Fall Lawn Care Recommendations from Your Landscape Contractor in Silver Spring MD

When most people think about fall lawn care, they usually just think about ranking leaves. However, your landscape contractor, East Coast Landscape Design, knows that there is so much more to fall lawn care in Silver Spring MD.  Here are 5 recommended lawn care activities that should be done, in addition to raking leaves:

Aerating: aerating your lawn allows air, water, and fertilizer to reach the roots of your grass. Unless you own or can rent an aerating machine, best to leave this to your landscape contractor in Silver Spring MD.

Filling in the bare spots: if the know the type of grass you have, you can easily buy an all-in-one lawn repair mixture. Follow the directions, and come spring time, you will see that those bare areas have filled in.

Fertilizing: while your grass grows more slowly during the fall, grass roots and rhizomes continue to grow quickly, and they need to be fed. Mid-to-late fall is the optimum time to fertilize.

Removing weeds: like most plants, weeds are in energy absorbing mode in the fall. Early-to-mid fall is usually the time to put down some weed killers, when daytime temperatures are consistently above 60 degrees Fahrenheit. (Read and carefully follow the directions that come with the weed killer.)

Mowing: your lawn may be growing slower, but it still needs to be tended to. Water and mow as needed. For the last two cuttings of the fall, drop the mower’s blade to its lowest setting. That will allow more sunlight to reach the crown of the grass, and there will be less leaf to turn brown during the winter.

For information from your landscape contractor about fall lawn care in Silver Spring MD, please contact the experts at East Coast Landscape Design. We understand that a professionally designed, properly installed and maintained landscape adds beauty, value, and curb appeal to your Silver Spring MD home.

Homeowners: Cleaning Your Brick Pavers at your Bethesda MD Home is An Easy Task

One of the great things about brick pavers is that they don’t need frequent cleaning – especially if they have been recently sealed – however, they still do need some attention at your Bethesda MD home.

Here’s a quick 5 step plan for easily cleaning your brick pavers in Bethesda MD:

  1. Start by sweeping over the pavers using a broom and removing all this excess waste.
  2. Turn on your hose, to a higher pressure, and rinse away any loose dirt.
  3. Mix some household detergent (Dawn works well) with warm water in a bucket.
  4. Pour the warm soapy water on to the brick pavers, and use the broom to sweep the pavers clean.
  5. Rinse the soapy water with the hose, and let dry.

Ok, so you’ve followed the steps above, and you still have some stains – what do you do now? Call the company that installed your brick pavers and get their professional opinion on what they would use to clean your brick pavers in Bethesda MD. Chances are, there’s a brick paver stain remover that you can buy from a big box store that will take care of the stains.

For more information on brick paver cleaning in Bethesda MD, please contact the best brick paver contractors, East Coast Landscape Design. The experienced professionals at East Coast Landscape Design will work with you to design, install, and care for your brick paver patio, walkways, sidewalks, and driveway.

Uplighting: Part of the Outdoor Lighting Design for Your Gaithersburg MD Home

Uplighting, as a part of your overall outdoor lighting in Gaithersburg MD, can add so much to your landscape design.

Like other outdoor lighting, uplighting draws the eye to areas in your landscaping that you want others to focus on, but in a specific direction – up – hence the name, “uplighting.” Mounted below or at ground level, uplights are usually placed so that they are not noticeable during the day.

There are many reasons to use uplighting: to add drama with shadows, to show off your best plants and trees, to create a magical view of your water features, to demonstrate depth and dimension of outdoor walls, fences, or other flat surfaces, to add to safety and security, and to draw attention away from eyesores.

There are four main types of uplights:

  • Bullet/spotlights: a narrow spot beam, used to focus on a particular tree, bush or small cluster of plants.
  • Wash lights: a wash of light, perfect for adding visual interest in plants lower to the ground, shrubs, and wall surfaces. These are also great for lighting pathways or walkways, when when you want soft safety lights.
  • Well lights: installed below grade, and used to light the underside of plants, benches, or the lower part of walls.
  • Flood lights: used for both uplighting and downlighting, flood lights are brighter, and have a wider beam than bullet lights. They are used for illuminating house facades or extremely large trees.

