Plants help protect the inside of your home in several ways. If you place them in front of windows, as you should they protect the contents of your home by blocking the view of the inside of your home. If the only thing that outsiders can see is plants, they will assume that there is nothing of value inside your home. Also, by placing plants close to windows, the sun will shine through the window to the plants creating more oxygen in the home and creating solar energy to heat the home with. This will help you save on your overall heating bill.

Because the fall and winter months are approaching, it is important that you bring in any plants that you may be concerned about dying during the winter. You should bring in all plants before the first frost. If a plant gets frost bitten, then it can kill the plant and prevent it from coming back the next year. You can dig up bulbs as well as bring in any hanging plants that might die.

If your plants end up growing too large while inside the home at an even temperature, you can always clip them and plant them in another pot as a new plant. If you accumulate too many of them, you can always give them away as gifts for others. There are several plants that you can keep in your home that have medicinal properties such as aloe vera plants, and several herbs that you can grow inside the home.

Plants are a huge part of our lives whether we know it or not. Without them, we have no clean air to breathe.

Also, don’t forget to check out these events coming up!

Maryland Avenue Fall Fest!  September 18th! 10am-5pm.  Live music, face painting, and wonderful vendors!

Edgewater Fall Festival!  October 1st.  Live music, face painting, pumpkin painting, pumpkin bowling, and wonderful vendors (like us!).

1st Sunday Art Festival!  October 2nd.  Live music, face painting, pumpkin painting, pumpkin bowling, and wonderful vendors (like us!).

Oktoberfest!  October 2nd.  Live music, beer, yummy food and wonderful vendors (like us!).

Rain barrels can be small and portable or large, built-in tanks that collect runoff water from places like gutters and roofs. The top of the barrel is covered with a screen to keep out dirt, debris, and insects. Water from the barrel can be accessed through a spigot, tap, or hose, depending on the type of barrel purchased. Rain barrels are sold in sizes ranging from 34 to 300 gallons. The necessary size can be determined by using a rainwater yield table such as the table found at http://rainwater.sustainablesources.com/#table3.0. As the chart indicates, hundreds of gallons of usable rainwater runoff can be collected from just one rainy day!

Rain gardens are gardens built in a depression, which allows runoff from roofs, roads, and other built up areas to be directed towards the garden. Although the water will not be saved for later use, as is the case with rain barrels, rain gardens allow for an easier and efficient, natural watering method.

A landscaper can help you determine whether a rain barrel or rain garden will fit your rain harvesting needs. Landscapers can also install a rain barrel, or design and plant a rain garden. The type of plants, size, and depression needed to create a successful rain garden are precise and dependent on the climate where you live, so it’s best to employ a landscaper to help ensure a beautiful and functional rain garden.

Interested in learning more about harvesting rainwater? Check out the festivals coming up! http://thelandscapedesigncenter.com/about.html#calendar

If you have recently moved or purchased a new home and are undergoing the landscaping of an existing area for the first time, planning will allow you to salvage as much as possible in an existing landscape. Before you start digging some of the existing plants or tear down structures, take a little time to plan some ways to preserve some of them to include them in the landscape design you are attempting to create.

There are many additional ways that planning your landscaping needs now will save you money. Consider the cleanup of the yard. One way to spend less on landscaping is to plan for the regular cleanup of the yard in monthly intervals, rather than just doing the cleanup of the yard just once or twice a year. Dong the cleanup of the yard in intervals is usually less costly than doing one major cleanup once a year or every other year.

Another way to cut costs and save spend less on your landscaping, is to plan the irrigation turn on each year. This planning can minimize the amount of water you use and save on water consumption and costs. Regular maintenance of the irrigation system is also important and can also reduce the amount of water and costs used for irrigation of the landscaping. The improper use of landscape irrigation can waste water and be extremely costly.

Don’t skimp on the quality of materials when you are planning for your landscape. More flimsy materials often do not last and end up costing you more money. Planning your landscaping needs right now will allow you to take advantage of future sales and price reductions of quality materials in your landscaping purchases.

Although lawn and landscape maintenance is usually done to improve the aesthetic value of your home, leaving your landscape unattended often leads to other problems later on. Regular maintenance such as tree-trimming is important also as a safety factor and to help prevent damage to your home from dead or unstable tree branches. Regular maintenance can help you spend less in many areas of your landscaping.

“Thank you for the incredible job of lawn maintenance you do for us every year; it has made such a difference over the years. As your designs continue to mature, our yard just keeps getting better. This year, our home has been amazing thanks to your designs and maintenance. Kudos to your maintenance crews – they keep us looking fantastic.”
-Davis

“Thanks for being so patient with our requests. It’s been great working with you and look forward to future endeavors once we finish up with our remodeling project. Thanks again.”
-Davis

 ”Many thanks. It’s Beautiful.”
-Holingsworth

“Dear Ana, Thank you so much for all your work – we (and the neighbors) love it! Your company’s men treat our yard as if it were their own – the results are beautiful – come again.”
-Thornburg

