Koru Landscape Construction, Louisville, CO (2026)

02/08/2019

Soil is key to a successful landscape.

Not all soil is created equal.
Soil serves many important functions in an ecosystem. In your landscape, soil is the medium in which your plants grow. USDA’s National Resources Conservation Services notes that quality soils perform five functions at the same time:

Soils act like sponges, soaking up rainwater and limiting runoff. Soils also impact ground-water recharge and flood-control potentials in urban areas.
Soils act like faucets, storing and releasing water and air for plants and animals to use.
Soils act like supermarkets, providing valuable nutrients and air and water to plants and animals.
Soils also store carbon and prevent its loss into the atmosphere.
Soils act like strainers or filters, filtering and purifying water and air that flow through them.
Soils buffer, degrade, immobilize, detoxify, and trap pollutants, such as oil, pesticides, herbicides, and heavy metals, and keep them from entering ground-water supplies.
Soils also store nutrients for future use by plants and animals above ground and by microbes within the soils.

Much of Colorado’s soil is heavy clay and can be alkaline. To support the trees, shrubs, and other plants we enjoy in our urban landscapes, our soil may need some help. You can’t change the temperature, wind, or dry air we see in our state, but you can amend the soil to make it more hospitable to plant life.
The Soil, Water and Plant Testing Laboratory at Colorado State University can perform a soil test to help you determine what needs to be done to improve soil health in your landscape. You can pick up a test kit at a local hardware store and mail your sample for analysis.

03/08/2018

Love our mountain landscapes in Colorado. Here is a family photo the other day up in Winter park. Dog sled rides are so much fun!

03/08/2018

Protect plants from spring storm damage.

We're heading into the season of heavy spring snows when plants may need extra TLC from their human caretakers.

Deep snowfalls, especially the ones during spring, tend to be heavier and wetter than powdery winter snows. The snow load can break tree limbs, smother and crush ornamental grasses and splay upright evergreens. Deep temperature dives below freezing may also mean applying ice melt to keep walks safe.

Here are a few things to protect plants from damage:

During the storm:
Keep an eye on snow accumulating on trees - on both deciduous and evergreens. If branches are sagging under the weight, use something long such as a broom handle to gently shake snow off the branches as high as you can reach. Start at the lowest part of the tree rather than at the top. If you start dusting snow off the top, it will add even more weight onto the lower branches.
If you have trees that are already leaning - or branches that are at a sharp "V" with one already growing more to the side than upright - avoid standing or putting property under them. These may be signs that a tree could fall over or a branch could break under snow load. Cottonwood trees, for example, are often susceptible to breakage.
Branches of columnar, upright evergreens can spread apart under heavy snow. Gently shaking snow off these evergreens can help minimize damage.

After the storm:
Inspect trees for broken branches or "hangers." These are broken branches that seem to be hanging on by a thread. Schedule an expert to cut the branches properly to avoid insect or disease problems in these wounds later. Check with your municipality for a list licensed arborists in your area.
For upright evergreens that have splayed, go to a garden center for material that can be wrapped around the branches to restore their upright shape.
If ornamental grasses have been crushed, they won't bounce back. When the weather is warm, cut grasses back. This needs to be done in the springtime anyway before new shoots emerge. If your grasses survived until now, congratulations!

Minimize ice melt damage.
Use the least amount of product needed to get the job done as ice melt can be harmful to plants. After using ice melt on walks or drives, avoid sweeping water from melted ice into lawn or bed areas. Let the water evaporate. When the area is dry, sweep up any remaining product and dispose of it. These precautions will lessen the buildup of damaging salts in the soil.

12/16/2017

It's time to water plants!

The spritz of snow we had this week is a drop in the bucket when it comes to moisture needed to keep plants healthy.
This is not a time to be complacent about dry plants.

We need +/- 10 inches of snowfall to equal 1 inch of moisture. Most winters along the Front Range, there is not enough snowfall to give plants the moisture they need.

Remember, this is dry Colorado and even leafless trees and dormant lawns need winter water. This year's exceptionally dry fall means watering is already in order.

Adding supplemental water during the fall and winter keeps roots from drying out. Plants that receive water consistently will enter the spring as healthier plants.

Did you plant new trees, shrubs or perennials this season? If so, they are likely long overdue for a good soaking if they have not been watered since the sprinklers were winterized. Plan to check soil often and water throughout the winter.

What about other plants? Any plants, if soil is dry down to a 3-inch deep, need water.

When can you water? Anytime daytime temps are above freezing and the soil is not frozen, plants can be watered.

What about lawns? Even though lawns appear dormant, they still need supplemental water especially areas of high sun exposure which tend to suffer winter kill.