For more information on using uplighting as a part of the overall outdoor lighting for your Gaithersburg MD home, please contact East Coast Landscape Design. East Coast Landscape Design will provide everything to complete your project, from engineering design to wire and fixtures. Let one of our East Coast landscape design specialists show you how a well-designed outdoor lighting system can add to the beauty and safety of your Gaithersburg MD home and landscape.

Expert Landscapers Can Make the Most of Your Side Yard in Silver Spring MD

Expert landscapers can help you make the most of your side yard in Silver Spring MD. Often forgotten or just used as place to park your trashcans and recycling bins, your side yard (or yards) can be made into something wonderful, with the help of professional landscapers, How?

  • Giving your side yard an entrance, using an arbor, trellis, or pergola
  • Adding hanging plants and artwork to your fencing to make interesting “walls”
  • Placing stepping stones or brickwork to create a beautiful, sturdy, and safe walkway from your front yard to your backyard
  • Planting perennials that add color and interest to your walk through the side yard
  • Attracting birds and a sense of serenity with a fountain or a birdbath
  • Creating an area for seating (as space allows) making your side yard a destination to relax and rejuvenate.

Want to learn more about making the most of your side yard from expert landscapers in Silver Spring, MD? Please contact the award-winning landscapers serving Silver Spring MD, East Coast Landscape Design.

Hardscapes Are Part of the Landscape Design of Your Bethesda MD Home

While it’s easy to overlook them, hardscapes are part of the overall landscape design of your Bethesda MD home. And the role that hardscapes play is an important one.

As a reminder, hardscapes are the hard, man-made surfaces that are part of your landscape. For example, driveways, patios, sidewalks, walkways, decks, pergolas, arbors, gazebos, brick fireplaces, fire rings, fencing, rocks, fountains, pools, and ponds are all hardscapes. (Some of these — fountains, pools, and ponds — are also known as water features.) These permanent parts of your landscape need ongoing maintenance and replacement in a timely fashion.

If your hardscapes look like they’ve seen way days – such as a cracked driveway or patio – your overall landscape design will suffer. Your flowers and trees may be beautiful, but your home will still be the neighborhood eyesore with that cracked up driveway.

For more information about hardscapes as a part of your landscape design in Bethesda MD, please contact East Coast Landscape Design. Our consultation will outline how to incorporate hardscapes into your landscape design, and plan for hardscape maintenance.

Irrigation Systems in MD: Better for Your Yard and Wallet

Homeowners: irrigation systems for Maryland homes are better for your yards and wallets. How many times have you under watered or over watered your yard with a hose or old fashioned sprinkler? Probably too many times to count — and your yard and wallet have suffered because of it.

Under or over watering damages your lawn and other landscaping, and increases the likelihood that you will have to replace sod or plants every year. Also, when you over water, you are spending much more on water than you need to, and are wasting water. And that wasted water gets washed right down into the Chesapeake, damaging the environment.

Irrigation systems help MD homeowners to vary the amount of water used, when the water is used, and where it is used on their landscape. Adjusting for current weather and seasons, irrigations systems in MD provide the right amount of water according to the specific needs of your landscaping.

For more information on irrigation systems in suburban Maryland, please contact East Coast Landscape Design. For over 30 years, East Coast Landscape Design has been suburban MD’s leading licensed landscape design company. Located in Montgomery County, Maryland since 1979, the company has designed and installed irrigation systems and other landscape projects for many happy customers. Please contact East Coast Landscape Design today for a consultation on irrigation systems.

Flagstone Patios in MD: Performance in Heat and Humidity

Flagstone patios are becoming more popular in MD; they can be a beautiful and natural alternative to brick or cement patios. But how do they perform in the heat and humidity in Maryland?

Flagstones reflect the sun, and can be quite hot to walk on with bare feet. However, flagstone patios in MD can handle our state’s various climates, and they don’t expand and contract when the temperature or humidity changes.

So the good news is that – when installed correctly – flagstone patios can be extremely durable, and last for decades in the MD heat and humidity. However, installing flagstone patios in MD correctly is not really a DIY project. It’s a back-breaking and time intensive job, which requires experience with ensuring a level outcome, and an eye for fitting those stones beautifully together.

