Blog

Category: Flowers and Gardens

Garden Structures Give Flat Landscapes A Lift

If a garden doesn’t have any change in it’s grade or level that can be quite uninteresting. Short of regrading the property what can you do? You can add garden structures that range from small to very big to change the view. Adding various structures like obelisks, arches, and pergolas can make a significant difference. These are not new ideas; they have been used since Egyptian and Roman times. They provide interest and vertical space for climbing flowers, fruits, and vegetables. Plus they add structure to the garden over the winter as they provide focal points against whatever trees and

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Water and Fire Can Coexist in Minneapolis

If you live in MN, then you probably have a lake not very far from your home. MN is known as the land of 10,000 lakes, so most homes will take water into consideration when it comes to their landscaping plans. Building a pond or small waterfall to help channel ground water will not only create a beautiful space on your property, but if combined with an outdoor fire pit, it can raise the value of your home and its sale-ability quite nicely. Ponds and waterfalls have become common place in the landscaping industry now, and can be assembled with materials

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Start at the Beginning to Get the Landscape You Want

A good start to creating a good landscape plan that works for you is to take a critical look at what you have now. Does it all go together, not only in how it looks, but also how it functions? Sometimes you can make a couple of minor adjustments to make things work better. But, other times you need much more than that. Our Minneapolis Landscape designers can help you to make those adjustments, or we can develop a custom landscape plan that we will design and build with you. We can help you take an inventory of some of

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Running Water, the Greatest Jewel in the Garden

Henry Mitchell, the Washington Post garden columnist wrote, “It’s true there are some gardens without fish pools, as there are some days without sunlight and some gardeners with out the sense of sight or hearing. But let us pass over those tragedies and give the garden its potentially greatest jewel, ornamental water.”   Water is an essential ingredient for living life. It makes a garden come alive and draws people to it. How the water flows has an effect. Still water is calming, peaceful; a gentle fountain calms nerves and muffles the sound of neighbors and traffic. A waterfall can

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Great Curb Appeal Welcomes Family, Friends, and You!

Curb appeal…does your house have it? It’s that charm that makes people take a second look and welcomes family and friends. If your front yard is inviting it will help guide your guests on how to enter your house, and even park their cars. Create a winding or straight hardscape walkway or sidewalk from the curb to the front porch with stepping stones, concrete, flagstone, pavers, or brick. Add a stone or brick courtyard for a place to meet and sit with family and friends. Color, texture, fragrance, and even a little whimsy, can make the trip to your welcome

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Bees in Minnesota? What Bees?

 Exactly. What bees? Few have noticed but there is a fairly serious shortage of honey bees in both the United States and Europe, like we have never seen before. With the advanced use of pesticides, and sprawling urban development, people are killing them off faster than they can repopulate themselves. This condition has reached such epic proportion that the horticultural industry has labeled it Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). It seemed to start in the winter of 2006, when bee keepers reported seeing abnormally high losses in honey production. Penn State’s Entomology Department has been studying the issue ever since. There

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