 ”Ana, Everything looks great! Thanks!”
-Buchanan

“This unsolicited note of commendation is written to express my appreciation for the excellent performance of “Alex”, “Rafael”, “Rolando”, and “Ana” (members of the Landscape Design Center) who recently completed a landscaping project at my home. After a brief discussion of work to be performed, the above crew commenced work on schedule and successfully performed the agreed upon tasks in a professional manner.
You are to be commended for having workers of this high quality in your organization.”
(Alex, Antonio R., Rolando, Ana)
-Ferguson

When contemplating landscaping designs, you will want to consider how your choices will affect your year round curb appeal. Fall is the ideal time to plant perennials. It is also an excellent time to find a selection of perennials at reduced prices. The flowers will have reached the end of their peak cycle of beauty and garden centers often sell them quite cheap. Peonies, lilies, and irises are just a few perennials that will beautify your lawn in spring if you plant them in the fall.

Just as you like to vary the decor in your home, you may want to periodically redesign your landscape. Change is good. Fall is an ideal time to restructure your lawn design. Bulbs can be dug up and replanted in a different location to give your garden a totally different appearance. You can relocate your carpet of crocus or your explosive display of daffodils and tulips to give your lawn a face lift in spring.

Wildflowers should be planted in fall. You can create a kaleidoscope of color with a wildflower meadow in your yard. When contemplating the landscaping design you want to create, consider making your lawn or flower garden an inviting place for birds and butterflies. By planting wildflower seeds in fall, the seeds will experience the dormancy that they need to burst forth into a colorful field of flowers in spring.

“I tip my hat to you guys every morning when I look out the sunroom window. We love the new patio. How about that world cup. I’m loving it and watching the matches everyday, then I go out on the patio and seek comfort when my teams don’t win. The patio has magical properties and puts your head in a nice place. Suddenly everything falls into perspective. Take care. Thanks again.”
~Sara

“Thank you for the incredible job of lawn maintenance you do for us every year; it has made such a difference over the years. As your designs continue to mature, our yard just keeps getting better. This year, our home has been amazing thanks to your designs and maintenance. Kudos to your maintenance crews – they keep us looking fantastic.”
~Davis

“Thanks for being so patient with our requests. It’s been great working with you and look forward to future endeavors once we finish up with our remodeling project. Thanks again.”
~Davis

Professional landscape design uses the skills of those trained to think of and see details in the landscape that the untrained eye often misses. They also know of many varieties of plants and how they look together, rather than simply the conditions they grow in. Since they go about designing with an artist’s eye, they are able to bring all their knowledge together to make the landscape into a living work of art.

Professional landscape designers not only work with “new” properties; they can rejuvenate old landscapes as well. If you have a landscape that’s just “not doing it” for you, trust a professional designer to know just what’s lacking and how to fix it. Sometimes the difference between lackluster and exciting is simply a matter of knowing what to put where. The addition of a few plants, a new walkway, or some strategically-placed lighting can work wonders when their positioning is done by someone with an experienced eye.

It may be tempting to do your own designing, but it will soon become apparent that there is actually a lot of study involved in making a good landscape design. Like an oil painter, a landscape designer spends many hours and even years learning all about the medium. Someone doing his first landscape design is likely to end up with results similar to someone doing an oil painting for the first time. It may be passable, but not likely to have the Rembrandt-level quality you’re after.

You can have great results the first time by hiring a landscape designer who’s already a seasoned professional. In the Annapolis, Baltimore, Eastern Shore, and DC areas, you can get professional landscape design not only done well, but economically, too at http://www.thelandscapedesigncenter.com. Their professionals come to the property, so they see the actual layout and growing conditions. They will take notes and measurements, and sometimes even pictures so they get a good idea of what needs to be done. An estimate for a full landscape design is then presented. Once they get the go-ahead from you, the actual plan is drawn up and you’re on your way to the perfect landscape for your property.

What Is Design-Build

The concept of design-build is an extension of the old business idea of being a “one-stop-shop”. In times past, landscaping customers would frequently find themselves hiring two or more separate companies or individuals to handle the various aspects of a single project. At least two of these would be:

• A Landscape Architect or Designer – this service was often provided by an individual or small firm. A good design professional is able to grasp a client’s needs and desires and help them develop a unique vision for the work at hand. The vision was generally followed-up with plans and specifications, and sometimes the service of project management was offered.
• A Landscape Contractor – this work was taken on by a company that employed the workers, owned the equipment, and had the proper experience and licensure to actually complete the work and vision developed by the design professional, who was often no longer in the picture.

Design-build landscaping not only combines these services, but greatly enhances and improves upon them. By bringing the entire scope of work for a professional landscaping project under one roof, the design-build contractor is able to offer service, work quality, and a customer experience that can’t be had any other way.

The Real Benefits of Design-Build

Customers who have once gone the route of design-build rarely go back. The advantages of the method are too great and the cost savings too significant to consider any other approach. The overall list of benefits is extensive, but a few keys advantages should be at the forefront of any decision regarding the design-build option.

• Cost-Savings – overall, the design-build approach is significantly more efficient.
• Budget Accuracy – The design-build contractor understands both your budget and the cost of doing business, they can design accordingly.
• Project Flow – no waiting for an answer from a third party when questions arise.
• Better and simplified relationships – When there are only two parties involved, responsibilities and expectations are much more clear.