How should you water?
Trees and shrubs are watered most effectively with a hose and a deep-root watering device attached. Because you insert it well into the soil, you will get more water into the root zone than by simply watering the surface of the soil. Water in a circle that corresponds to the area on the ground where the tree branches end. Place the device at about 18-inch intervals as you water.

For lawns, use a garden hose with a sprinkler. Water long enough so that the soil is thoroughly soaked without run-off. Water sloped areas in shorter periods, but more than once so water soaks in without running off.

Hold on to moisture.
Adding a good wood mulch around bases of trees and other plants can conserve as much as 30% of moisture in the soil. It will also help insulate plants against severe cold and fluctuating temps. Important tip: make sure mulch is not placed right next to tree trunks and stems of shrubs. This can hold too much moisture and rot the plant.

06/13/2016

Coming soon: Rain barrels in your garden!

Rain barrels will soon be legal in Colorado thanks to a bill Governor Hickenlooper signed earlier this month.

Following are the 5 W's about rain barrels and a little more.

What is a rain barrel?
The law defines "rain barrel" as "a storage container with a sealable lid that is located above ground outside of a residential home and used for collecting precipitation from a downspout of a rooftop." Households are limited to two barrels with a total capacity of 110 gallons. The rain barrel must also be equipped with a sealable lid. Mosquitos, which can carry West Nile virus, are a serious issue. Don't create a neighborhood for them.

Who may use rain barrels?
Residents of Colorado will soon be allowed to install a rain barrel on residential properties.

When is it legal to have rain barrels?
On August 10, 2016, rain barrels will be legal to use in Colorado.

Where may they be installed?
Rain barrels may be installed on a single-family home or multi-unit buildings with four or fewer units. On a property with residents in a town home with 2 units, each neighbor can have one barrel, not more than 55-gallons in capacity. But you can do a lot with 55 gallons of water!

What may be watered?
You can only use the water to irrigate the residential property where the barrel is located. The water is only allowed for non-potable, outdoor use in gardening or landscaping. Water collected from rooftops and gutters is not safe for consumption.

Why use a rain barrel?
Rain barrels offer a sustainable option for using the water that falls on your property to maintain gardens and other plants. Each time you collect the maximum 110 gallons of water, you can adequately irrigate about 180 sq. ft. of vegetable garden or lawn. While supplemental water will still be needed to maintain a vegetable garden, for example, water from the rain barrel can potentially provide half the water required during one growing season.

01/20/2016

Take New Year's resolutions outdoors

We're all making resolutions about what we want to be and do in 2016.
So remember to include your own gardening/outdoor experience. It's not on our minds now, but when spring hits, it will be.

Whether we get our hands in the dirt, or not, our outdoor spaces are more than ever an important part of our lives. They have become the next best place outside the family room where we gravitate to prepare and eat meals, entertain and unwind. Now is the time to start thinking ahead about those outdoor spaces and what we want them to bring to our lives in just a few short months. Resolve, pre-planning and some up-front effort will make it all come together when spring color returns to the landscape.

What is the garden you want to see?, What is the outdoor space you want to create?, the edibles you want to grow for the first time or the dreary corner you want to invigorate? What did you resolve at the end of last season that you would never do again? Answers to these questions will guide this year's resolutions.

Schedule tasks now so that you can get a head start on the growing season, for example:

- Spread compost on top of gardening beds - especially the edibles
garden. You can pitch compost on top of the snow - not a problem.

- Look online for a new gardening book - or read one still sitting on the shelf from last year.

- Get gardening tools ready by cleaning and oiling shovels and other tools. Sand or replace wooden handles and sharpen tools.

- If the mower wasn't winterized by draining gasoline, etc., get that done. Have it serviced and sharpen the blade long before the grass turns green.

- Plan a trip to the garden center or hardware store to find ergonomic tools that make outdoor chores easier on your body.

- If upgrades are in your plan, now is the time to meet with a landscape designer / contractor to get your project in motion.

- If you bring in outside lawn and garden help, confirm with your grounds and gardening services early so you know your needs are handled.

- Check out seed and plant offerings online from local nurseries.
Ordering early insures you will have what you want when it's time to plant.

The growing season is still months away - but now we can say it's this year. That tells us it really is just around the corner and it's time to get ready. Bring on springtime!

10/19/2015

Protect your sprinkler system from
early freeze.

We've enjoyed a record-breaking warm September throughout much of Colorado and even though it's October, we're still running our sprinkler systems!

Yet the temperature could take a sudden nose dive into a deep freeze and that might be soon. What is also common is that after an isolated night or two of freezing temps, temperatures usually warm up and you may need to run the sprinklers again.

The short-lived temperature swing into the freeze zone could damage the most expensive part of your sprinkler system and even lead to property damage. That's why it's important to protect it against freeze damage to keep the system in good working order until it is winterized.
The backflow prevention device is usually the single most expensive irrigation system component. It is what keeps outdoor water from backing into the water used indoors. It's also the most vulnerable to freeze damage. It's above ground, full of water and can freeze when temps hit 32 degrees.

