If you aren’t already familiar with Great Plant Picks, it’s like having the chef of a restaurant come out and tell you the best things to order from the menu. The experts of the Northwest horticulture community have done all the work for home gardeners. They’ve weeded through and came up with a list of reliable, hardy and easy-to-care-for plants for this region. All the plants must be hardy for USDA climate zone 7 and 8, which covers most of the Seattle area. (Find your plant hardiness zone here). All the plants must be vigorous, easy to grow by the average gardener, reasonably disease- and pest-resistant, have a long season, be available from at least two retail outlets in the state and generally not be too needy or picky. Time and time again, Ecoyards has turned to this list to find the most suitable plants for our Seattle landscaping clients.

Shade tolerant plants, Seattle

The 2012 Great Plant Picks includes some of our favorite plants, including several varieties of Hosta and Trillium, as well the Virginia creeper vine. New for 2012 is a list of plants that are made for the shade. You can look up bulbs, shrubs or trees for shade. The newly-designed website now has categories that are broken down even further, into plants for light shade, dappled shade, deep shade, open shade and dry shade. Find your great plant pick using this search tool.

Winter storm Jan. 2012 - photo courtesy of Hector Castro

Rain, snow, ice, wind. The Seattle area got walloped with all of that in January, when a storm toppled trees, broke branches and downed power lines. The storm caused a lot of damage when trees landed on cars, homes and in yards. For big trees and big jobs, homeowners dealing with tree damage should call a certified arborist. Need a referral? PlantAmnesty can help.

For smaller trees, make sure you prune the branches properly. Use a sharp pruning tool and make clean cuts. Contact Ecoyards for help.

Whatever you do, don’t top the trees. The practice of topping _ or removing large branches or the tops of trees _ can actually create more problems in the future. As PlantAmnesty explains, topping can lead to thick regrowth of suckers or sprouts that make the tree more top-heavy and more likely to catch wind. That makes it more vulnerable to getting blown down in a storm. Selectively thinning trees is a better way to go. This allows wind to pass through the branches.

Sometimes you can’t anticipate what Mother Nature does, but you can take measures to protect your trees from damage during wind, snow and rain storms. Proper tree care can minimize hazards during storms. Trees that are pruned regularly tend to be more resistant to storm and wind damage. Neglected trees are much more likely to fall or shed limbs during storms.

Our Ecoyards’ office in West Seattle is now in zone 8B; that means the average annual coldest temperature for a past 30-year period were between 15 and 20 degrees F. According to the old hardiness maps, our office was located in zone 7B, where the average coldest temperatures were between 5 and 10 degrees. Gardeners will likely be able to plant a few more things that they previously weren’t able to, or at least push their luck a bit more. But by and large, the changes aren’t likely to be too drastic. There are a lot of plants such as aster, green beans, asparagus and peonies grow great in both zones 7 and 8, so we won’t be pulling out plants or rearranging the planting lineup too much. As gardeners in the Northwest know, each garden and landscape can have its own micro-climate based on the amount of sunlight it gets, whether it’s sheltered or exposed, is south-facing and so on. The hardiness maps are just a good “rule of thumb” guide.

The most interesting aspect of the new maps may be that they indicate that temperatures are warming across the U.S. As The Associated Press points out in this article:

The government’s colorful map of planting zones is being updated for a warmer 21st century. The official guide for 80 million gardeners and a staple on seed packets reflects a new reality: The coldest day of the year isn’t as cold as it used to be. So some plants that once seemed too vulnerable to cold can now survive farther north. It’s the first time since 1990 that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has updated the map and much has changed. Nearly entire states, such as Ohio, Nebraska and Texas, are in warmer zones.

The new map relies on weather station data from 1976 to 2005, compared to the 1990 map that used statistics from 1974 to 1986. Experts say that increased accuracy in weather data will be really useful for gardeners and others.

To get his certification, Andy underwent an exhaustive written examination that tested his knowledge, skills and theory in all aspects of working in the landscape industry. He had to demonstrate mastery of seven topics covering leadership and corporate citizenship; production operations/horticulture; sales and marketing; strategic planning; human resources; risk, law, and contracts; and corporate financial management. The program requires that he maintains certification through mandatory continuing education.

For our customers, it means you can expect the same high quality and professionalism that you’ve come to expect from Ecoyards. Andy’s certification, however, means he’s taken the extra step to validate his skills and knowledge in the industry.

For more information, visit landscapenetwork.org.

The Ecoyards crew often sees a lot of low head drainage issues in Seattle landscapes, which tend to be hilly or sloped. When clients approach us with this problem, we install a simple device called an anti-drain valve, or check valve, at the sprinkler head. These valves prevent the water from draining out of pipes through the lowest sprinklers. On new sprinkler system installations, we use sprinkler heads with built in check valve to prevent this problem. The devices close and holds the water in the pipes when the sprinkler system is off.

