Landscape Installation
(Residential
&
Commercial)
Taking great
pride in the installation of your custom landscape.
Thoughtful landscape planning and design will increase the
aesthetic quality of your property, add to its usability, and
possibly even decrease home energy costs by controlling solar
gain and ventilation, if large shade trees or other such
accoutrements are included. A well designed, properly installed,
and regularly maintained landscape will also provide you with
years of enjoyment, visual interest, and even
increased property value
(*clickable link).
We offer new construction landscaping and upgrades to enhance your
property's appearance and value. After a landscape assessment, we will recommend and install the best
variety of turf, plants, and trees for your property.
There are several factors that result in a quality landscape
installation.
Site Preparation
A great landscape installation begins with preparation of the
planting beds. After site analysis and possible soil testing (if necessary), the
site is cleaned up and leveled if needed. In many cases,
additional topsoil is needed, in which case we'll bring in the
required topsoil and spread it. The locations of the plant beds
are laid out and nicely edged for maximum definition and visual
separation from the lawn grass. In most cases where new
landscape/plant beds will replace areas that are currently part
of the lawn, the grass is manually removed rather than simply
covered up in order to help prevent grass from taking over the
plant beds later.
Quality Plant Materials
We at StrickLand Scape take major pride in our landscape
installation projects. We make every effort to go the extra mile
to install the entire landscape so it will flourish timelessly
using only the highest quality materials and plants. Our
plantings are selected from top area nurseries, allowing us to
supply the most suitable, choice plants for each job.
Horticulture experts on staff ensure that the plants we use are
healthy, free of disease, and ready to accent your outdoor
living space. The trees and shrubs are backed by our full one
year warranty against defective and unhealthy plants.
Proper Landscape Installation
With degreed horticulturists on staff, StrickLand Scape has
both the education and training to plant trees and shrubs the
correct way. We take the extra time to remove metal baskets and
nylon string from trees to prevent future root damage. Special
attention is given to preventing soil compaction during the
planting process. Newly installed plants are properly staked
and/or guyed as needed.
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Landscaping Enhances the Environment.
Plants protect water quality.
Proper landscaping reduces nitrate leaching from the soil into
the water supply. Plants also reduce surface water runoff,
keeping phosphorus and other pollutants out of our waterways and
preventing septic system overload.
Proper landscaping reduces soil
erosion.
A dense cover of plants and mulch holds soil in place, keeping
sediment out of lakes, streams, stormdrains, and roads; and
reducing flooding, mudslides, and duststorms.
Plants improve air quality.
One tree can remove 26 pounds of carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere annually, equaling 11,000 miles of car emissions.
Landscape plants, including shrubs and turf, remove smoke, dust,
and other pollutants from the air. One study showed that one
acre of trees has the ability to remove 13 tons of particles and
gases annually!
Landscaping lowers summer air
temperatures.
According to the EPA, urban forests reduce urban air
temperatures significantly by shading heat sinks such as
buildings and concrete, and returning humidity to the air
through evaporative cooling. Trees shading homes can reduce
attic temperatures as much as 40 degrees.
Landscaping conserves natural
resources.
Properly placed deciduous trees reduce house temperatures in the
summer, allowing air conditioning units to run 2 to 4 percent
more efficiently, but allow the sun to warm the house in the
winter. Homes sheltered by evergreen windbreaks can reduce
winter heat loss and are generally warmer than homes without
such protection. By using trees to modify temperatures and
protect against wind, the amount of fossil fuels used for
cooling and heating is reduced.
Landscaping screens busy
streets.
Well-placed plantings offer privacy and tranquility by screening
out busy street noises and reducing glare from headlights.
Promoting Economic Development
Landscaping increases property
market value.
A 1991 study estimates that an attractive landscape increases
the value of a home by an average of 7.5 percent, and reduces
the time on the market by five to six weeks. The Wall Street
Journal reported that landscape investments are recovered fully,
and sometimes doubled, by the increased home value.
Good landscaping increases
community appeal.
Parks and street trees have been found to be second only to
education in residents' perceived value of municipal services
offered. Psychologist Rachel Kaplan found trees, well-landscaped
grounds, and places for taking walks to be among the most
important factors considered when individuals chose a place to
live.
Landscaping reduces crime.
In a California study, landscaped areas were relatively
graffiti-free, while open, nonlandscaped areas were graffiti
targets. Well planned and maintained landscapes are seen as
safer than unmaintained plantings.
Plants increase tourism
revenues.
Interior landscaping at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville,
Tennessee, is credited for an unusually high (85 percent)
occupancy rate. Guests willingly pay an extra $30 per night for
rooms overlooking the jungle-like display, netting $7 million a
year in additional room revenues. The city of Virginia Beach
attributes, in part, their $52 million in convention revenue for
1994 to the landscaping efforts of recent years.
Views of plants increase job
satisfaction.
Employees with an outside view of plants experience less job
pressure and greater job satisfaction than workers viewing
man-made objects or having no outside view. They also report
fewer headaches and other ailments than workers without the
view.
Nature increases worker
productivity.
Psychologists have found that plants and green spaces provide a
sense of rest that allows workers with access to plants and
nature to be more productive.
Landscaping renews business
districts.
Greening of business districts increases community pride and
positive perception of an area, drawing customers to the
businesses.
Improving Human Health
Gardening is excellent physical
exercise.
Routine gardening tasks such as shoveling, rototilling, and even
mowing grass with a push-type, reel lawn mower can measure up to
the exertion rates of jogging, bicycling, or aerobics. Studies
have shown that one hour of weeding burns 300 caloriesŃthe same
as walking or bicycling at a moderate pace.
Gardens produce healthy food.
Fresh food from the garden can have up to three times as many
vitamins and minerals as canned or frozen food. Community garden
plots have become a valuable means of providing food for the
homeless.
Horticulture is therapeutic.
Horticultural therapy is a treatment for a variety of diagnoses.
Working with and around plants improves quality of life through
psychological and physical changes. Nurturing a plant into
maturity from seed is rewarding and builds self- confidence.
Various horticulture-related tasks such as carrying plants,
planting trees, or arranging flowers are used to improve
coordination and motor control of injured or disabled
individuals.
Landscapes heal.
Restorative gardens offer an environment for people who are
sick, injured, and under stress to recover and regain confidence
in themselves. Such landscapes are also currently used by
hospices in treatment of Alzheimer and AIDS patients. Roger
Ulrich showed through a study of hospital patients that those
whose rooms overlooked vegetation recovered faster and required
less pain medication than did patients without a view of nature.
Landscaping for the Future
Landscaping is an integral part of our culture and plays an
essential role in the quality of our environment, affecting our
economic well-being and our physical and psychological health.
If we are to keep our communities strong and prosperous, we
must take responsibility for our environment. Environmental
responsibility is a step beyond awareness, developed only
through experience. Through our gardens and landscapes, we
acquire a personal awareness and responsibility for the
environment while we relieve the tensions and frustrations of
everyday life.
Landscaping offers many opportunities for the encouragement
and education of responsible, productive citizens. School
grounds represent the world environment of a child and should be
designed and integrated into the curriculum to instill
responsibility, knowledge, and experience in caring for the
environment, while teaching the math, science, and art
associated with the cultivation of plants.
Public and commercial landscapes have a major influence on
our environment, and on peoples' actions and attitudes.
Sustainable landscape maintenance techniques can be used to
protect the environment while enhancing economic development and
improving worker productivity.
Landscaping is one of the most cost effective tools for
improving and sustaining the quality of life, whether in the
city, the suburbs, or the country.
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