Honey bee, forget-me-not-flower

Curbside Buffet

Bee Friendly, DIY Landscaping, Outdoor Living Spaces, Pollinator Gardens, Porch Living, Texas Native Plants TerieRick2894

One of the many benefits of being a landscaper is that we are often accompanied by some of nature’s hardest workers. As we go about our business butterflies, birds, and bees fly swiftly through the air to snack on the nectar hidden within each brightly colored flower within the landscape. Without a second thought, these critters are performing one of nature’s greatest tasks, the task of pollination.

Pollination occurs when a plant’s “male” reproductive cells, called pollen, travels down the narrow stigma to fertilize the “female” egg. This allows the flower to produce the seeds necessary for new plants. Pollination can occur through wind and water, however, there are 250,000 plants that need the specific help of pollinators. Without their aid many plants simply can not reproduce. Among the best pollinators are butterflies, birds, small mammals, and of course honey bees.

It is no secret that in recent years many pollinators have been on the decline. This effects not only the ecosystem that they live in, but it has a tremendous effect on us as well. Much of our food comes from these precious pollinators. In fact many researchers believe that approximately 1 out of every 3 bites of food exists because of them. Honey bees alone are responsible for the fertilization of over $100 million of crops in the United States each year. The source of their decline: urbanization, the use of harmful pesticides, pollution among various man made factors. The future seems bleak for these hard workers. So what can we do to help? The answer may be found in your backyard.

Pollinator gardens are gardens specifically designed with pollinators in mind. Carefully selected Texas native plants are handpicked to provide an optimal food source and habitat for these flying fellows year round. So how do you create one?

How to Create Your Pollinator Garden

Step 1. Choose a location

Many insects enjoy being in full sun. Creating your garden in an open area with lots of sunlight is ideal for butterflies and bees.

Step 2. Prep the ground

This is among the hardest steps. Knowing your soil type is extremely important. You can find out what type of soil you have at websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov. If you have poor soil, it may be necessary to apply fresh organic rich soil that can be found at your local landscaping store. It is also best that an irrigation system is installed.

Step 3. Choose the plants

We always recommend using Texas native plants. Fortunately, there are a wide variety of colorful flowering plants to choose from. When choosing your flowers, include a range in types, shapes and sizes. Careful planning and you will have a succession of flowers throughout the growing season, which provides continued sustenance to the pollinators.

Step 4. Plant

The proper placement of your plants will not only get your plants off to a great start, but it will also give it the best chance at staying healthy. Overcrowding will cause the plants to compete for sunlight, while too much space will provide a location for unwanted weeds to sprout up. Grouping certain flowers of the same kind in large drifts is recommended.

Step 5. Mulch

Adding mulch to your garden provides nutrients, cushions large temperature fluctuations, and helps with water retention. Don’t skip this step. Although it’s another additional cost, it could save you from losing plants and having to replace them.

Step 6. Maintain

Watering, pruning, and weeding are all necessary to maintain. Try not to use harmful chemicals that can do exactly the opposite of what these gardens are designed to do.

Having pollinators in your garden is an excellent sign of a healthy ecosystem and although it may take getting your hands dirty, the fruit of your labor will be well worth it. Here at LaField we are passionate about our pollinators. If you would like us to help create your curbside buffet, call us today!

Front Porch Sitting: Creating Spaces that Make Memories

DIY Landscaping, Landscape Lighting, Outdoor Living Spaces, Porch Living TerieRick2894 Leave a Comment on Front Porch Sitting: Creating Spaces that Make Memories

For decades, the front porch has served as a place where families have sat and relaxed after a meal while listening to the strumming of a guitar and the voices of playing children. It is a place where stars were counted in the sky, dates were kissed good night while dad flickered the lights saying, “time’s up,” and many great conversations were had. Grandads have shared stories on front porches, fish were counted, and tea was sipped.

Sometimes I think about how many people must long for those front porch moments again- those moments when time stood still for a bit, and laughter passed through the walls. But then I think about how it doesn’t take much to recreate those front porch days and how easy it is to refresh your porch by adding a few rockers, some potted plants, and even a small lamp and table to add a warm glow at night. Coat that old front door with a fresh coat of paint, and add a simple metal door knocker and an inviting doormat, and that “old” front porch can begin to bring endless smiles to residents and visitors alike.

Speaking of doormats, there are so many great doormat sayings these days! While traditional sayings like “stay awhile,” “come as you are,” and “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord“ scroll across many doormats, funny ones like “no coffee no knockie” and “warning this house is protected by dust balls” have begun to adorn the front stoops of homes.

While there was a time when front porches began to disappear due to housing trends, architects are beginning to hear the heart cries for front porches again. As landscapers and lighting experts, we hear those requests, too. A common request we receive is, “how can we make a sitting area like a front porch when we don’t have one on our house?!” While you can certainly add a structural addition to your home, for many, that option is too costly. However, for those that don’t have a front porch, there are some wonderful budget-worthy solutions. Consider a flagstone sitting area with Adirondack chairs, a porch swing in a tree, a free-standing swing under the trees, or a small bench tucked in the garden areas. Surround this alternative front porch space with colorful plants that attract butterflies and birds, and it becomes a perfect spot for a short break in your day. If this new porch space is being designed as an evening spot, professional landscape lighting such as moon lighting can create a magical ambiance for evening visiting and relaxing. No matter how you design or revamp your front porch space, it doesn’t take much to create a small gathering area that can create great memories for years to come!