For more information about flagstone patios in MD, please contact East Coast Landscape Design. The East Coast Landscape Design team has over a quarter century of experience in the design, installation, and care of practical and beautiful flagstone patios, walkways, and driveways in suburban MD.

Patio Contractors Silver Spring MD: Basic or the Best

Most licensed patio contractors in Silver Spring MD would do an “ok” job on a “basic” patio. But, do you want a just “ok” or “basic” patio? For the money you are going to spend, don’t you want a patio designed for your home, with your wants and needs in mind?

You deserve better than “basic” – you deserve the best. The experienced professionals at East Coast Landscape Design are the go-to patio contractors for homeowners in Silver Spring MD who want the best. The East Coast Landscape Design experts have designed and built patios with both natural and man-made materials, as well as tiered patios and those that include built-in seating and retaining walls. They’ve also designed and built heated patios, and patios with outdoor kitchen appliances, fireplaces, and/ovens.

With East Coast Landscape Design, you aren’t limited by the “basic” skills of some patio contractors in Silver Spring MD. East Coast Landscape Design can build you the patio that you want and need, with what your budget allows. And East Coast Landscape Design is not your fly-by-night “basic” patio contractor; East Coast Landscape Design has been in business for many years, and many happy clients in Silver Spring MD.

For more information on patio contractors in Silver Spring MD, please contact East Coast Landscape Design. The experienced professionals at East Coast Landscape Design will work with you to design the best patio for your home and lifestyle.

New Trends for Water Features in Rockville MD

Considering water features in Rockville MD? That’s no surprise – water features are becoming more popular with Rockville MD homeowners. Here are some new trends to think about:

  • Ponds and water gardens: deep enough for koi and goldfish to over-winter, and an increase in the number and types of aquatic plants that are used.
  • Bubbling fountains: a boulder with a hole or holes drilled through it can produce a cost-effective bubbling fountain. In the past, ceramic vases have also been popular due to the variety of designs and colors.
  • Rock column fountains: a larger version of the boulder bubbling fountain, rock column fountains are usually installed in sets of 3 near each other. The water disappears into a bed of gravel where it is re-circulated back to the columns. Placement of these fountains require more planning, as their size is a consideration.
  • Sheet waterfalls: are the most popular water features lately, due to the trend in outdoor living spaces that incorporate blocks and bricks. Adding led lights makes for beautiful water feature you that can enjoy at night.

Whichever you choose, water features are beautiful and relaxing focal points for landscaping in Rockville MD. For more information on water features in Rockville, MD, please contact East Coast Landscape Design. The East Coast Landscape Design team utilizes 3 decades of experience along with safety- tested protocols to create natural water features in various types of landscape in Rockville, and throughout Maryland.

Landscape Design in Silver Spring MD is Key to Flood Prevention

The right landscape design plays an important role in flood prevention at your Silver Spring MD home. Why?
Yards flood when the rain water doesn’t drain properly, this is due to:

  • The wrong soil has been used in the yard
  • Soil is eroding
  • Slopes that drain water towards the home
  • Plants that don’t capture the water
  • A lack of water drainage through hardscaping
  • Water draining from a neighbor’s yard

The best time to install the right landscape design is during new home construction. However, if you’ve bought a home in Silver Spring MD that you’ve discovered is flood-prone, there are changes to your landscape design that can help.

For instance, a new landscape design would include thirsty flowers and other vegetation beds installed where water tends to pool. A new drainage system can collect water, and use gravity to drain it out to the street through underground pipes. Dry streambeds can create a path for the water, directing it away from your house. Retention ponds placed at the lowest part of your property can collect storm water runoff. Retaining walls can also be used to battle flooding in parts of your yard, or if the water is coming from a neighbor’s yard.
For more information on landscape design in Silver Spring, MD, that prevents home flooding, please contact East Coast Landscape Design. We use erosion control applications to Maryland state specifications. Our landscape design experts will outline how to protect your home and create a landscape that creates lasting beauty and value.