifically speaking about grass types, we are described as a "Transitional Zone".  This means that we are not perfect for warm season nor cool season grasses.  Our primary type of cool season grass is Fescue.  We have 3 primary warm season grasses - Centipede, Bermuda and Zoysia. 
   Fescue - This is the right choice if you want the greenest most beautiful lawn you can have for twelve months a year and don't mind the effort of irrigation, weed preventers, lime, fertilizing and other issues.  Fescue can be installed fairly easily by planting seed in the fall.  We recommend an Oregon grown certified blue label.  This is also the best for predominantly shady lawns.  For deep shade we recommend mixing in some Creeping Red Fescue. 
Centipede - Is sometimes called the lazy man's grass.  Although establishment from seed can take 3 years, it requires the least amount of watering, mowing and fertilizing.  It likes sandy soil and direct sun but does ok in other environments as well.
Bermuda - Is the right choice if you want a low cut golf course look.  For areas with plenty of sun it can also be the easiest to grow.  You can actually have a lawn of this type without seeding.  Common Bermudagrass occurs naturally in our environment.  All you need do is to kill the competition with herbicides and fertilize and water the Berumda.  In 2-3 years you can have a thick lush lawn.  For a little better and quicker result, you can purchase a hybrid Bermuda seed.  For the best and quickest Bermudagrass lawn, sod with a Bermuda known as 419.
Zoysia - Is the most versatle grass in that it does well in sun or partial shade.  It is a very strong grass that is superior in choking out weeds.  Zoysia, after establishment, takes little care.  Irrigate once a week during the growing season and fertilize twice per year are the main requirements.  Zoysia needs to be installed by sod and is by far the most expensive grass to install.

   For more information you can see Carolina Fresh Farms.  Clemson also has some good information.

My Top 10 Flowering Shrubs

   Anyone in the nursery business can tell you that sales of plants skyrocket when they are in bloom.  Azaleas sell well in the spring when they are blooming, the same can be said about roses in the summer.  We all can be guilty of the impulse buying.  We see something, we really like it, so we buy it.  That, however, is a really poor way to landscape.  We should plan ahead.... and plant when the season and weather best dictates it.  I believe that a quality landscape design incorporates different plantings that bloom at different times.  An ideal plan has something of interest (blooms or color changes as in Red Maples in the fall) 12 months a year.    Another good source, particularly if you live in the St. Louis area is Landscape Concepts. OK, here are my top ten favorite flowering shrubs:

Azalea - genus Rhododendron -Azaleas are a signature plant in the south.  From Augusta National to what seems like 100 percent of landscapes of older stately homes - azaleas are prominent in spring.  An extremely large variety of azalea species, hybrids and cultivars are available.  Most can trace their family tree back to  the Orient.  Among the standard variety blooming once a year around Easter - I like the 'Hershy Red' and 'Delaware Valley White'.  There is also available a low growing, late blooming variety - the 'Gumpo' azalea.  By far my favorite, however, is the newly released Encore™ series of azaleas.  They offer blooms twice a year, in the spring and again in the fall.

Knockout Rose - rosa 'knock out' -

"Despite the great possibilities for failure, the burdensome work, and the lack of glamour, my hobby became a passion. Even with successes, it didn't take me long to realize that growing roses would be more fun if it entailed less work."- William Radler, breeder/inventor of the Kockout Rose. You plant this rose just as you do most shrubs and you get beautiful blooms from spring until frost.  Very little maintenance is required.

Endless Summer Hydrangea -Hydrangea macrophylla 'Endless Summer'

In our southern climate most Hydrangeas only bloom once per year.  The 'Endless Summer' variety usually will have two full blooming periods.  'Endless Summer' may be pink, blue or lavender, depending on the soil in which it is grown. 

Yuletide Camellia - Camellia sasanqua 'Yuletide'

  Sometimes referred to as Christmas Camellias, the sasanqua varieties of Camellia are native to the evergreen, coastal forests of southern Japan. It was introduced by Dutch traders into Europe in 1869. Yuletide is a chance seedling of Kanjiro and originated at Nuccio's Nurseries in Altadena, CA. The Japanese use the leaves of sasanqua to make tea, and the seeds are pressed into tea seed oil for use as a lubricant and in cooking and cosmetics.

  This variety of the Camellia Sasanqua as well as many others are good choices for a large bed around a tree or even as a hedge.  It is also an excellent choice if you want an Espalier.

Camellia Japonica - Camellia japonica 'Governor Mouton'  -

I actually like ALL Camellia Japonica's.  They have lustrous dark green leaves and can be used in many situations.  They can be a speciman plant in the center of a bed, they can be a hedge or even a stand alone planting.  Camellias  prefers acidic, highly organic soils.  I like to  mix in pine bark mulch when planting.  You should maintain a good mulch bed because of shallow rooting.   Mature size can be 10 ft. wide and 15- 20 ft tall, but also easy to keep the size you want with twice a year pruning.  This Governor Mouton variety  has 3-5" flowers and  semidouble to loose peony form flowers are red with white splotches. 

