Do you have spots in your backyard where the surface goes from one level to another, such as the edge of a verandah? Use plants as visual indicators so that people dont trip.

Sunset Magazine explains:

Tuck a small row of echeveria between an upper and lower patio to remind visitors to step up. Use larger succulents, such as the three kinds of aeonium pictured, to signal where the upper patio drops off.

While they mention specifically using succulents, you could use other types of plants that may suit your climate or backyard better. Just make sure they will be visible during the seasons when youll use your yard. For more ideas on how to landscape your yard or garden, check out the full post linked below.

24 great ideas from the Western Garden Book of Landscaping [Sunset]

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Use Plants To Warn Visitors Of Tripping Points In Your Yard

VOL. 7 | NO. 50 | Saturday, December 06, 2014

Its hard to decide whats less fun, mowing the lawn or raking leaves. If you loathe both in equal measure, however, help may be just a few clicks away.

Mowz, an app-based service offering a mobile way to book multiple landscaping services, has made its way to Nashville. Its the latest offshoot from Plowz, which began as a snowplowing-assistance app in upstate New York last winter and has since migrated to more than 20 cities.

With Mowz, the service now offers non-winter landscaping services such as mowing, leaf raking and removal, says William Mahoney, who co-founded Plowz with Andrew Englander.

Plowing [snow] made sense, given the area where we started, but soon we had a lot of other cities on our radar, and they didnt have the winter snows and needs that the Northeast does, Mahoney says. So we began to think about other services we could offer during the rest of the year, and began reaching out to other providers.

Local landscaping companies in a targeted market either contact Mowz or are contacted by the Mowz team via social media, and once a vetting process has occurred, are signed up as vendors. Then, when a user requests services via the app, he or she is matched with the closest and best-qualified provider to do the work.

Its not like were connecting you with some guy off the street with a lawnmower, Mahoney explains. All the providers are landscaping companies, and have at least $500,000 in general liability insurance.

Our providers have an average of seven years in business; this is their living, and this is what they do.

Plowz grew by strong word of mouth and positive social-media reviews, Mahoney says, and he expects Mowz to the same thing. Nashville got onto his radar thanks to his sisters relocation here, and her difficulty in finding a good landscaping provider.

We had it on our list of cities, but that helped identify it as a good market to enter with the new service, he says. Its an up and coming city in a lot of ways, and the kind of connection our app makes do well in that environment.

Read the original here:
Yard Work Waiting? Hit Mowz App and Take a Nap

Denver, CO (PRWEB) December 04, 2014

To kick-off the season, Colorados premier holiday lighting vendor, Swingle Lawn, Tree & Landscape Care, decorated the homes of two deserving families along the Front Range. Swingles Making Spirits Bright campaign allowed people to nominate a family facing hard times, and based on those nominations the company selected two families to receive holiday lighting for their homes.

Making Spirits Bright was built around the idea of giving back to the community, which is a fundamental principle for everyone at Swingle. Our goal was to make a difference this holiday season, and we feel that our campaign achieved that. We only wish we could do more, says Swingles CEO Tom Tolkacz.

Swingle truly considers the company fortunate to have the opportunity to brighten the spirits of two very deserving families: young Payton, a 6-year-old girl in Centennial whos battling leukemia, and 18-month old Charlie in Fort Collins who suffers from Aniridia - a rare genetic condition. Each nomination shared the realities of the day-to-day struggles these families continually face, and because of their endurance Swingle chose them as this years Making Spirits Bright recipients. Swingles professional team members went out to meet with both families in order to design a holiday lighting display fitting the style and character of each home. Swingle crews worked diligently to make sure that everything came together perfectly and seamlessly, and because of that dedication it was a magical night for two local families.

Payton was completely surprised when Princess Elsa showed up at her doorstep to light up her very own ice castle, which was adorned with frosted white and pink lighting. Charlie looked on in amazement at the 65-foot Christmas tree in his front yard gleaming with thousands of multi-colored lights strung from top to bottom.

In addition to the special holiday lighting, each family was also provided a handful of Christmas presents for each and every child in the home.

We were overwhelmed and inspired by the heartfelt stories we received this year. Swingle is in the business of making peoples lives more enjoyable through the services we provide. Making Spirits Bright takes it a step further and is a great example of our longstanding commitment to giving back to our community, says Swingles President John Gibson.

Swingle recognizes the incredible difficulties many families face during the holiday season. Making Spirits Bright first began as a simple idea and has become much more. This is the season of giving, and even a simple gesture can have a wonderful impact on those facing hard times during the holidays.

An anonymous nominator said, "I just want to commend Swingle for thinking about others who are less fortunate around Christmas in the money department, but may be very fortunate in their spirituality. What joy you will be giving those people."

About Swingle Lawn, Tree & Landscape Care Founded in Denver in 1947, Swingle Lawn, Tree & Landscape Care has grown to be the one of the largest residential and commercial lawn service and tree care companies in Colorado, employing more certified arborists than any other Colorado company. For information please contact Kellie Houghtaling (303) 337-6200 or visit http://www.MySwingle.com/contact.

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Denver-based Swingle Lawn, Tree & Landscape Care Decorates the Homes of Families Facing Hard Times

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The village of Pinehurst has come up with a slogan for single-day collection of household trash, recyclables and yard debris that begins Feb. 2 One and Done.

The public awareness campaign leading up to it, however, is anything but done.

We are planning a full campaign to get the word out, Interim Village Manager Jeff Batton said. We decided not to make a hard push until after Christmas. It will ramp up after Jan. 1. It is all plugged in on a timeline we are following.

The village unveiled the new One and Done logo in its most recent newsletter. The campaign will include newspaper, radio and local television ads, items on the villages various social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and placing door hangers at all homes in the village with information about same-day collection.

Batton said the door hangers will have the days for collection for each neighborhood and a calendar.

It is a huge undertaking from our standpoint, Batton said.

Under the new system, residents will have three carts that can be rolled to the curb no earlier than 5 p.m. the day before the collection. The carts must be removed by the end of that day.

Batton said a secondary slogan for the new system is, Keep Your Street Neat Six Days a Week.

With the current system, carts for trash, and recyclables are out two separate days a week, and yard debris can be left curbside for a week.

Since the village automated collection of household garbage and recyclables, residents who currently have the village remove yard debris will receive a 95-gallon container. Currently, about 2,500 homes use the village service, Batton said.

See more here:
Village Prepares to Roll Out New Garbage Collection System in '15

Stonemarket Nordus Gris - The Landscape Yard

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