1) What services do you provide?
- Residential landscape design and installation:
Our garden projects include creative plantings, stone
and brick patios, stone walls, garden ponds, and
lighting
- Landscape Maintenance for projects we have installed:
- Annual cleanup and fine-tuning of landscape
- Seasonal color and bulbs
2) How do you work?
- Call us to set a time to meet with one of
our designers at your home.
- We will ask you to fax us a plat of your property so we
can get started on your plan more quickly.
- At our first meeting we will gather as much information
from you as possible. We want to hear your thoughts
on how you envision using your property.
- We conduct a thorough site analysis, measuring all existing
features of the site, including vegetation, structures
and drainage patterns.
- The design is developed and a proposal is created.
- We meet at your home to review the plan and walk your
property so you can begin to visualize how it will
all fit together.
- The proposal is accepted and the project is scheduled.
3) How do you charge for services?
Once your designer meets with you and understands the
scope of your project, they can help you establish a budget
and discuss any design fees. Most of our design fees are
rebated and applied to your project. Design fees start
at $500.
When the design is complete we will write up an accurate proposal, and upon
your acceptance we will schedule your project. Our projects start at $5000.
4) Do you work in my area?
While most of our projects are in Arlington, Fairfax,
and Loudoun Counties, some of our more comprehensive projects
extend into a much broader geographic area.
5) Can we do the project in phases?
Yes, your designer can work with you and your budget to determine your priorities
and show you how to get the most impact for your investment.
6) How long does the process take?
On average, a design will take about 2 weeks. Our landscape
crews are usually booked for 3-6 weeks. Some projects
are more time-sensitive than others. If you have a project
that needs to be finished by a specific date, please let
us know as early as possible, and we will tell you if
we can have it completed in the required time-frame.
7) How do we get started?
Please fill out the information on our "Contact
Info"
page or feel free to
call us at 703-620-6155.
8) What is the "general care and feeding"
for our new landscaping?
Hidden Lane Landscaping and Design – Care
Instructions
The
following information is to help you maintain your plantings
so your garden always looks beautiful and healthy. If
you have a question or encounter a problem not covered
in these pages, please don’t hesitate to call!
Watering Instructions
This is the most important factor determining
the success of your plants . Almost all plant deaths
are the result of improper watering. It is important
to thoroughly soak the root ball when watering; then
it should have a chance to slightly dry out before being
watered again.
In general, your new plantings should be thoroughly
soaked twice the first week. From then on, each plant
will need to be watered about once every 7-10 days throughout
the growing season. Groundcovers and perennials may need
to be watered 2-3 times a week.
If you frequently water your lawn, and water continually
runs into the landscape beds, the trees and shrubs will
drown. Mulch retains a great deal of moisture in the soil,
so the beds need much less water than your lawn.
Plants that are in a wooded area, or under a large tree,
can dry out very rapidly due to the increased competition
for water. Therefore, these plants will need to be watered
more frequently.
Water requirements vary with the size of the plant,
the amount of light it gets, the degree of competition,
and the type of soil it’s planted in. One of the
best ways to determine if it’s time to water is
to pull the mulch aside and see if the root ball has dried
out since the previous watering. Please be aware of
your plant’s water needs. We will charge for replacing
plants that were not cared for.
Insects
Some insect damage can be expected, and in small numbers
won’t harm the plants. However, certain insects
reproduce very rapidly and should be controlled.
A couple of ‘environmentally friendly’ ways
to control insects are with an insecticidal soap, which
dries out the insects, or horticultural oil, which smothers
them. There are several brands on the market. Please follow
the manufacturer’s directions carefully.
Fertilizing
Each fall your plants will need to be fertilized with
10-5-5. Spread a wide band of it, starting at the trunk
and extending to the dripline (outer edge of foliage).
Large trees- 2 cups Small trees- 1 cup Shrubs- ½ cup
Groundcover- broadcast lightly over entire area
Miracid is a water soluble fertilizer that can be sprinkled
on the leaves and roots of plants to green them up quickly,
and will promote more rapid growth.
Weeds
Some weeds may germinate in the bed due to the soil
being disturbed, or simply from blowing in from the lawn.
Some hand weeding may be necessary, but if a persistent
problem develops, you may want to use Roundup.
Roundup can be sprayed directly on the weed foliage
without damaging the surrounding shrubs. Roundup will
kill everything you spray it on, so make sure the spray
doesn’t drift onto the shrubs or lawn.
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