by Gloria Ballard | Aug 4, 2023
If you’re concerned about the environment, you want to make sure your landscape practices are not harming the planet with unnecessary chemicals, unsafe practices or excessive use of resources. Gardens of Babylon shares your concern, and can take eco-friendly care of your landscape with regular maintenance of your yard and gardens.
“It’s really a three-pronged approach: using organic materials, appropriate maintenance, and paying attention to what’s successful in the landscape,” says landscape designer Chloe Barrett, a maintenance specialist on Gardens of Babylon’s design team.
Fertilizers are sourced from organic materials (never glyphosate or other harmful chemicals); when a pesticide is called for, the choice is natural Neem oil or other non-chemical measures. Maintenance procedures include proper pruning practices, and timely trimming and care of perennial and annual garden beds.
“One of the biggest issues is site analysis,” Barrett says, explaining that designers consider the light, water and soil needs of plant placement in a design plan. If you continue to plant something that fails, you’re not just throwing away the plant, she says, you’re also wasting the resources that went into growing it and bringing it to your landscape. “Making proper recommendations for the site is critical to landscaping,” she says.
Considering the lawn
“Turf is, by nature, a bit of a sign of luxury,” Barrett says. “One of the big things I see is that clients are becoming more educated about the use of chemicals. People realize that violets and clover are appealing.”
For clients who still don’t share the appeal, Barrett admits that weed management without chemicals is a challenge. In that case, eco-maintenance includes regular aeration and overseeding to allow turfgrass to thrive, and manual control – digging and pulling weeds as they appear. It’s also important to make sure irrigation systems are in order and there are no drainage issues in the lawn that would affect the growth of turfgrass.
Gardens of Babylon’s natural turf care is a six-step program of weed control, fungal treatment, dethatching, fertilization and insect control.
“Those are the overarching issues that can be addressed for a more sustainable landscape.”
Maintenance on schedule
A typical regular maintenance plan includes two large cleanups each year, in February or March ahead of the growing season, and again in the fall to prepare the landscape for winter. Spring tasks may include pruning ornamental or fruit trees, cutting back roses, maintaining boxwoods, removing the first flush of cool-weather weeds, and a spring mulching to prevent soil moisture evaporation and germination of weed seeds in garden beds.
Throughout the growing season, regular maintenance includes a visit every couple of weeks so weeds don’t grow out of control “Many gardeners enjoy doing the work and just want us to come out and do the heavy lifting,” Barrett says. “We make sure our clients don’t miss the flowers for the weeds.”
Fall tasks would include cutting back perennials and putting beds to rest for the season, adding a secondary layer of mulch if requested.
Mosquito control is also among the available services, using organic methods. “It’s not a blanket pesticide, but it does prevent the formulation of larva over time,” Barrett says. Eco-friendly leaf services can be arranged in the fall. “We like to mulch the leaves on-site to return organic material to the soil.”
Personal Farmer
For clients who have the desire for home-grown produce but not the time or ability to grow it, Gardens of Babylon offers a full-scale vegetable- or fruit-planting service — “Everything from designing raised beds, installing plants and providing ongoing maintenance,” Barret says.
The Personal Farmer makes regular visits to feed and weed and make sure everything is healthy. Harmful insects are eliminated with a spray of food-grade insecticidal soap. “We can come on a monthly basis to keep everything in check,” she says. “Most of our personal farmer clients get a twice-a-year install and two or three maintenance visits through the season.”
Commitment to sustainability
Sustainable practices don’t stop once the landscaping crews are finished.
“We are working on a company-wide waste diversion policy of recycling and composting,” says Leah Mattix, marketing director at Gardens of Babylon. “Our garden center waste diversion from composting since 2019 is at 81,300 pounds. The landscaping roll-off dumpsters have diverted 234,000 pounds of landscape waste.
Landscaping initiatives for recycling, composting and reducing landscape waste include mowing and mulching to build organic matter on-site; mulching leaves to use in local garden projects; repurposing soil by sifting out debris and reusing it in local grading projects.
Rock and concrete pulled from jobs are recycled into aggregate for hardscape construction projects; pallets are given to vendors to be reused if they are pressure-treated; recycled or composted if they are not.
“We focus on water-wise irrigation. Our landscape designers will do sustainable designs like xeriscapes, edible landscapes, raised garden beds,” Mattix says. “We focus on local products; the stone, cedar beds, compost, and compost tea (“Develops healthy, living soil, key for healthy plants,” says Barrett) are all local.”
Even the Garden Center’s break-room supplies are either reusable or compostable. And for the convenience of customers who would rather recycle their plastic nursery pots instead of throw them in the trash, there’s a recycling bin at the Garden Center, near the loading zone.
Getting on board
Clients can begin a maintenance program at any time. “We set up a 30-minute window to talk by phone through needs and expectations, then come to your home for an on-site evaluation,” Chloe Barrett says.
To schedule a consultation for a Landscape Maintenance Program, visit the Gardens of Babylon website here.
by Gloria Ballard | May 18, 2023
Plant a garden that attracts pollinators
If not for butterflies, wasps, all types of bees and other nectar-sipping, pollen-spreading creatures, we would not have the good food and beautiful flowers we reap from our gardens. Their role is to move grains of pollen from the male part of a flower to the female part, thereby kicking off the next generation of fruits, seeds and young plants. So bring on the pollinators!
