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View the work of our experience and skilled masons. From traditional steps and walkways, to elegant patios and stone walls, our masons pride themselves on implementing your design to perfection. Contact us today, and begin enjoying a new outdoor living experience!
For a better landscape……
And lifestyle...
Consider….
A Full Maintenance Program with Johnson’s Landscaping Service, Inc.
Are you able to spend enough time with your family? Can you pursue your weekend hobbies? Play a little more golf? Are you out there pulling the weeds yourself? Not sure if you’re pruning the right branches at the right time of year? Are you doing more damage than good to your plants, trees, and shrubs? Do you sometimes wonder if your home’s appearance could be enhanced? Is the value of your home what it could be with a fully manicured look?
Did you know that your landscape…. Enhances the first impression received by your friends and neighbors when they visit your home? Represents a financial asset and increases property value as much as 15%?
Is an extension of your living space that should be a source of enjoyment for you and your family?
Johnson’s Landscaping Service, Inc. has been caring for properties in the Bethesda, Chevy Chase, and Northwest Washington, DC area for over 50 years. To meet the needs of our most particular clients, our program includes complete care for your yard. Our maintenance staff will care for your property from Spring through the Fall. In the Spring, we will begin with a complete clean up of your yard.
We will:
1) Rake up all the winter’s debris from under the shrubs and trees and off the lawn.
2) Edge and prepare all the planting beds and cover them with a 2—3 inch layer of double shredded hardwood mulch.
3) Dethatch, rake, fertilize, and seed your lawn.
4) Prune your shrubs and trees as needed for the time of year.
After the initial clean up, we will next visit your property on a regular basis. Our crews cut the grass, edge the curbs, walks, and driveway. We weed the plant beds weekly, and we do regular fine pruning of shrubs. This gives your home a noteworthy appearance throughout the year.
In addition to the regular maintenance, we will fertilize at scheduled intervals and seed at the optimum times of the year. All you have to do is water the lawn and plantings as needed.
For those clients interested in adding a more aggressive, organic, and “green” approach to lawn care, we do offer an ad-ditional organic lawn care package. For more information about our organic lawn care package,click here.
In the Fall, we clear the leaves off the lawn in order to protect the newly seeded grass. In late November and early December, the whole property is cleaned and mulched so your home looks its best for the holidays. To meet with one of our landscape professionals about our Full Maintenance packages, please contact us today!
The recent record setting snowfall in the DC and Montgomery County, Maryland area this year has done a number on many plants, shrubs, and trees. Homeowners are wondering, “Will my plant survive?” “What steps can I take to restore this shrub?” and “Is this tree beyond repair?”
Before throwing in the towel and removing and replacing all damaged plants, trees, and shrubs, there are some steps homeowners can take. First, where possible, prune snapped branches. With a pair of loppers, a hand saw, or pruners (or a chain saw in the case of large branches), make a clean cut below where the branch was initially broken. It’s best to cut close to the base of the branch, and to cut at an angle.
For large shrubs (5’ and above) that have “fallen over”, use wire and pieces of garden hose to stake the tree to the upright position. Be sure to use galvanized wire and oak hardwood stakes. You may need someone to assist you in pushing the shrub to the upright position while you pull the wire and hose into place.
After taking these initial steps, you may still be unsure about the overall health of your plants. Before despairing about your shrub’s future prospects, wait until that time in the Spring when your particular variety “leaf’s out” or blooms. You may be pleasantly surprised that your plant, though once down, may not be totally “out”. In particular, mature plants and shrubs with established root systems have the best chance for overall survival.
Even still, there will be plants and trees that, despite our best efforts, will not survive the effects of snow damage. In those cases, it’s best to remove and replace them. Think of it as an opportunity for you to “upgrade” the curb appeal of your property, and to enhance your outdoor living experience.
In any case, if you still have doubts as to the health of your plant, it’s always best to get a professional assessment. The landscape designers at Johnson’s Landscaping Service, Inc. (www.JohnsonsLandscaping.com) are prepared to assist you in this process.
Many Washington, DC area homes include beautiful architectural features and manicured landscapes. Unfortunately, many times these houses have “boring” concrete walkways and stoops that detract from the beauty and value of the home. The thought of redoing your entire walkway can be overwhelming and confusing to a homeowner.
There are many options when changing your stoop and/or walkway that does not require demolition and hauling of your existing concrete. A low cost option that provides a great final product is to veneer stone on the walkway with a thin layer of Portland cement. You can install Pennsylvania blue flagstone, brick, pavers, and other flagstone types. If the existing concrete is in good shape, the new veneered walkway will last for many years to come.
The freeze thaw cycles that occur in our area are the biggest downfall to concrete, so when we install a more durable product on the concrete it greatly extends the life of the concrete. The face of the steps or stoop can also be veneered with brick or wall stone to match existing stone on your home or in your landscape.
