Everyday is a time of thanks

Date :Nov 24, 2020

Every morning I wake up thankful for what I’ve been blessed with. Thankful that I was born in this country, where if we work hard and make good choices the American Dream can become a reality. I am thankful to all our customers and employees who have helped build Naturescape to where it is today.

Success has its parts and the part of creating beautiful landscapes, while hard, is also very rewarding. We want to thank you for being part of that process, for having the confidence in us and welcoming us on your property. We treat it with respect and gratitude. We teach our employees to make sure the landscape looks good. During fall cleanups sometimes at the end of the day our teams feel disappointed because the leaves fell again after they left. That’s when I take on the role as cheer leader, telling them “It’s ok”. Removing the leaves now means less work we have to do in the wind and cold. After all the leaves drop the temperatures drop, the wind picks up and every day the possibility of snow gets stronger. One of our least favorite jobs is a full blown leaf cleanup in the spring as it removes the grass, is dirty and is time consuming. So we pick away at each property when we can.

This year feels like a culmination of all our years in business. We were almost shut down early in the season right when we were hiring. Trying to fill positions during a pandemic was challenging. I am thankful we kept going and kept finding great people. It was a tentative hold as emotions ran high. From training new employees safely to working as teams while ensuring social distancing we all had to make adjustments. It was worth the effort though, because we are working, moving forward and safe. We’ve managed to continue creating beautiful landscapes, made our customers happy and provided careers for some great people. I’ve managed to let go of some of my control and can see our new managers shine in their roles. Next spring looks really promising and for that I am extremely thankful.

We hope you can find some things to be thankful for this season. Between the pandemic and drought it has not been easy for everyone. We wish for you have a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving.

Sincerely,

Marcie and Jeff Miner

Congratulations to Mo, our mow team leader and his wife, Anna. Brand new baby girl, Zuri. Born 11/5/2020. 7lbs 7oz.

Lawn – Garden of the Month

I am pleased to announce our a Featured Lawn or Garden Spotlight. When chosen to be our Featured Lawn or Garden you will receive not only recognition for your labor of love but also a gift from all of us here at Naturescape. Send us your landscaping photos to be included in future newsletters. If you recognize your landscape here send us a message and we’ll send you a free gift!

A message from Naturescape Garden Team:

Happy Thanksgiving! I am so thankful that many gardens survived the drought of 2020. Many plants suffered from the stress caused by the drought. Fortunately, they have mostly recovered but we have noticed many insect and disease problems. Like lawns, there are some areas that didn’t make it and will need some corrections. For example, Red Twig Dogwoods really struggled. Dogwoods have very fine rooting systems. They do best in a rich soil away from larger trees but shaded by them. The soil content can make a big difference. Next time you install some plants give us a call to see if we can give you some tips on best choices for your plants.

Pruning – Now that weather has cooled down its a great time to start pruning evergreens. Refrain from pruning any flowering evergreens as most will bloom in the spring and have already set their flowers for next spring.
Winterizing – The Garden Team is nearing completion of winterizing gardens as perennials, shrubs, and trees are getting ready winter dormancy. Winterizing Gardens involves trimming down perennials to reduce disease, fungi and insects, that may have plagued your garden this year. We may leave some debris for the protection of pollinators as well as add organic matter and mulch if needed. We’ll inspect plants for problems and make suggestions. Some plants we don’t trim down create a more diverse winter landscape are Ornamental grasses, Echinacea, Astilbes, Sedum, and Beebalm.

If you do composting you might need to add water to the bin and turn it over one last time before winter. As part of our rounds we often do this for our customers.

Deer Repellent and fencing has become an important step if you want to have lush plants in the spring. Deer will decimate evergreens and our beloved flowering shrubs. – We have a product that lasts all winter. Let us know if you’re interested as we will be starting this soon.

Tree Wraps are applied to prevent frost cracks and sunscalds on thin-barked trees like Cherry, Apple, and Sugar Maples. If you have one of these trees and its in full sun during the winter the sun can cause it to overheat and then harsh weather fluctuations can cause the bark to split. Wrapping the trunk helps prevent problems.