Join us this Saturday for the last of our Hot Dogs and Horticulture for the season. We’d love to buy your lunch as a thank you for your continued support and patronage. Mike the Hot Dog King will be at the grill from about 11am til 2pm or so. Come in and say Hi, get a hot dog and pick up some heat loving plants or get an early start on a Father’s Day Gift!
What's Growing On?
It’s June-It’s Supposed To Be Hot!
Well the calendar doesn’t lie. It is June and the month that has recorded our highest temperatures of all time is here! Is your garden ready? Here is a list of things you might want to consider that will help get your lawn, garden, landscape thru the summer heat and stress.
- Check, double check, and triple check your irrigation system. The timer-is it keeping accurate time and date etc., Are all your heads/emitters, putting out adequate water and in the correct area? If you have a lawn you should be able to poke a screw driver (without leaning on it) down 4-6″ deep after your irrigation has run. As a general rule of thumb it takes 2-3″ of actual water/week to keep a reasonable looking lawn throughout the summer. We offer a service to inspect and repair your irrigation system if that is helpful.
- Fertilize-yes while it’s hot! Plants are growing now and need nutrients. A healthy plant will withstand stress, heat, and drought much more efficiently. Using an organic slow release like Hickman’s Farms Choice is ideal in hot weather.
- Mulch-applying a layer of organic material around the base of any plant, tree, shrub, garden, rose bed…..will help keep the moisture in the soil longer, will cool roots allowing them to function more efficiently, will keep down weeds which compete for water and nutrients and are unsightly.
- Plant heat and drought tolerant plants, trees, and shrubs. Consider replacing any that struggle every summer with varieties that will look good in the heat. The Harper Team would be glad to come and do a FREE one time evaluation of your landscape and garden and make recommendations to help you have that dream garden even thru the summer!
- Control pests-Spider mites seem to really be on the rampage now. Control any insect or disease early and check often to keep them from adding any stress to your plants. Be sure to properly diagnose before treating-typically there is a safe and or organic option to controlling most pests these days. Bring us pictures and or samples of the area or leaf in question for proper i.d. and treatment plan
- Convert or reduce turf areas-Summer is the only effective time to kill or eradicate Bermuda grasses. If you want to convert to less turf or no turf at all this is the time! Again we can come to your home and help you execute a great plan that will save you time and money and allow you to enjoy your landscape all year ’round.
- Properly stake young trees in preparation for the upcoming monsoon windstorms.
- Paint or wrap the bark/trunks of young smooth skinned trees -citrus, fruit trees, ash, ficus and the like to prevent sunburn.
As always bring us your questions, pictures, samples and any other problems or issues you might be having-We’re here to help you create and keep the garden of your dreams!
May Garden Checklist
May’s gardening weather can be all over the place and it has been. Highs of 108 last week and now only in the 70’s and 80’s-crazy but we’ll take it! Your lawn and garden is really transitioning right now from a cool season one to warm ( it will get hot to stay unfortunately one of these days). Here is a short list of what you might want to be doing or looking for.
- Check irrigation system-they’ll be in high demand soon and the time to find out they’re not working properly is not when a plant dies.
- Mulch-it keeps weeds at bay, reduces watering demands and heat stress on plants, and looks and smells good.
- Fertilize- Citrus, shade trees, roses, well really just about everything. A healthy plant will tolerate the stress of heat much better.
- Switch from winter to summer annuals and bedding plants- Vina, Pentas, Moss rose, Angelonia, Ruellia, Lantana, Celosia and more
- Check plants for insects like spider mites, caterpillars, mealy bug……early detection makes it easy to control
- Weeds are beginning to go to seed, don’t let them! Pull, spray, hoe, whatever you need to do to keep from spreading and reseeding for next year
- Dethatch and or aerate lawns. As warm season grasses like Bermuda starts to grow it is time to help them rejuvenate by dethatching. Aerating will help you reduce watering as well.
- Fertilize lawns, especially after dethatching and continue to fertilize every 30 days during summer months. A well nourished lawn will use less water, consider using an organic fertilizer like Hickman’s Farms Choice! It will help water reduction and improve soil structure.
Just a few things to keep you out of pool halls and off the streets!
We Love You Mom!!
