Goodies for the Garden

We mow, trim, and clear debris from hardscapes — all with emission-free equipment. We also offer, to our mowing customers, many non-mowing services, including spring & fall cleanups, weeding, mulching, pruning, reseeding, and laying sod.

This year, we’re adding to our lineup two garden goodies: gates and raised beds.

Gate600

Gates can include butterfly and/or flower cutouts, like my own gate, shown here.

Both will be made from western red cedar, a rot-resistant wood, harvested from private tree farms as well as sustainably managed timberlands. The gates and boxes themselves will be locally made by Solar Mowing’s own co-manager, Randall Hitchins.

Gates can be single or double and can include butterfly and/or flower cutouts.

A raised bed in a sunny spot is a perfect place to raise flowers, vegetable, and/or herbs.

A raised bed in a sunny spot is a perfect place to grow flowers, vegetables, and/or herbs.

Raised beds are good for your back as they lift your plants about a foot off the ground. We’ll fill the beds with humus rich soil and line them with a weed barrier that will protect your plants from groundhogs and other critters that live down under.

If interested in either garden goodie, send us an email or give a call (301-787-5018).

The Ivy Takedown

One of the most satisfying garden tasks (or any kind of task, for that matter) is to grab an ivy vine on the ground and, with a simple tug, pull out long strands of the stuff. Its roots are shallow, so in no time, you have an armful. Yeah, invasive eradication!

Hardly.

After many hours pulling up ivy on my third acre over many years, it remains. And will do so long after I’m gone, no doubt.

LittleIvy

It’s best to cut ivy vines when they first head up and are relatively thin.

But while ivy patches remain on the ground, on my watch, vines won’t be allowed to grow up — not up my house or my serviceberries and other trees. That’s because English and Irish ivy (we have both in our area) smother branches and keep trees from leafing out. The vines weaken trees and increase the chance that they’ll blow over in a storm. In time, ivy kills the trees it climbs.

If that wasn’t enough reason to keep ivy from growing up, here’s another: Ivy also only flowers and produces seeds when vertical. Birds then eat the seeds, which pass through and get dropped in areas where ivy isn’t — and so the menace spreads.

CutIvy

If you wait too long, saws will be needed to cut through the thick vines.

Getting ivy off your trees is not, however, a simple matter of pulling.

You’ll want to use clippers or pruners to cut ivy around the entire trunk, separating the vines from the roots. To guard against another infestation anytime soon, experts recommend clearing a two-foot “lifesaver ring” around the tree. And don’t give in to the temptation to pull the cut vines from the tree; this will likely cause more damage. Enjoy the view over the next months as the ivy crinkles, turns brown, and eventually falls off.

Ask how Solar Mowing can help clear your trees and shrubs of ivy. Together, we can take it down.