10 Questions to Ask When Hiring a Landscaper
Finding the right landscaper does take a little bit of research. I've worked in the Pacific Northwest area and specifically around Mukilteo, Edmonds, Lynnwood, and parts of King County and Snohomish County for several years now. I love landscaping, dirt, plants, and...
September Gardening and Landscaping Maintenance Tasks
Well, it's September. And we are looking at doing some fall landscaping maintenance tasks to get ready for winter. Although the Pacific Northwest primarily has a late summer and we've had warmer temperatures easily into November, it is also time to be thinking about...
3 Tips on Adding a Window Garden to Your Home
Window gardens have become wildly popular and regardless of a small yard or no yard, you too can find ways to plant, grow and sustain your own garden right from your kitchen or living room window. Even if you have a condominium, container gardens can be a beautiful...
Shearing, Pruning and Lollipop Shaped Trees
You know what I mean… Those lollipop-shaped bushes and trees where it has a one stock going up from the ground and then a lollipop on top. While you might like it, it's actually bad for the tree or the bush. Believe it or not, there is a right and a wrong way to share...
Plants that are Harmful to Pets
Harmful Plants - One of the worst feelings is to have your dog or cat or any other domesticated animal sick or maybe even died because of something we've purposely planted in our backyard. There are a lot of plants, trees, and shrubs that are toxic and hazardous to...
5 Reasons Landscape Fabric is a Bad Idea
Landscape fabric. Literally the bane of my existence. Once you get started with that, it's almost impossible to get rid of. I know a lot of homeowners have used landscape fabric to cut down on gardening maintenance tasks such as weeding but in no landscape fabric is...
How to Care for Pampas Grass
Pampas grass, also known as the Cortaderia Selloana, is a delight to behold in your gardens. It brings a great level of dynamism and freshness to the surrounding environment. The grass has been known to spread all over the perimeter of its environs once it has fully...
The Best Foundation for Hardscapes
Pea gravel, river rock, stones, gravel, recycled rubber, and recycled glass can all be used with loose material hardscaping. The base foundation is the key to a long-lasting hardscape. Here is some information on the best foundation for hardscapes. If you start off...
6 Benefits of Drip Irrigation
Drip irrigation is definitely something I am a huge proponent of. Your landscaping, garden, and lawn can definitely benefit from drip irrigation but what is it and what are the benefits? What is drip irrigation? Drip irrigation is a type of micro-irrigation that can...
July Lawn and Garden Maintenance Tasks
Can you believe it's July already? It seems like we really haven't had too much of the summer but with a few days of sun and then lots of rain means that your yard is probably growing a little out of control. We haven't really hit dry days yet so most people's lawns...
8 Tips for Adding a Water Feature To Your Landscape
A water feature as a unique and beautiful design to your landscape but there are some things to be aware of and educate yourself before jumping in… So to speak. Here are eight tips for adding a gorgeous water feature to your landscape either in the front yard or the...
How to Deadhead Plants for Blooms All Season
The idea behind deadheading is fairly simple. Once a flower has finished blooming it puts its energy into going to seed to regenerate blooms for next year. But if you catch it ahead of time, you can keep those blooms going rather than allowing the plant to force its...
June Yard and Garden Maintenance
Well, it's June and you are probably doing a lot more gardening and landscaping outside then you did just a couple of months ago. Most of the area is now lush and green, especially with as much sun and rain we've received over the last month. June marks the official...
How to Have an Organic Garden in 8 Easy Steps
You probably know that the amount of pesticides and insecticides that are on grocery store produce is not healthy for us so you might be considering growing your own vegetables and fruits, or just have a backyard garden of flowers sets not covered in chemicals. If you...
Everything You Need to Know About Retaining Walls
Let's talk about retaining walls. There's a lot to discuss because no two retaining walls are exactly alike. There are used for different reasons, different methods, and different materials so let's start at the beginning. What is the purpose of a retaining wall?...
Container Gardens and Installations
Container gardens are ideal for those that live in condominiums and apartments but they're certainly not limited to this type of property. Container gardening has become a big thing regardless of how much space you really have. These beautiful pots and containers can...
How to Have a Wildflower Lawn
Wildflower lawns are not new but they are becoming more popular across the Pacific Northwest. Easy to grow wildflowers makes an excellent lawn alternative. Wildflowers are low maintenance, they need little supplemental water once they are established, and you actually...
3 Steps to Lawn Renovation
Now is a great time to consider lawn renovation. The spring weather is perfect for regrowing a lawn or restoring it to its former glory. Perhaps it's been overrun with weeds and you're struggling to keep up with it. If you'd like to scrap it all and do over, May and...
How to Care for a Newly Seeded Lawn
Whether you are reseeding your lawn or laying a brand new yard, the basics of lawn care is about the same. We want to make sure it's the right time so now is the perfect time of year to consider giving your lawn a fresh reseeding or boost. If you're planning on...
5 Things to Look For When Hiring a Landscaper
Landscapers are everywhere and you'll find people that can do landscaping dirt cheap… No pun intended, to those that are extremely expensive. But, landscaping and choosing a landscaper is more than simply picking someone out of the phone book (what's that?) Or the...
Are You Growing Wild Edible Plants in Your Backyard?
You have probably heard of the term "foraging", which means basically traipsing into the woods and finding any and every edible thing you can. Well, the Pacific Northwest is a great place in which to do that but did you know that you could also do that in your...
Landscaping For Subdivision Developers
Did you know that First Fruits Landscaping does the landscaping and original set up for new home subdivisions and developments? Landscaping is a must when builders and developers are creating new subdivisions and communities. This is basically the icing on the cake...
How Often Do I Need Yard Maintenance?
How often should you mow your lawn? How often should you schedule lawn care services? How often do you need yard maintenance? These are all very common questions we get on a regular basis, especially from new clients looking at having a regular yard, lawn, and...
5 Great Rules of Petscaping
Last week we talked about rainscaping and this week we are talking about petscaping. As you can probably imagine, it's very similar in that we are landscaping our property with our pets in mind. If you're looking to create a space for your four-legged family member,...
What is Rainscaping?
It's wet here in Washington and that's no surprise. It's beautiful and green but it's because we get a lot of rain throughout the year. Why not do something amazing with all that water? Have you heard of rainscaping? It's one of the fastest-growing trends in landscape...
Landscape Restoration
What is landscape restoration? Landscape restoration is a planned process that aims to regain ecological integrity and tailor the property to local zoning conditions and for the overall well-being of the homeowner a property owner. It is restoring the landscape back...
The Difference Between Urban Design and Landscape Architecture
You may have heard the terms urban design and landscape architecture used interchangeably but they are different. There's quite a controversy over this difference in the landscaping community and even when I try to explain the differences to potential clients, they...
10 Genius Landscaping Tricks
You know landscapers that do this every day have secret hacks, tips, and tricks to make their life easier and to make your home and property look amazing. While we love landscaping, there are some things that you can do in-between visits or if you're really brave,...
8 Easy Curb Appeal Trends for 2020
8 Easy Curb Appeal Trends for 2020 - Well, we've had a couple of days of sunshine and you know what that means, people are out and about, walking their dogs in spite of the cold temperatures, and were starting to work on our yards and landscaping. We are still at the...
9 Reasons to Use Fertil-Mulch
I am passionate about dirt. I know that sounds odd, but when your landscaper, shouldn't you be passionate about mulch, dirt, plants, and landscaping? I have been doing landscaping for years now and have tried multiple different barks, mulch, and mulching materials and...