Plants that attract pollinators
To set your garden in motion with flying, fluttering and crawling pollinators, plant what they need to live. Flowers provide food in the form of nectar for the insects and hummingbirds. Other plants act as host plants for the larvae of butterflies and other pollinators. Here are a few garden favorites that will bring pollinators to your garden.
* Butterfly weed: Its bright flowers attract hummingbirds, bees, and – of course — butterflies. Grows in full sun and blooms in summer.
* Sunflowers, zinnias: Bees, wasps and butterflies are all drawn to these summer favorite annuals. They grow best in full sun but can tolerate partial sun.
* Bee balm: It’s called this because it attracts bees, of course, but butterflies also sip its sweet nectar. Bee balm grows in sun to partial shade and blooms in summer.
* Trumpet honeysuckle: This vine is favored by hummingbirds, who dip their long beaks in the red-orange, trumpet-shaped flowers in spring and summer. They grow and bloom in sunny and partially shady gardens.
* Columbine: These spring blooming perennials in a variety of shades attract bees and hummingbirds to the garden. They grow in partial shade to sun, and bloom in spring.
* Service berry: This large shrub or small tree blooms with white flowers that attract bees, flies and other pollinators early in the spring. Plant it in sun to partial shade.
* Parsley, dill, fennel: These herbs are all host plants for butterfly larvae – caterpillars – that feed on the foliage. Plant enough to use and to share with the future pollinators.
What else do pollinators need?
Aside from sources of nectar and foliage, you can invite pollinators to the garden by providing other habitat “amenities.”
* Water is essential to pollinators. Include fountains, birdbaths, sprinklers or other water features in your garden plans.
* Places to nest and to roost help pollinators feel at home. A variety of trees and understory plants provides plenty of choices for a variety of creatures. Bees and insects also nest in leaf litter and dead wood.
*A variety of plants attracts a variety of pollinating insects. Plant flowers of different colors, fragrances and blooming times to attract different species throughout the season.
* Avoid pesticides, which can be deadly and will undo efforts to attract the beneficial pollinators to the garden.
https://www.pollinator.org/
by Dan Hoy | Aug 10, 2020
The pollination efforts of bees are behind one of every three bites that typical American eats. That accounts for about 15 billion dollars a year in US crop services. Here are 5 steps you can take to help local pollinators!
Five pollinator friendly steps home gardeners can take:
1) Eliminate invasive plants. Most of these are aggressive, non-native species that aren’t very attractive to pollinators anyway, but they are the biggest threat because they elbow out natives that are of high pollinator value.
2) Plant in clusters. Diversity is important but it’s also helpful to plant in floral clumps at least five plants per clump whether shrubs, perennials, annuals instead of this one here, one there, one there. Clusters are easier for pollinators to find and offer a bigger supply of pollen.
3) Allow some cosmetic or temporary damage on some of your plants. This is a sign that caterpillars may be munching on some of these pollinator friendly plants! The leaves break down in the landscape and become a kind of shelter for insect eggs.
4) Give pollinators a water source. Bird baths or water features are two good ways to help with this. Sallow puddles are excellent if you refresh your water every now and again to avoid any kind of mosquito collection and keep the pollinators well hydrated.
5) Eliminate or reduce chemical applications around your landscape or garden or try to choose natural pesticides when you have to apply around your property. If you do have to apply, choose to apply later in the evening when the sun has gone down. These are the times when pollinators aren’t active so it gives a chance for the treatments to dry before the next day.
Plants to add that help bees:
Butterfly weed, yarrow, echinacea or coneflower, catmint, lavender, agastache, butterfly bush
by Gardens of Babylon | Jun 13, 2019
While we take time to celebrate all of the things that pollinators do for us, we want to emphasize how important planting for bees, butterflies, birds, bats and beetles can be! Pollinators are one of the most valuable parts of our ecosystem and, unfortunately, due to the excessive use (and misuse) of pesticides (neonicotinoids), herbicide (round-up) and fungicides, these species are encountering an extreme loss of year round food and forage supplies as well as a loss of habitat due to deforestation.
Here’s a short video from co-owner, Matt Kerske, about how you can help pollinators!
Here are a few tips on how you can help our pollinators:
Plant for every season (including milkweed for monarchs)
Support conservation groups
Stop using pesticides and look into natural alternatives (be careful to spray early in the morning or late at night, when pollinators aren’t active)
Plant native species that encourage pollinators to thrive!
At Gardens of Babylon Landscapes, we strongly believe in leaving the weeds for the bees, using natural methods of plant control, and encouraging pollinator growth! We refrain from using any products containing neonicotinoids and we create landscapes that bloom throughout the season to allow for an ample food source for our local pollinators.
Stop by the garden center today to learn more or book a consultation on our website if you’re ready to transform your landscape into a pollinator oasis!
Sources:
https://www.pollinator.org/
https://www.pollinatorsunderpressure.org/