In short, design-build is simply a better way to approach an improvement such as professional landscaping and the use of a reputable design-build contractor is a decision that owners will not regret.

We also opened a new Division of the company on a more retail note…….called ‘Tchotchke Pots’, where we take recycled wares and use them as planters.  It’s A LOT of fun and we have received excellent feedback.

Landscape Design Maryland, Landscape Company

Annapolis Landscape, Landscape Company

If you would like to come see what we have you can THIS WEEKEND AT:

West Annapolis 2nd Sunday Neighborhood Green Market

This Sunday, November 8 – 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

OUR FABULOUS HOLIDAY MARKET!

A terrific assortment of holiday gifts for Green & Local giving!

More great dealers join in to bring you the greenest gifts for your holiday shopping! Buy local and support independent artists and merchants featuring plants, green craft, art and vintage & recycled antique wares at Annapolis’ newest, hippest Market!

Complimentary I SHOPPED LOCAL & GREEN gift tags!

Bring the pooch, the kids, your folks, your friends!

Giddings Avenue between Ridgely Avenue & Annapolis Street

For directions & photos go to www.homegrownandgreen.com or scroll down

It’s our last Green Market of the year! If you haven’t shopped us yet, COME NOW!!

And look who’ll be exhibiting!

Bay Bees
Wonderful Eastern Shore honey and beeswax candles of all shapes & sizes!

Blue Stallion Art Studio
Recycled bird houses & fun oil paintings

Bon Vivant Antiques
www.bonvivantantiques.com

Bronwyn’s Biscuits
www.bronwynsbiscuits.com
Delectable homemade treats for dogs!

Cedarwood Soaps – Karen Danella
www.cedarwoodsoaps.com
Handmade from scratch all-natural soaps

Charlie Dodge Produce
Lamps & Clocks made from recycled bicycle parts

Chesapeake Estate Services
www.ChesapeakeEstate.com
Great vintage finds from far and wide!

Cross the Street
Vintage, recycled & repurposed furnishings & furniture

Freedom Bakery
www.thefreedombakery.com
Gluten-free breads, cookies & cupcakes that everyone will love!

Galena Blooms
www.galenablooms.com

Luxurious Silks by Jackie Handley

Heather Hinkel’s Grand Paws
www.GrandPawsAnnapolis.com

Honeywell – PeakRewards
www.BGESmartEnergy.com/PeakRewards

Ken Hull Custom Wood Working
Reproduction furniture made from recycled lumber

jb.made – Jill Bellenger
Fair trade and recycled jewelry
www.jbmade.blogspot.com

Landscape Design Center
Plants & more – fabulous!
www.thelandscapedesigncenter.com

Monzo Studio
Hand drawn & framed downtown scenes
and portraits while you wait!

Paperdreamer – Janet Stepp
www.paperdreamer.etsy.com

Peruvian Trend Co.
Fine handknitted Alpaca wool accessories for women & children by Peruvian artists

Plum Lucky Vintage Modern & Fun Objects

Pralines by the Bay
Delectable & delicious breads & pastries!

Janine Reed’s Whimsical Knits
Terrific knit hats for Kids

Regal Roosts
www.regalroosts.com
Incredible Birdhouses and storage chests

Sawdust & Lace woodenware

Susan Senesi Studio
Fish & crab prints; House & Pet portraits by commission

Larry Taylor Woodworking

Terra Joy LLC
Fruit plants & shrubs, living & dried wreaths,herb blends & spices and propagation devices

Serrah Thomas Jewelry Designs

Twin Pixie Studios
www.twinpixiestudios.typepad.com
Found object jewelry & recycled wares

Village Antiques

West Annapolis ArtWorks
Super mosaics, earth friendly frames and crafts for kids!
www.westannframing.com

Wimsey Cove Framing & Art
Works by local artists & reproduction historical maps
www.annapolisframing.com

Plus Free Face Painting by Crystalooneys!
Complimentary Seated Massage by Ridgely Retreat!

Go to www.homegrownandgreen.com for photos & directions!

DIRECTIONS TO THE MARKET

Giddings Avenue between Ridgely Avenue & Annapolis Street

From Route 50, take the ROWE BOULEVARD EXIT. At the first traffic light (you will see the USNA Football Stadium on the right at this intersection) TURN LEFT onto Melvin Avenue. Go straight through the first stop light and at the next street TURN RIGHT onto Annapolis Street.

Park wherever you like – the Market is on the next corner.

The West Annapolis 2nd Sunday Neighborhood Green Market returns in April 2010!

We work with our clients, towards a desirable, and feasible plan. Every step of the way all three factors of the design process will be considered; Aesthetics (the beauty and feel of the design), Needs (what the client desires to have in the design), and Monetary abilities (what the client can truly afford).

We feel that a garden is a reflection of ‘self’.  It is an extension of the home, and a place where one can utilize a number of different materials to get across a certain ‘theme’.

To learn more, see our work or request a consultation please visit us at www.TheLandscapeDesignCenter.com