Many of you gardeners may be unaware that your garden isn’t the product of your effort alone. You receive a lot of assistance in the form of beneficial insects. This is why you should construct gardens in a way that invites the good critters. This is what a pollinator garden is all about. We’ll show you how to make your garden attractive to the insects you want on your side.

The Beneficial Insects

Beneficial insects can be arranged into three categories:

• Pollinators—includes honeybees and solitary bees that pollinate flowers
• Predators—includes ladybugs, cellar spiders, and soldier bugs that prey on harmful pests
• Parasites—includes a species of aphids that eliminates more harmful aphids by using their bodies as a nursery for their young

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Well-defined lines are important for separating a garden bed from the rest of the lawn. Smooth edges for a garden bed are a hallmark of masterful landscaping. We’ll explain how to create a clean border with meticulous attention to detail.

This may not Be a DIY Task

We must first say that while the steps below are simple, they are not as easy as they appear. Most DIYers who follow the process end up with uneven and choppy looking borders. Unless you have spent hundreds of hours with your knees and hands deep in soil, we recommend leaving the task to a lawn care professional. Continue Reading →

The lawn makes the perfect roaming space for your four-legged friend. Unfortunately, dogs also treat the lawn as their toilet. This creates brown spots where greenery once existed. This makes lawn care for dog owners even more important. We’ll explain how to maintain your yard if you have one or more canines in your home.

How Dogs Create Brown Spots

When we treat a lawn with patches of brown spots, we often correctly guess that the property owner has a dog even if one isn’t immediately present.

How do dogs create these spots? These are the areas where your furry friend answers nature’s call. The urine contains high levels of nitrogen from the protein in the dog’s diet. While moderate levels of nitrogen are healthy for grass, too much will kill it.

Brown spots are especially common around trees and shrubs, which provides a post for the dog to lift its leg. Continue Reading →

When you are hiring a landscaping contractor, you want to be sure you are working with the right person. You want to make sure that the company you are considering is safe and professional in their dealings. It makes sense to prepare a series of questions before you begin any interviews. Here are some suggestions to make this process easier for you so you will be able to find someone reliable to work on your property.

Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Landscaping Contractor

1. Do you have references?

A reliable landscaping contractor should be able to provide you with references from satisfied customers. Another good indicator of reliability is a history of being in business for a number of years. All Weather Landscaping has been serving customers in the Bothell area for 30 years. We would not have been able to survive for that length of time if we weren’t able to develop a good rapport with satisfied customers over the years.

2. What kind of screening do you do on your employees?

You will want to know something about the people who will have access to your backyard, possibly on a regular basis. It’s not unreasonable to ask the contractor whether they perform any background checks prior to hiring employees who will be coming onto your property. Continue Reading →