Landscape Design Ideas for Summer Parties

Summer entertaining can be really fun, but it can also be stressful if your yard doesn't look the way you want. You have a couple more months to transform your yard into the perfect space, and we can help you get there – whether you have just a few landscape design ideas or have your vision fully sketched out.

Check out more ideas here!

Add a Gazebo to Maximize Outdoor Relaxation!

A gazebo, whether it’s part of your deck or out in your garden, is perfect for any occasion. Gazebos will probably always be popular landscape design ideas for summer bashes, as they provide shady refuge from the sun and comfortable places to lounge around and watch the sun go down on warm evenings.

RRR Lawn & Landscape Grand Rapids Landscaping Tip of the Day: Outdoor Fireplaces

Outdoor Fireplaces

If a full outdoor kitchen is too much, an outdoor fireplace is a great option. Outdoor fireplaces – and smaller outdoor fire pits – are the perfect party features for making S’mores and socializing long after the sun goes down.

Weeding is not a fun task call RRR Lawn & Landscape to do the dirty work!

Probably everyone’s least-favorite garden activity, possibly because it feels destructive rather than beneficial, and it can be backbreaking work. Did you know we can apply a premium pre-emergent application to your planting beds that will save you lots of weeding and money!

Grand Rapids Landscaping Tip of the Day! Adding color to your landscape!

Now is a great time to plant, so take a look around your landscape and decide if you can brighten the place up with a few new “faces.” We can help you with updating your landscape and putting together a free quote once we determine the amount of sunlight affecting that part of your landscape and what type of shrub or tree would give you the “Best Bang for Your Buck”. Flowers are great for short term but by selecting specimens that have interesting color or texture in their foliage also you will have a more lasting visual effect in your landscape. Click on the photo gallery at the top of our website to see some other plants that we like to incorporate in our lower maintenance designs. Call us RRR today for a free estimate (616) 893-5765.

Pruning: Grand Rapids Lawn & Landscape Tip of the Day!

 If you need to prune trees and shrubs, the best time to do this is before growth starts in the spring. The exceptions to that rule are spring-flowering shrubs. For those, you need to wait until after they finish flowering (mid-season May-July). Spring would be a good time to prune roses and ornamental grasses if they look like they need a trim. We are happy to assist you on any particular pruning questions you may have or give you a quote to do it for you to keep your landscape healthy and shape/size in check.

Visit HERE for more details!

Grand Rapids Landscaping Tip of the Day from RRR Lawn & Landscape

Plant and transplant:

April and May are good times to plant those new roses, flowering shrubs, fruit trees, evergreens and most deciduous plant but so are the cooler months of late August into September. If you’re still not sure what to plant, you can always contact us. We are able to design and help you plan your landscaping project. As far as transplanting existing plants from one spot to another, time is running out, so the sooner the better. Many plants are already starting their spring growth and you want them to get used to their new spot before the heat starts coming in.

Are you dealing with limited space that you want to enhance with vegetables or flowers, check out RRR Lawn & landscape for all your container gardening options today:

Don't let limited outdoor space prevent you from trying out your green thumb. From tasty fruits and veggies to flowering plants, trees and shrubs, container gardening is the trick to growing it all in less space than you may think. Visit www.rrrlawn.com for more information!

Selecting Plants with Fragrance for your Landscape

Common lilac bushes bloom in late spring, when they release their heavenly fragrance into the evening air. If you care about having aroma in the landscape, planting lilacs is a must! Learn how to grow them here.

These fragrant plants come from China. Peonies are a triple threat, boasting blooms that are gorgeous in appearance and that exude a heavenly aroma; they also bear attractive leaves. On top of all this, peony plants can live for decades in the landscape (without much maintenance, at all).

So colorful are iris flowers that they were named after the Greek goddess of the rainbow, Iris. But in addition to producing exquisitely graceful blossoms, some types of iris also smell wonderful.

I mentioned plants valued specifically for the smell of their foliage, and many herbs fall into this category. Perhaps the most renowned among them is lavender, a stalwart of potpourris for generations. In the landscape, a nice use for these fragrant plants is in a border planting.

Privacy Screen Options

If you grow shrubs closely enough together, they can form a "living wall" that is effective in screening out the public's unwanted gazes. One option is to plant the shrubs in rows and shear them to create dense outdoor privacy screens. Another option is to install shrubs more loosely to form borders that will be more low-maintenance.

Lattice fences can serve a number of functions, in addition to creating backyard retreats and serving as trellises. Have an eyesore you'd like to disguise (e.g., trash area, air conditioner, deck supports)? Wooden or vinyl lattice fences can hide them. Building lattice fences to serve as outdoor privacy screens is simple.