We would like the opportunity to explore options that can dramatically change the curb appeal of your home. The professionally trained stone masonry crews of Johnson’s Landscaping Service, Inc. have years of experience in installing these types of walkways. Contact Johnson's Landscaping Service, Inc. today (www.JohnsonsLandscaping.com), and take advantage of our holiday and winter discounts.
With record setting rain fall in May, June, and now December of 2009, many of our clients now realize that their landscapes have low areas with “standing” water. Some clients also live on the bottom of a hill and receive their neighbor’s storm water run-off. This water can be damaging to lawns, trees, and shrubs. In addition, standing water provides breeding grounds for mosquitoes. To keep our basements and low lying areas dry and to maintain a healthy landscape that is bug free, we must address these issues as soon as possible.
“Standing” Water
There are several “green” solutions that may be implemented to solve these issues. These solutions include dry wells, Flo-Wells, piping the water to the street, and water gardens.
Flo-Well Dry Well Water Garden
A drywell is a gravel pit below ground where the water enters the pit and leaches into the subsoil. Allowing storm water from your property to run on to the street is damaging to our environment because of the fertilizer, animal feces, silt, and other things that mix with water runoff that enter the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. A word of caution: dry wells can become clogged with silt, sediment and gutter debris that will cut the life of the dry well to 5-6 years, so you will need to clear it from time to time.
Johnson's Landscaping Service, Inc. (www.JohnsonsLandscaping.com) recently has used a new product named the Flo Well, which is a storm water leaching system. This is a 49 gallon container with perforated holes throughout, and it is installed below ground with one foot of drainage gravel surrounding the unit. This can be used in a variety of ways, including collecting water from low areas, downspouts, catch basins, and French drains. The top has an optional drain grate to capture surface water in low areas. The system allows the water in the Flo-Well to leach into the soil and prevents harmful contaminants from entering local creeks and streams.
Drywells and Flo-Wells work well for water in your yard. Water in your basement may need a different solution. Many times, water in your basement can be solved by grading and drainage work along your foundation.
Finally, the Landscape Designers of Johnson’s Landscaping Service, Inc. can design and install a water garden for the space where your yard currently has standing water. For more information on water gardens, link to the following blog on gardens that support the Chesapeake Bay, http://www.jlsinc.net/view-by-tag/bayscaping/.
Johnson's Landscaping Service, Inc. has years of experience in diagnosing, correcting, and solving drainage problems faced by our clients. Contact us today so we can implement cost effective and permanent solutions for your water woes!
When winter weather transforms your sidewalk and driveway into a dangerous skating rink, how do you melt the ice and snow without destroying your lawn and ornamental plants?
The key is to choose an environmentally safer deicer, use it in moderation and according to instructions, and to apply it before it begins to sleet or snow.
All chemical deicers essentially work in the same manner, by lowering the freezing point of water. The most common ice melter is sodium chloride (NaCl), otherwise known as good old-fashioned rock salt. Its popularity can be attributed to its low price and wide availability. However, since salt water still freezes at 0°F (or -18°C), it is of little help when the temperature falls below this point. Rock salt can also be destructive: it can corrode your car and your concrete walkway, and it can damage or kill your lawn and ornamental plants.
A better bet is to use one of the alternative, safer salts on the market. These include Calcium Chloride (CaCl2), Magnesium Chloride (MgCl2), and Potassium Chloride (KCl). In general, these salts are more effective in reducing the freezing point of water to a lower temperature than rock salt, thus making them more effective in colder weather. Moreover, they tend to be less corrosive to metals and concrete, and are safer for lawns and ground-covers. Be sure to carefully look at the manufacturer's label for the listing of chemicals.
A newer, salt-free melting agent is calcium magnesium acetate (CMA), which is made from dolomitic limestone and acetic acid (the main compound of vinegar). This material has little impact on plants and animals, and is a good alternative for environmentally-sensitive areas. Pelleted fertilizers containing ammonium nitrate or ammonium sulfate are sometimes also used for melting snow and ice, but these tend to damage concrete more than the salts. For locations where chemical deicers are not appropriate, sand, kitty litter, or gravel can provide some traction, but they will not melt ice or snow.
Whatever product you choose, be sure to read the manufacturer's instructions carefully and do not over-apply. Too many people erroneously believe that if 8 ounces is good, then 16 ounces must be better. Improper use of any chemical deicer may cause plant injury, which appears as drying, stunting, dieback, or "burning" of the foliage.
(Sam Nelson is a landscape designer for Johnson’s Landscaping Service, Inc. Learn more about Sam and see his landscape design featured in the Washington Post at http://www.jlsinc.net/view-by-tag/washingtonpost/. )
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For those clients interested in adding a more aggressive, organic, and “green” approach to lawn care, we do offer an ad-ditional organic lawn care package. For more information about our organic lawn care package, 
