Welcome to 2011! A new year is always an opportunity to start fresh. Personally winter is usually our off-season and a nice chance to catch up on all of the organization and relaxation we have put off all year. Unfortunately some of that includes taxes and office paperwork, sometimes plowing - but also reading interesting articles, books, sorting through photos for ideas and inspiration, taking continuing education classes and putting our creativity into crafts. It is also a time to begin marketing for spring, organizing the upcoming Bucks Beautiful Garden and Home Fair, plan our vegetable garden and that of the community garden that Sharon works with.
This year we also begin with some excitement, two projects designed at the end of 2010 that have been waiting for better weather which seems to have finally returned; a front foundation planting for a beautiful newly built home in the Saucon Valley and a patio with an outdoor fireplace and seating walls in Bucks County. What's this? You didn't know we could build and plant in the middle of winter? Well, it really all depends on the conditions. Don't get us wrong, no one is working in a blizzard like the one we had after Christmas, but once the base is prepared for a project there is nothing else to preclude us from working in the colder months.
Many years the seasonal temperatures for this area hover right around 40 with little snow accumulation and we can work all season. (Other years...we may not get that luxury.) In cold weather some extra measures are required though. In addition to long underwear and gloves for themselves, there are additives the mason can use with mortar to assure adequate curing. Heated ground blankets, protective tents and warmed water also allow construction to go on all winter. A landscape contractor in Maine once told Sharon that most of their work is performed in the winter because it is a resort area and the homeowners don't want their vacations spoiled by construction! The benefit of this is that come spring, these folks will be enjoying their landscapes while others are just beginning the process.
If you are considering a landscape project we strongly encourage you to contact us this winter. Even if your installation cannot be completed before the spring, you will be well ahead of all those people who wait until the first few nice days of April to even begin thinking about it. The landscape design process takes time - permits and material orders can take even more time. We are already putting jobs on our schedule for the spring. Every year there will be people who call wanting a patio in time for their picnic, graduation or wedding and we have to tell them it cannot be done - at least not done well. Sure there will always be some guy out there who no one else hired that will skip the permits and build with whatever is available, but you don't really want that patio to be in your family photos.
Instead, give us a call now, while it is still early! Go to the Our Approach section of our web-site which offers a description of the design process. Our Process included helpful steps for getting ideas, preparing for a consultation and even offers a form that you can print and fill out to be sure that all aspects are considered. Find inspiration in Our Portfolio, Blog or through the links in the Resources section. We also have numerous books, magazines, photos and samples to help design the landscape of your wildest dreams - and your more practical budget.
In the meantime, check back for photos and updates on our two newest jobs as they are installed and remember that despite what it looks like outside - spring will be here before you know it...but hopefully not before I get caught up!
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