Landscaping
At Merle's Garden Center, we are committed to creating beautiful outdoor living spaces that fit your home and style. We approach the design process as a collaboration betwen ourselves, and you, the client. Our skilled and talented staff will work with you in designing a beautiful and functional space that you will enjoy spending time in througout the seasons for years to come.
- Softscapes
- Hardscapes
- Landscape Lighting
- Mulching
- Design
- Drainage
- Grading and Soil Preparation
- Sod Installation
Softscapes are comprised of the living elements of landscape design. They are complemented by hardscape elements, such as wooden pergolas, stone walls, patios, water features, and walkways. Softscape is all about the plants, trees, grass, and flower beds. Other garden components of softscaping include weed/nuisance management amd mulching, as well as grading, planting, mowing, and trimming.
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Trees, Shrubs, and Ground Cover-- Various types of trees, shrubs, and a range of ground cover can be used to enhance a yard. They can create visually appealing outdoor environments and be aesthetically pleasing in landscape design. It's important to keep in mind the species of trees and shrubs that are native to your region to ensure that they will flourish. At Merle's, we only stock plants and trees that will thrive in our area. We will advise you what will grow best depending on the amount of sun/shade your space receives to ensure that they will flourish.
Flower Gardens--Flower gardens can make a great curbside appeal. Different flowers and shrubs can be incorporated into a garden, and adding both perennials and annuals can make for a beautiful combination of color year round.
Mulch--Mulch is a softscape component that feeds the soil additional nutrients and can even serve as a decorative element. Mulch is a low-maintenance landscape option that helps to hinder weed growth, retain moisture in the soil, and acts as an insulating layer of protection.
Softscapes
While softscapes are your plants and living elements, hardscaping includes the nonliving elements of landscaping-- such as paver patios, fire pits, large boulders, stone edging, seat walls, stone walls, gazebo, water feature, or stone walkway. Hardscaping can increase the functionality of your outdoor space while at the same time increasing your property value. Here are some exapmles of hardscapes to choose for your landscaping project:
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- Patios
- Walkways--Stone or Gravel
- Landscaping Steps
- Fire Pits
- Retaining Walls
- Water Features
- Large Accent Boulders
- Stone Edging
- Fences
- Pergolas
- Arbors
- Gazebos
Hardscapes
Shed some light on your landscaping with outdoor lighting. Outdoor lighting makes entertaining at night a breeze, extends your outdoor space, provides your family security, and lights up your beautiful landscape.
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Types of lighting include but are not limited to:
- Garden -- Highlight plants in gardens and light pathways
- Wash -- Soft diffused light for lighting large flat areas like fences and walls, steps, patios, etc.
- Bullet -- Project a single, strong, bright beam and are used to highlight a single feature
- Flood -- These lights cast a bright wide beam and are used to light a section or the entire front of your home
- Well -- Fixture buried in the ground and cast a wide upward light to highlight foliage on a tree or wall
- Downlight -- Used to illuminate a patio, path , or outdoor living space
Landscape Lighting
Mulch is the finishing touch to any new or existing landscape design. Not only does it look nice, but it also helps in the controlling of weeds and offering nutrients and protection to your flower beds. Done properily, it will allow you to spend less time watering, weeding, and fighting pest problems. We are proud to offer professional mulch delivery and installation services. We can handle mulch jobs of all sizes and bring you the best quality of mulch right to your property, so you don't have to break your back loading and unloading sacks of mulch from your vehicle.
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We are happy to provide the following services to prepare your landscaping for mulch:
- Kill weeds
- Trim trees and bushes
- Clean out garden beds
- Cultivate landscaping beds
- Edge landscape beds before adding mulch
- Rake the area smooth
- Apply a pre-emergent to prevent weeds
- Have Merle's Garden Center deliver a truckload of mulch!
Why add new mulch each year?
Mulch provides nutrients back into the soil and into your landscaping as it slowly breaks down over the course of the year. Fresh mulch can prevent week growth and encourage your existing plants to grow more full when they flower. If your goal is to be any envy of the neighborhood, healthy landscaping and fresh mulch are where to begin!
Mulch
We approach the design process as a collaboration between ourselves and you, the client. Our skilled and talented staff will work with you in designing a space that is right for you.
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- Consult -- Assess existing conditions and talk through project goals, discuss budget expectations
- Define -- Align expectations & reality and begin planning with site measurements
- Design -- Visualize & illustrate options, collaborate to finalize design, and check against budget
- Build -- Maintain communication, complete orderly & efficient processes, then close out & walk through
- Maintain -- Determine site maintenance requirements and routinely care for landscape needs
Our designs are beautiful and functional, and can be enjoyed year round.
Water without a proper channel to drain is an incredibly destructive force. Don't let standing water harm your landscape and put your foundation in jeopardy. Contact us at Merle's Garden Center to schedule our landscape drainage services.
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Drainage
Landscape grading is not a big maintenance issue if the lawn is maintained correctly. Problems can arise when the grading is not done quite right. Grading is the technique used for the free flow of the water through the lawn and landscaping. Perparing the soil is time well spent--it contributes to the healthy growth of your lawn and softscaping plants. It also saves time spend weeding in the future.
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Is there a Grading Problem?
If you have standing water on your property, there is a grading issue. Standing water is a problem as it is a breeding place for mosquitoes and may also cause problem to the foundation of the home.
What work is involved in Grading?
The first step is to remove the topsoild layer and then reshape the land to get to the desired level. After leveling the underneath soil, the topsoil is put back.
How is the soil prepared?
First, dispose of the top growth of grass and weeds in the area you are planning to plant. Then you want to have the soil assessed for nutrients and pH balance. At Merle's we can provide to you any weed control or nutrients necessary for optimal growing conditions.
Nothing highlights a well-kept exterior more than a rich green, carpet-like lawn. When you choose us to lay your sod, you are choosing a thick, wee-dfree and ready-for-fun lawn!
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What is Sod?
Sod is fully grown grass with a developed root system. It has been preparied with regular watering and fertilization. After installation, there should be no weeds and no need for additional seeding.
When to choose sod vs, seeding a new lawn?
Choose sod when you want instant reulsts. You don't have to worry about staying off the baby grass as so it grows thickly because you will have a well established lown immediately after inallation.
What should I know about caring for new sod?
You will need to water your lawn faithfully a of course you will want to fertilize your lawn periodically as well. You may also wish to aerate or apply weed-kllers as well. Merle's Garden Center can help you with all these lawn care services and more!