Just because the days are shorter and the warm breeze has gotten a little chill to it, bright flower plantings have dulled, sunflower season has ended and the sense overall that Summer is over...it doesn't mean landscaping is over or you should neglect your yard or commercial space.   Decorative plantings and seasonal installations are available year round.  To find what suits your home or business best, consult your landscaper or just take a look around your neighborhood.

 September and October, in the tri-state area at least, are known for the festive array of golden and rust tones.  Displays that offer a variety of color add a little flare to a yard once full of summer perennials are just what it needs to remain looking healthy and lush in those cooler months.  Playing with assorted heights can also add intrigue to your landscape.  For Instance, add a few low lying bales of hay and stack them in sections to create a varying height.  Then, mix in corn stalks and buckets of rusty orange, rich yellows and bright fuchsia hardy mums.  Adding heads of cabbage and kale to the display intensifies the color scheme!

This will not only brighten your property but it will add depth for when all those beautiful colored leaves begin to drop!

If hay bales and pumpkin accents aren't your style, there are always more classic approaches like planting diciduous trees and shrubs such as October Glory and Viburnum for a lush forest look.

As we gear up for all things fall we are reflecting upon a very gracious summer.  Alongside longer days, tropical weather and the occasional refreshing down pour we are left with healthy lush lawns, beautiful, vibrant plantings and most importantly happy customers!!!  Though we are operational year round, we know the majority of our efforts are during these dog-days and we have made it through the summer quite successfully!  We have picked up several new commercial and residential contracts and we look forward to building longstanding relationships therein.  We are extending our thanks to our wonderful existing clientele as well as our new companions for the support and praise.

(Mario's perfectly executed drop of a 100' tree at our Fresh Meadows site)

(The Colony entrance summer planting, very impressive!)

GREAT JOB TEAM!!!!!

Terranova launches our campaign to bring awareness to Breast and Ovarian Cancer today with our new logo design. (Teal is for Ovarian Cancer Awareness) We're lettering our new trucks with this special logo and will be doing more exciting things to lend a hand to these incredibly important efforts.

It's the difference between this...

(A mistreated residential lawn)

And This...

 (An HOA Community maintained by Terranova.)

As temperatures begin to rise into the triple digits, people tend to seek refuge in air-conditioned buildings. Plants, firmly rooted in the soil, must tough out the scalding heat and damaging UV rays.  While it is common to see landscapes stressed in the summer months, there are some easy steps you can take to keep yours healthy and inviting all year long. There are tons of guidelines and little tricks to keeping a healthy lawn and landscape around your home or office here are some small TLC tips that can really improve your landscape and make your property stand out this time of year!
 
*Make sure your plants have an adequate supply of water, but not too much. With winter's snow and early spring rains, many trees and shrubs receive the long, slow irrigation they desire. As our clay soil can hold onto moisture for a very long time, it is wise to wait until the soil feels dry to the touch before turning your irrigation system back on.  

*When mowing the lawn, be sure to remove only 1/3 of the blade of grass at a time.  Setting the mower blade lower to the ground will not only stress the grass, it will actually increase its growth rate to compensate, and you will have to mow more often.  When applying fertilizers to grass, do so in the morning and time an irrigation to occur soon after application.  Fertilizer that is not properly watered into the soil can burn the grass.

 
*Do not spray garden chemicals such as insecticides when temperatures are above 90 degrees. The combination of heat and sun can cause some of these chemicals to be toxic to plants.  For insect troubles, consider a strong spray of water on the plant early in the morning.  A jet of water will often knock insects like mites and aphids off the plant and they cannot climb back on.  If you have no choice but to spray, do so in the early morning before the temperatures creep up.
 
*Mulch is a great addition to any landscape.  All plants benefit by having a layer of mulch on top of the soil.  A two- to three-inch layer will insulate the soil from the warm air temperatures and will also help retain water in the soil.  Mulches can be organic such as bark or compost or inorganic like crushed granite.  Make sure you keep your mulch at least two to three inches away from the trunk of the plant.
 