Fire pit stone work and tree uplighting, LaField Landscaping

9 Ways to Create “Uniquely You” Outdoor Living Spaces

Outdoor Living Spaces, Porch Living TerieRick2894 Leave a Comment on 9 Ways to Create “Uniquely You” Outdoor Living Spaces

Creating beautiful outdoor living spaces for gathering and retreating can help us all savor life in a more profound way. Over our years of experience with customers, we’ve found that many folks dream of the perfect outdoor space, but they just can’t wrap their heads around how to do it.

Picture this scenario. You stop into the patio store and buy furniture and plants to create your new backyard oasis. You get home and set up the furniture, only to be disappointed because it doesn’t quite look like what you envisioned. Then, you attempt to plant a garden only to discover that it’s way more work than you wanted to do that day. You still want your oasis, so you call in someone to help. It turns out they have less experience than you thought, and they create something that doesn’t capture the true vision of what you wanted. Frustrated, you retreat indoors with hopes you’ll come back to this project…. someday.

Sound familiar? It doesn’t have to go that way! Spaces can be created outdoors for how you live now or how you desire to live. Do you want a space where the family can enjoy an outdoor marshmallow roast? A space that’s perfect for Sunday bbq dinners? A space that beckons guests to play outdoor yard games? How about a garden that can provide spaces for reflecting AND grow fresh veggies and herbs for your table?

It’s all possible if you take what you have in your property and maximize its potential.

Here are a few tips we use to create spaces people love:

  1. How do you want to use the space you have? Consider the views; is there more privacy in certain parts of the yard? Does a better view need to be created with gardens or trees?
  2. If you want a veggie garden, consider the amount of sunlight for the veggies to thrive. Consider container veggie areas or vertical herb gardens for easier care. (More to come on this exciting topic!)
  3. If you want a fire pit area, decide first how many people you might have gathered around it, and consider their ages.
  4. Yard games are great family activities. If you want to set your yard up for yard game success, think about the types of games you may play. Cornhole, bocce ball, football, croquet, or even on a water balloon battles hot days are all viable options but will take consideration as to how to layout your new and improved yard!
  5. Outdoor kitchens and bbq spaces are a great idea for expanding your living areas to the outdoors. Carefully considering the location of tables and cooking spaces is the secret to a well designed outdoor kitchen.
  6. A consideration many forget is the concept of bringing the indoors outside and the outside indoors. Views from inside to the outside matter, and you’ll want to make sure your space doesn’t block a view you enjoy from the inside while tying together the styles you enjoy. For example, a farmhouse-styled space should flow from furniture selections all the way to the potted plants you might select.
  7. A fun thing to do is to match the colors in your patio furniture to the colors of plantings in your garden area. If you enjoy blues, corals, and a beach feel, add plantings such as blue plumbago, pink salvia, or coral drift roses accented with darker shades of blues such as salvia duehlberg or indigo spires.
  8. Including a touch of fragrance and taste with lavender, mint varieties, thyme, or star jasmine is always a great idea.
  9. Using plants that attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and songbirds will add hours of entertainment and might even bring some new “friends” to your outdoor living area.

Your outdoor space should be uniquely you while being customized to your needs and desires. It’s an adventure worth the effort and is sure to reward you each day!

Savoring Life While Staying at Home

Outdoor Living Spaces, Porch Living TerieRick2894 Leave a Comment on Savoring Life While Staying at Home

We are the LaFields, and we are so glad you stopped by to visit us! As the owners of LaField Lawn & Landscape, we hope that as you stroll through our site, you will be refreshed and inspired.

These past few months have been packed full of new life lessons. So many of us have found that we have lived lives that have been full of many things but have not been rich with savoring the simple things in life. Whether it’s embracing life in a deeper way with our family, friends, and community or simply learning to relax after a long day at work, the new “normal” has us finding many new ways to connect with those “simpler” things in life. No matter if you’ve been busy with family and work or alone and missing people, there is no time like the present to savor life in a different way.

For many, staying at home has forced you outside in search of solace. It’s there that you may be rediscovering that you have a yard or a great porch that you absolutely love! I don’t know about you, but for us, watching the birds on the back porch, seeing the flowers in the garden dance in the breeze, and taking in the sunset have always been ways to stabilize our days.

Not only does the sunset remind us that there is hope for a new day, rocking in a rocker on our porch or planting in our garden always provides the best therapy.

Our hope is that in the few minutes you spend with us, whether it’s in person, reading our blog, scrolling our social media pages, or perusing our website, you’ll be encouraged to step outside.

So, go ahead, sip some tea on your front porch, read a good book on the patio, plant some flowers, and savor the beautiful treasures around you.