Landscaping Quick Tip: Incorporating Hardscaping Into Your Yard

Make liberal use of crushed-stone mulch. If you grow plants in such mulch in a sunny area, select drought-tolerant plants, since stone gets hot in the summer. Don't place the stone mulch directly up against the plants.

Lawn Care Tip: Diluting Dog Urine

If you can't bring yourself to renounce grass, you can still prevent dog spots by vigilance. When you see a dog urinating on the grass, rush to the garden hose. Turn it on and bring it over to the area where your dog has just urinated. Douse the area with water, thereby flushing it and diluting the harmful elements in the dog urine.

This strategy won't be very appealing if you "have a life." I know I wouldn't want my day to revolve around the urinary habits of my dog! But hey, different strokes for different folks.

Avoid Dog Spots with Hardscape

Avoid Dog Spots With Hardscape
Dogs and lawn grass don't mix well. For small areas, consider switching from a grassy expanse to hardscape. The advantages of hardscape go beyond solutions to landscaping with dogs, since hardscape offers a low-maintenance alternative to grass that obviates lawn care. Stone and masonry are especially useful for landscaping with dogs, because they minimize the mess dogs make through urination (dog spots), digging and plain old wear and tear.

Lawn Care and Dogs

Is your landscaping going to the dogs? Is your lawn riddled with "dog spots?" There's no reason that you can't have both canine companionship and an attractive yard. But landscaping with dogs does present challenges that may require some compromises. The goal in this balancing act is to achieve an attractive, dog-friendly yard.

Effective landscaping with dogs begins with the recognition that a business-as-usual approach won't work. If your dogs are to be allowed to run about in your yard, you'll probably have to make adjustments to your landscaping. Landscaping with dogs primarily entails making concessions to your canine friends, as you'll see from the strategies below. I do, however, offer one glimmer of hope that you can, instead, adjust the dogs to the landscaping. Either way, if you fail to make some sort of adjustment, then dogs will make a mess of your yard. Worse still, they'll be continually dragging dirt into your house.

Learn more in our next edition!

Overseeding your West Michigan Lawn

Is your lawn riddled with bare patches due to dog spots, heavy traffic or neglect? If so, you may need to apply grass seed to fill in those bare patches. This solution is known as "overseeding lawns." Apply a slow-release nitrogen fertilizer when you overseed. Five weeks after the grass germinates, apply a quick-release nitrogen fertilizer.

However, spring isn't the very best time for overseeding lawns. Fall is the preferred time, when the new grass won't have to compete with crabgrass, which is killed off by autumn frosts. So postpone overseeding until fall, unless your situation is dire.

Give the perfect gift this year! A New Backyard Oasis!

Are you having problems finding the perfect gift for your loved one this holiday season?  RRR Lawn & Landscape is offering gift vouchers for spring landscaping projects.  Give a voucher to your loved one for a new patio or landscape redesign!  Contact us at 616-893-5765 or visit our website at www.rrrlawn.com for more information!

Widespread Drought Continues Across Southwest Lower Michigan

Here is the official report from Weather.Gov on the status of the ongoing drought in Grand Rapids:

DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI
1117 AM EDT THU AUG 2 2012

...WIDESPREAD DROUGHT CONTINUES ACROSS SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN...

SYNOPSIS...
RECENT RAINFALL HAS NOT BEEN ENOUGH TO MITIGATE THE ONGOING DROUGHT.
THE OUTLOOK FOR THE REMAINDER OF AUGUST INDICATES ABOVE NORMAL
TEMPERATURES AND AN EQUAL CHANCE OF BELOW OR ABOVE NORMAL RAINFALL.

THE DROUGHT INTENSITY ACROSS THE REGION VARIES...AS DEFINED BY THE
UNITED STATES DROUGHT MONITOR INDEX:

ACROSS SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN...D1 TO D2 OR MODERATE TO SEVERE
DROUGHT CONDITIONS EXIST. NEAR THE INDIANA BORDER...D3 OR EXTREME
DROUGHT CONDITIONS EXIST.

POSSIBLE IMPACTS FROM A MODERATE DROUGHT /D1/ ARE SOME
DAMAGE TO CROPS...PASTURES... STREAMS...RESERVOIRS...OR WELLS
LOW...SOME WATER SHORTAGES DEVELOPING OR IMMINENT...VOLUNTARY
WATER-USE RESTRICTIONS REQUESTED.

POSSIBLE IMPACTS FROM A SEVERE DROUGHT /D2/ ARE CROP OR
PASTURE LOSSES LIKELY... WATER SHORTAGES COMMON...AND WATER
RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED.

SUMMARY OF IMPACTS...
MANY CREEKS AND STREAMS ARE RUNNING MUCH BELOW NORMAL FLOW.
LARGE STEM RIVER FLOWS ARE IN THE SINGLE PERCENTILE OF NORMAL
FLOW...WITH SOME NEARING RECORD LOW FLOWS.