Contact us for help dealing with the problem of low head drainage.

Conservation is so important that the city of Seattle and other local utilities will pay homeowners to save water. Yes, the city will give you money to save water! The Saving Water Partnership offers many rebates to homeowners inside and outside of the house, including rebates up to 50 percent of project costs for rain sensors, smart controllers, drip irrigation, sprinkler heads and more.

Weather sensor provides temperature and rainfall data to the controller for daily irrigation schedule adjustments.

Ecoyards recently helped a conservation-savvy client in North Seattle apply for and receive $480 in irrigation rebates from the Saving Water Partnership. We did that by designing and installing a smart irrigation system that reduces water use by more than 50 percent. The basic idea is to have an in-ground sprinkler system with sophisticated technology that knows not only when to shut off the sprinklers when it rains, but also when to restart it for precisely the right amount of time based on recent rainfall amounts, while factoring in everything from soil type, plant type, to the slope of your lawn to the amount of sun exposure different areas receive.

For our North Seattle project, we qualified for rebates by using drip irrigation on the landscape beds that slowly release water directly to plant roots; rotary spray nozzles on the lawn sprinklers that increase watering efficiency; check valves on heads with potential drainage problems; and a smart controller equipped with a weather sensor.

We installed a state-of-art smart controller system from Rainbird, which knows when to water only when the landscape requires it. The sprinkler system automatically turns on and off based on different factors: the plant and soil type, the climate for your specific zip code, the allowed watering days and times, the slope of the lawn, and sun exposure. There’s a weather sensor installed on-site that accurately tracks your local weather condition as it changes around-the-clock and adjusts your watering schedule accordingly. This prevents over watering and under watering.

Classifying soil type for each irrigation zone.

Once we were done installing the new smart irrigation system, Ecoyards helped our North Seattle client fill out the rebate application and coordinated with Seattle Public Utilities for an on-site inspection. Needless to say, the home-owner was pretty pleased. Ecoyards is excited to help you water smartly. Call or email Ecoyards for help installing a smart irrigation system.

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Roman Cobblestone paver patio, West Seattle

Ecoyards is now certified through Techniseal’s Certified Applicator Program. This program focuses on specialized cleaning, sealing and joint stabilization of paver patios. We feel this certification is important because Seattle’s wet weather can be tough on pavers.  Common problems in our area include the following:

• Erosion problems with joint stabilization sands.
• Organic build-up on pavers (moss, algae, etc.).
• Excess moisture can contribute to efflorescence, which is a naturally occurring phenomenon that occurs with leaching of salts and other minerals that are deposited on the surface when water evaporates.
• Other problems not necessarily specific to our climate include oil and grease stains.

Techniseal is an industry leader in advanced care and maintenance products for pavers, retaining wall products, slabs and natural stones. Whether it is to protect and preserve the appearance of new pavers or to restore older surfaces and enhance their value, Techniseal has a full range of products for the treatment and protection of hardscapes.  Some of the products that Ecoyards uses from Techniseal are described below.

Polymeric Sand –

Polymeric jointing sand is a mix of sand and binder, specially formulated for filling joints when installing pavers, slabs or natural stones. The sand is applied dry and is activated with a light watering.  It starts to set a few minutes after wetting, and quickly becomes resistant to erosion due to water (rain, splashes, sprinklers, etc.). Once it’s completely cured, polymeric sand provides the following benefits:

• Inhibits weed growth.
• Deters ants and other insects.
• Eliminates joint erosion caused by rain, power washing, and wind.
• Turns flexible when wet, which allows the sand to follow slight movement of the pavers.

Cleaning Products –

Concrete pavers are low-maintenance and provide long-lasting beauty.  However, like concrete slabs, pavers are not impervious to oil and other substances that can stain the pavers and become difficult to remove. Treatment for pavers is generally carried out in three steps:

1. Use specific cleaners to target stains such as oil, grease, rust, paint, or tire stains, or any buildup organic debris.
2. Priming the surface with a paver primer / efflorescence cleaner.
3. Protecting the surface with an appropriate protector (see below).

Protectors –

Protectors are transparent resins that protect pavers and slabs made of concrete and natural stone. Protectors form a micro-porous layer that lets water vapors out but keeps out contaminates.  Protectors come in a variety of options that enhance the appearance of pavers.  Homeowners can choose from a “wet look” or a “natural look.”  Various finishes include a glossy finish or a matte finish.

Call or email us today if you need help with cleaning and protecting your paver patio, driveway or walkway.

http://magazine.angieslist.com/contractors/articles/stormwater-runoff-puts-water-supply-homes-at-risk.aspx