Following these simple suggestions will keep your plants healthy and your lawn and landscape looking great even in the dead of summer.

Spring time is here and hints of color are popping up everywhere, rejuvenate your front yard, indoor garden space or commercial property with vibrant plantings. The quintessential spring garden flowers are, of course, daffodils. Snowdrops and crocuses bloom before and after daffodils, respectively. Tulips, the ones everybody waits for, come around a little later.  Pansies are also a common plant, the array of colors prove to add so much character to a dull or colorless landscape.   All these flowers are in the lily family, which is known for being hardy as well as beautiful.  

Timing is the most crucial detail for Spring gardening. While a wide variety of spring garden flowers are out there, most find that choosing several species that bloom at slightly different times is the best way to go. A huge blast of color soon after the snow stops falling is going to make quite an impression, but if you stagger your spring flowers so that one or two different types of blooms appear just as the previous blooms begin to fade away, you'll have a great looking garden that becomes more beautiful as the summer approaches.

 Despite its official start date, spring really comes at different times of year depending on your geographic location. Meaning,  not all spring flowers are going to be appropriate in all climates. Ask local professionals in your area for the best combinations of indigenous plants that will thrive under certain weather conditions, water availability, exposure etc.   Land care professionals will have excellent advice on the early blooming plants and shrubs that are native to your area and will set your garden apart from others. 

(A bed of multi-colored pansies to brighten your Spring Garden)

This year’s shift in weather has proven to be a double-edged sword for many northeastern businesses.  Generally, each year, a business allots a portion of its funds to “winter prep” or snow related costs.  The lack of snow, even in comparison to last year, has left most businesses that rely on snow "in the red” while many others who have a set budget for a harsh winter with bit of a surplus, which is now considered “discretionary”.  Since the expenses of previous years (2010-2011) have shown to be overwhelming during the winter months, many homeowner’s associations and accounting boards have allotted for a safety reserve to prepare for the snowy season.  Local companies are surprised to say the least with the mild winter and moving into the productive months have some very important decisions to make regarding the marketability of their properties.  Entering a new season within a competitive market with both sharp an innovative ideas can set one commercial property apart from the others.  Use the power of appearance to your advantage.  Curb appeal is more profitable than you may realize.  We encourage property owner’s to assess their own landscaping and really be critical as to areas that need improvement. A small project can be just the right touch for a stale or antiquated location. Think of landscaping as an investment with much less risk!  Once a property’s landscape has grown dull it can send the message that the property owners are lax and are not interested in serving the consumer, subliminal yes, but standing out in a competitive field is never a bad thing.  First impressions really are everything and what better way to improve the perception of your business than to rejuvenate the entranceway to your property with that “rainy” [well, snowy] day reserve!

We have just successfully installed over 150 yews in the Mendelsohn Quad of Stony Brook University.  It is very important for institutions like Universities to be maintained constantly and to remain attractive, this holds very true for Long Island's most renowned campus.  The beautification of this specific area included over 440 feet of planting along with special care and attention to detail.  Maintaining this campus year round takes a lot of structured planning. We complete many projects to maintain the aesthetic and practical objectives of the University and take pride in each one.  The upcoming Case Studies section will illustrate our major projects and depict another campus construction at Stony Brook as this was just one of many projects that we regularly perform.  

 (Below, a "buffer" bed built to separate Circle Drive from campus residential parking)

terranova

Sometimes subtle touches can make all the difference! We gladly renovate large properties and can even include some construction features to resolve any landscaping issue that may be presented to us.  We have several large scale full property renovations in progress this season and we take a personal approach to each client's needs and budgets. Special attention to detail will transform a dull space into a lush and colorful landscape for your own backyard or even a commercial campus. We are currently installing a "buffer" flower bed from the main road of the campus and the parking areas.  In this bed we will install an array of strong plants such as  Flowering Kwanzan Cherry Trees, Carpet Roses, Variegated Red Twig Dogwoods, Hatfield Yews, and Hollywood Junipers. Here is a before picture of the area.  Stay tuned to our Stony Brook University reconstruction as we follow up with the progress next week!!