Blog

Landscape Design & Maintenance

I was just a child when my sister spent a year in France. Ever since, I have dreamed of traveling there to soak up all of the places she told me about. Unfortunately, an extended trip to France simply isn’t in the cards for me right now. Instead, I learned about another way to experience a bit of France here at home. Driving through the Meadowbrook Park community in Prairie Village, Kansas, it’s easy to imagine that you have been magically transported into the middle of France. Many of the homes are architecturally inspired by traditional French design and some are set off by classic French gardens. One of those classic French landscapes was recently completed by Dan Nelson, Senior Designer for Embassy Landscape Group in collaboration with designers at Lorax Design Group and a pair of enthusiastic homeowners. 

I have become very ambivalent about deer.  On one hand, I look out my kitchen window and see this:

Rather than a place to relax and unwind, the idealized suburban landscape of perfectly manicured turf, neatly edged walkways and precisely pruned shrubs can easily become another back-breaking responsibility. There are ways however, to tweak a design that reduce the workload without sacrificing the beauty.

I recently learned, thanks to a very erudite neighbor, that I do NOT have a rock garden in my backyard – I have a rockery. According to her, rock gardens are expansive grounds found in parks or botanic gardens. An historic home may have one, but only if the area it encompasses is quite large. Family homes in traditional neighborhoods like ours have rockeries. Doing a bit of research, I found that my formidable neighbor was, once again, correct, at least for those gardeners of British heritage. Given their history with rock gardens and rockeries though, I think that the British deserve the right to assign names. 

My neighbor has begun his summer lawn watering routine. Mid morning he drags his hose into the front yard and sets up his oscillating sprinkler. It gracefully sprays water into the air as it slowly shifts from side to side. Several hours later he moves the set up across the yard and begins the  process again. This repeats several times throughout the day, as he makes sure that the entire yard gets its share of water. By the end of the day, water is flowing down the street. Each time I watch this, I wonder how many gallons are being used to water the street instead of his grass. Here, in mid Missouri where our water rates are high, that’s an expensive mistake.

After three rounds of harsh weather conditions – frost, hail, torrential rain storms –  the early spring beds in our area are, to put it bluntly, toast. My lively pink hyacinths, which had greeted guests with their happy color and welcoming, spicy fragrance, now look like this (image) With their unexpected demise, I guess it’s time to start planning and preparing summer beds!

At the beginning of every year, I spend countless hours reading and researching the newest trends in outdoor living. Usually, as I read through my array of resources, I see a huge variety of suggestions for luscious new additions to and modification of outdoor spaces. Each source often has their own take on what are the leading trends of the year. This year was different. Instead of an assortment of vastly different ideas, there seemed to be a common thread running through the vast majority of articles I read. The overall theme for 2025 outdoor living trends seemed to focus on creating a personal connection to nature that permeates your daily life. 

Whether you're thinking about your own home, or planning for large, commercial properties, the dead of winter, before the season starts,  is the best time to find the landscape maintenance company that meets your particular needs. In almost every community across the nation, there are dozens of landscape maintenance companies available  –  everything from small, local businesses to huge, nationally recognized names   that offer a range of services. While it might seem overwhelming to sift through all the options, finding the right company now can wind up saving you time, money and frustration in the future.