Kleims Hardy Gardenia - Gardenia jasminoides 'Kleim's Hardy'

By far the most frequently used plant you will find in my landscape designs.  In addition to being very beautiful and fragrant, it can be used in many situations, sun and shade.  I particularly like using it in the same planting bed as Radicans Gardenia.  I like this combination near and around summer environments like a back porch or a swimming pool area.

Kaleidoscope Abelia - Abelia x grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope' -

The newest shrub on our list and possibly the most unique.  You get 3 different looks from this shrub per year.  You get a nice spring blooming of white flowers.  That is followed by the greenish /yellow tint you see in the picture on your left.  And then my favorite is in the fall when it has more of a bright orange,red and yellow 'kaleidoscope' look.
“…really packs a wallop...specimens are vigorous yet compact, colorful to a fault, do not bleach in the sun, and catch visitors’ eyes.”– Dr. Michael Dirr, University of Georgia

Rhododendron -  Rhododendron catawbiense -

First we should get something straight.  Azaleas are actually Rhododendrons (or Rhodos).  Most nuseries and landscapers refer to Azaleas as the variety of Rhodo from Asia.  And we call what are actually 'native azalea' - Rhododendron. 
  The Rhodo typically has larger leaves, larger blooms, a less compact shape and blooms later in the spring.
The Rhododendron catawbiense I like because it is fairly easy to grow in our climate.  This variety comes in many different vibrant colors.

Burgandy Loropetalum - Loropetalum chinensis Purple Pixie™ 'Shang-lo' -

There are many varieties and different uses for the Burgandy Loropetalum.  There are the taller shrubs for a hedge and medium sized for color in a bed.  There are even shrubs made into a tree form that are beautiful and sort of cool in that you don't see them on every street corner.  My favorite is the Purple Pixie.  I like it for its dark purple color and compact size. As with most Burgandy Loropetalums, it has nice pink flowers in the spring.

Gold Mound Spirea - Spiraea japonica 'Gold Mound'

Spireas (Spiraea species) are among the easiest flowering shrubs to grow. There are two distinct kinds of spireas: the bridal wreath type, with clusters of white flowers on arching branches in spring; and the shrubby, much lower-growing type, which has pink, red or white flowers clustered at the end of upright branches in summer to fall. The Gold Mound is a low mounded shrub with pink flowers.  3ft high by 5 ft wide is the normal mature size.  Yellow-green foiliage in summer. Recurrent summer flowering.

For more ideas you might try this informative blog or for actual good research you could try our favorite Nursery in North Carolina.

How to have Outstanding Annual Flowers

Perennials are flowers that come back every year.  Annuals are planted once and die back when the weather changes.  In our area it is usually best to plant summer annuals right after Easter and your winter annuals around Thanksgiving.  Do you ever notice a local business, beautiful estate or apartment complex with absolutely beautiful flowers out front?  Well they are installed by professionals - but there is no reason you can't do the same quality work yourself with just a few simple tips.....

Photo of nicely landscaped entry with flowers by Backyard-Creations , a landscaping company in the Dallas, Texas area.

The following are good tips on how to have a beautiful flower bed with annuals:

• Step one is to do a real good job of making the soil right for planting annuals.  This is by far the most important step - and also the step in which I see people take the most shortcuts.  Do NOT skip this step if you really want beautiful flowers.  The soil should be tilled, amended with compost, peat moss and I really like to use a lot of coarse vermiculite.  The best beds will be 8" deep.  If you can easily dig the planting holes for your flowers with your hands, and use no tools, you probably have prepared the soil correctly.  Mixing in your initial fertilizer with the soil is not a bad idea either.  Raised beds work well.  Buying a planting mix at your nursery is also acceptable. The good news is that if you do this correctly the first time, subsequent plantings will be much easier.
• Plant selection and spacing:
• Try to get larger annuals.  We like the 6" pots.  We're only going to have these plants 6 months.  Might as well start off a little bigger.
• Get the best plants for your location.  Read the label.  If you have a shady area - get shade loving plants.
• Try NOT to get too much of a variety.  Sometimes less is more.
• Pay attention to the size they will get and space accordingly.  Larger plants to the rear please.
• Fertilize.  I like liquid (or water soluble) because it works quicker.  It also goes away quicker.  As a general rule if you use liquid you need to fertilize every 2-3 weeks.  Granular every 4-6 weeks. To get the most prolific flowers on your annuals you need lots of phosphorus. That is the middle number in the analysis (10-20-10). Phosphorus is good for strong roots and disease resistance as well as enhancing your blooms.
• Water!  In contrast to my irrigation advice for everything else (Water more, but less often)... with annuals you can water every day.  Do water at least a minimum of 3 days a week.  It is much better if you can do this in the mornings.

If this seems like too much work, you can always hire us.  If you have success doing it yourself, please email me a picture  :)

Rich