THE SHALLOW WATER LEVELS HAVE LED TO WARMER THAN NORMAL STREAMWATER
TEMPERATURES...AND THIS IS CAUSING INCREASED CONCERN FOR
UNFAVORABLE AQUATIC HABITAT FOR MUSSELS...FISH AND OTHER MACRO
INVERTEBRATES.

AGRICULTURAL IMPACTS ARE CONTINUALLY BEING ASSESSED...HOWEVER
ECONOMIC LOSSES ARE ALREADY BEING REPORTED FOR THIS GROWING SEASON.

SOIL MOISTURE CONDITIONS...
SOIL MOISTURE SUPPLIES ARE BELOW NORMAL ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA.

GROUNDWATER CONDITIONS...
AT THE END OF JULY...THE MID MICHIGAN HEALTH  DEPARTMENT REPORTED
THAT 40 RESIDENTIAL WELLS HAVE GONE DRY IN GRATIOT COUNTY.

RIVER AND STREAMFLOW CONDITIONS...
ALL RIVERS ACROSS SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN ARE EXPERIENCING BELOW
NORMAL FLOWS. THERE HAS BEEN A GRADUAL BUT STEADY FALL IN RIVER AND
STREAM LEVELS OVER THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS AND THIS TREND IS
EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH SEPTEMBER WHEN AVERAGE FLOW MINIMUMS
OCCUR.

AGRICULTURE IMPACTS...
AGRICULTURAL LOSS ESTIMATES WILL CONTINUE TO MOUNT.  CROP YIELD
ESTIMATES WILL LIKELY DIMINISH AND LIVESTOCK STRESS AND LOSSES WILL
INCREASE.

FIRE DANGER HAZARDS...
FIRE DANGER CAN BE DETERMINED THROUGH BOTH THE 10 HOUR AND 100 HOUR
FUEL MOISTURES...OR THE KEETCH BYRAM DROUGHT INDEX /KBDI/.
THE KBDI IS A DROUGHT INDEX THAT IS SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO
FIRE POTENTIAL.

BELOW ARE THE CATEGORIES AND A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EACH.

         ...KEETCH-BYRAM DROUGHT INDEX /KBDI/...
KBDI VALUE              DESCRIPTION OF FIRE POTENTIAL
  0 TO 200      LOW - WET WITH LITTLE DANGER OF FIRE INITIATION
201 TO 400      MODERATE - DRYING OCCURRING WITH SOME FIRE
401 TO 600      HIGH - GROUND COVER DRY AND WILL BURN READILY
601 TO 800      EXTREME - DEAD AND LIVE FUELS WILL BURN READILY

KBDI AND DEAD FUEL MOISTURE DATA CAN BE FOUND AT THE WILDLAND
FIRE ASSESSMENT SYSTEM /WFAS/AT
HTTP://WWW.FS.FED.US/LAND/WFAS/WFAS10.HTML

CLIMATE SUMMARY...
RAINFALL AMOUNTS VARY OVER THE REGION AND FOR THE MOST PART HAVE BEEN
SIGNIFICANTLY BELOW NORMAL FOR THE PAST MONTH AND BELOW NORMAL SINCE
JUNE.

ANNUAL RAINFALL THROUGH AUGUST 2ND AT 10 AM
LOCATION         RAINFALL SINCE 1/1/12    DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL
GRAND RAPIDS     18.88 INCHES             -2.48 INCHES
LANSING          14.86 INCHES             -3.20 INCHES
MUSKEGON         18.66 INCHES             +1.27 INCHES
KALAMAZOO        15.07 INCHES             -4.83 INCHES
BATTLE CREEK     11.45 INCHES             -6.84 INCHES
HOLLAND          16.71 INCHES             -3.13 INCHES
JACKSON          14.65 INCHES             -3.03 INCHES

SUMMER RAINFALL THROUGH AUGUST 2ND AT 10 AM
LOCATION         RAINFALL SINCE 1/1/12    DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL
GRAND RAPIDS     4.73 INCHES             -3.05 INCHES
LANSING          3.64 INCHES             -2.85 INCHES
MUSKEGON         5.78 INCHES             +0.66 INCHES
KALAMAZOO        3.38 INCHES             -4.08 INCHES
BATTLE CREEK     2.11 INCHES             -4.70 INCHES
HOLLAND          3.63 INCHES             -3.62 INCHES
JACKSON          4.36 INCHES             -2.72 INCHES

PRECIPITATION/TEMPERATURE OUTLOOKS...
THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY OF LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL SATURDAY NIGHT.
THE LATEST 6 TO 10 DAY OUTLOOK FROM THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER
INDICATES THE CHANCE FOR ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION...HOWEVER
CONDITIONS DO NOT LOOK FAVORABLE FOR LARGE SCALE DROUGHT BREAKING
RAINFALL FROM AUGUST 2ND THROUGH AUGUST 9TH.

HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK...
ALL RIVERS ACROSS SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN ARE EXPERIENCING
BELOW NORMAL FLOWS. THERE HAS BEEN A GRADUAL BUT STEADY FALL IN RIVER
AND STREAM LEVELS OVER THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS AND THIS TREND IS
EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH SEPTEMBER WHEN AVERAGE FLOW MINIMUMS
OCCUR.  WITH THE LACK OF SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL EXPECTED...RIVERS AND
STREAMS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THEIR SLOW FALL THROUGH AUGUST.
LAKE LEVELS ACROSS THE REGION ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TO FALL AS
WELL. THIS MAY CREATE PROBLEMS FOR BOATERS AND SWIMMERS. CAUTION
SHOULD BE EXERCISED AS MORE HAZARDOUS OBJECTS THAT HAD BEEN COVERED
BY WATER MAY NOW BE EXPOSED OR NEARLY EXPOSED.

NEXT ISSUANCE DATE...

THIS PRODUCT WILL BE UPDATED ON AUGUST 9TH 2012 OR WHEN
DROUGHT CONDITIONS CHANGE.

&&

RELATED WEB SITES...

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON CURRENT DROUGHT CONDITIONS MAY BE FOUND AT
THE FOLLOWING WEB ADDRESSES /USE LOWER CASE LETTERS/:

U.S. DROUGHT PORTAL...HTTP://WWW.DROUGHT.GOV
U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR...HTTP://WWW.DROUGHT.UNL.EDU/DM/MONITOR.HTML
U.S. DROUGHT ASSESSMENT...
HTTP://WWW.CPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/PRODUCTS/EXPERT_ASSESSMENT/DROUGHT_ASSESSMENT.SHTML
U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR FOR MICHIGAN...
HTTP://WWW.DROUGHT.UNL.EDU/DM/DM_STATE.HTM?MI,MW
NWS RIVER INFORMATION...HTTP://WATER.WEATHER.GOV/AHPS/
RIVER FORECAST CENTERS...HTTP://WATER.WEATHER.GOV/AHPS/RFC/RFC.PHP
U.S. WATER MONITOR...HTTP://WATERMONITOR.GOV/
NATIONAL PRECIPITATION GRAPHIC SUITE...
HTTP://WATER.WEATHER.GOV/PRECIP/
STATE USDA CROP PROGRESS REPORTS...HTTP://WWW.NASS.USDA.GOV/MI
CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER...HTTP://WWW.CPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/
MIDWESTERN CLIMATE CENTER...
HTTP://MCC.SWS.UIUC.EDU/CLIWATCH/WATCH.HTM
USGS GROUNDWATER INFORMATION...HTTP://WATER.USGS.GOV/OGW/
USGS WATERWATCH...HTTP://WATERWATCH.USGS.GOV/NEW/

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...

THE DROUGHT MONITOR IS A MULTI-AGENCY EFFORT INVOLVING NOAA/S
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER
/NCDC/...THE USDA...STATE AND REGIONAL CLIMATE CENTERS AND
THE NATIONAL DROUGHT MITIGATION CENTER.

INFORMATION FOR THIS STATEMENT HAS BEEN GATHERED FROM NWS AND
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION /FAA/ OBSERVATION SITES...
STATE COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICES...UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT
OF AGRICULTURE /USDA/ AND UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY/USGS/.

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS...

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS DROUGHT
INFORMATION STATEMENT PLEASE CONTACT...
WILLIAM MARINO
WILLIAM.MARINO@NOAA.GOV
616-949-0643
CLIMATE/DROUGHT FOCAL POINT
NWS - GRAND RAPIDS MICHIGAN

$$

WALTON

(Full Report Available at http://water.weather.gov/ahps/water/textprods/view.php?wfo=grr&prod=DGT )

Tips for Selling Your Home in Grand Rapids

Are you looking to sell your Grand Rapids home but are afraid you will not be able to get what you want for it?  One of the easiest ways that you can increase the value of your home, without spending a ton of money, is through sprucing up the landscaping.  At RRR Lawn & Landscape, we offer free no hassle estimates and can create a custom design and also provide you with some insight on how much value you would potentially be adding to your home.  Call us today and get your house sold! 616-893-5765

Happy Memorial Day!

All of us at RRR Lawn & Landscape would like to wish everyone a happy Memorial Day. Remembering those who have served and who currently serve our country.