Everyday should be mother’s day we think. How bout you? Since there is only one officially recognized mother’s day and it’s this weekend, how about a little celebration? We’ll have the dogs on the grill here at Harper’s in our custom outdoor kitchen created by the Harper Boys design team. Bring mom in for a FREE lunch, play a little bocce ball or put around on our putting green and also get mom a great gift from the garden while you’re here-we’ve got you covered!
It’s mom’s special day Sunday, let us help you kick it off on the right track and make a whole special weekend for mom this Saturday at Harper’s
A Harper Boys Dream Garden A Year Or Two Later
We post lots of pictures of newly completed jobs. Thanks to our client in Mesa for sending us these pictures of their front yard we completed a couple of years ago! I’d say they have some color going on! Thanks again for allowing the Harper Boys to help create another dream garden!!
Another Dream Garden By The Harper Boys
Yep, team Harper Boys are at it again creating a new landscape for a brand new home for an old repeat customer!
Whether big or small, now or old, we can help create the garden of your dreams today!!
Hot Dogs-Make That a Brat!!
It’s that Saturday again, the first of the month and we’re celebrating by cooking up some great stuff on the grill and feeding you a FREE LUNCH- yes there is one at least!! To thank you for your business and celebrate SPRING, we’re upgrading from Hot Dogs to Bratwursts this Saturday!! Oh and by the way-Jay Harper will be here to answer all your gardening questions, hence the Horticulture part of our monthly Hot Dogs and Horticulture event!! So bring the family, your gardening questions/checklist, and your appetite on down and we’ll have you the best fed gardener on the block this Saturday, March 4th from 10-??
More Maters!!
Valentine’s day has come and gone and we’re now smack in the middle of tomato planting season and we’re getting new varieties on a regular basis. New to arrive this week are: Taxi-maybe my personal favorite- a medium yellow fruit and heavy producer, Green Zebra, Lemon Boy, Cherokee Purple, Costoluto Genovese, and Sweet 100. Be sure your garden is well prepared for new plantings with lots of Farm’s Choice compost and fertilizer to keep them growing fast. We’ll keep you posted every week as to what new varieties have arrived-don’t just stand there-Plant Something!
It’s February-What Now??
Besides Valentine’s day and President’s day, February means the beginning of the spring gardening season here in the low desert! Our last average frost date is about mid February, the days are getting longer and warmer, and plants are beginning to push new growth and some are beginning to bloom! Here is a check list of some of your garden’s priorities for the month. As Always We Welcome Your Questions and We Make House Calls!
- fertilize citrus and really most of the plants in your landscape We recommend fertilome, organo, and Hickman’s fertilizers
- Finish up pruning roses and deciduous trees as they’re beginning to push new growth. Once new growth begins they should be fertilized with the above brands as well.
- Control new emerging weeds as quickly as possible. Whether you’re pulling or spraying, young weeds are much easier to get rid of and clean up
- Start Planting warm season vegetables. Tomatoes, Peppers, Cucumbers, Squash, Eggplant, and more.https://jharperlandscapeadvisors.com/caresheets/plantingdates.pdf Click the link for exact dates and the list.
- Be sure you’re keeping your cool season garden and flowers well fertilized as the weather warms. Again, fertilome,organo, and Hickman’s are great choices.
- Adjust and inspect irrigation systems before it gets warmer. It’s better to find out if you have problems now than when the heat comes and you have dead plants! As a rule of thumb your landscape needs about double the water in the Spring vs Winter. Don’t know how to adjust your system-we can help-Call Us!
- As we near the end of the month begin planting frost sensitive plants like Hibiscus, Bougainvillea, Lantana, Natal plum and the like
- The Best Time To Plant A TREE was 25 years ago-Next Best Time Is Today!! Be sure you take into account how big the tree will get at maturity and pick the variety or location that will accommodate it the best. The Southwest part of your home is the warmest and it will be most advantageous to shade it first!
- Begin Planting Citrus-Have your shade and eat it too-continue to plant deciduous fruit trees as well!
We hope this list can get you off to a great start for the spring-remember your home is your biggest investment and your landscape is the first part of it you see and maybe the only part your neighbors ever look at!! If it’s not what you’d like it to be-We Can Help-Call Us!!