It is most often located outdoors and somewhere close to the foundation. Once the sprinkler system is properly winterized by blowing it out with compressed air, this device is out of danger for the winter. But until it's been winterized, it can still suffer damage and needs to be protected in the event of freezing temps.
When the forecast calls for temps dipping down to 32 degrees, taking a few steps in a few minutes can provide the protection it needs. And you can protect the device with everyday household items yourself.

Here's what to do:

1- Wrap a large towel around the backflow device.
2- Cover the towel with a plastic trash bag.
3- Next, Secure these items at the base of the device securely
with duct tape.

The towel provides insulation against the cold, the trash bag keeps damaging moisture out, and the tape holds it in place. As long as this device remains pressurized and protected, you can continue to use the sprinkler system.
This precaution is an intermediate step until the system is properly winterized. Once the sprinkler system has been winterized, the device no longer will need this protection.

Sprinkler systems that are not winterized by blowing out the lines with compressed air will be very vulnerable to additional freeze damage. Pipes can break and valves can also be damaged. In the long run, proper winterization is good insurance that your sprinkler system will be just as good next spring as when it was put to bed for the winter.

To make sure your system is winterized prior to a hard freeze, it's wise to schedule the service well in advance - even if you need to water occasionally with a hose on warm days after winterization.

10/19/2015

Remember to plant bulbs.

Our fall landscaping chores aren't really complete unless we've planted bulbs that will show up as early spring flowers next year. When they pop up through the snow they tell us the winter doldrums are over and another growing season is about to begin.

While the weather is still nice, it's a perfect time to do this last chore. Look for a place in the yard that will showcase these first flowers of spring not only for you, but also the neighbors and others who pass by.

Once you know where you're planting, select varieties of plants you want to see. Tried and true flowers include tulips, daffodils, hyacinth and crocus. Add edibles to the mix by planting garlic and saffron crocus. Next, determine the bloom times of each type of flower so you can group and plant them accordingly. Daffodils and crocus are early bloomers. Depending on the variety, tulips can have 3 different bloom times.

Planting tips

1-Select locations that are well drained and get plenty of sun.
2-Plant the bulbs as soon as possible after you buy them.
3-Group bulbs by bloom time and create pockets of bulbs within the planting beds with a grouping of 7 or more bulbs if space allows.
When bulbs bloom as a group, they will have much more visual impact than if planted separately or in a row. You can plant bulbs one at a time with a special bulb tool or spade, but a more efficient practice is to dig a hole or trench large enough for each group of bulbs. Dig the hole 3 times deeper than the bulb height.
Place bulbs in the hole spacing bulbs about twice their width from the next bulb. Place the pointed ends, which are the tops, up.
If you can't tell top from bottom, place bulbs on their sides and the shoots will naturally grow up and the roots will grow down. Once all the bulbs are in place, re-fill the hole with the soil. Fertilize according to label directions with a product high in phosphorous - a super phosphate. It's better than bone meal.
When planting hyacinths, wear gloves as touching them with bare skin sometimes causes a rash. After planting, top dress the beds with shredded wood mulch.

Protecting bulbs from wildlife.
During the dormant season when less food is available, wildlife will dig up bulbs for a meal. If wildlife likes to raid your yard, here are some tips to safeguard your bulbs.

Discourage deer, elk and rabbits from digging up bulbs by treating them prior to planting with a hot pepper product available from garden centers. As an added precaution, place a wire cage made from chicken wire over the bed. Bend flat wire to create cage's sides that can be pushed into the ground.
Voles are a common landscape pest that actively forage during the winter. To discourage them, apply at least 2 inches of pea gravel over the soil. The sharp edges of the gravel hurt the pads of their feet which will deter them from digging. One last thing- Get the kids involved!

06/13/2015

Plant a pollinator friendly garden.

Pollinators are important - from the White House to the local greenhouse.

In May, a White House Task Force released its "National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honeybees & Other Pollinators" and an action to sustain pollinator health. And with next week - June 15-20, 2015 - being National Pollinator Week, it's timely to think about the important role that pollinators play within our communities and how we can support them with our plant choices.

In and around our neighborhoods, we need to create habitats for pollinators because of their important function within the urban ecosystem.They keep things growing.

And while we don't want bees buzzing around our patios, there is still a place for them. Plus, other pollinators such as hummingbirds, butterflies and moths can find a home in our landscapes without disrupting our lives.

The good news in planning a pollinator-friendly garden is that many of our tried and true plants are the same ones pollinators love. You don't need to seek out exotic plants that are difficult to grow in order to attract pollinators.

Did you know flowers provide better nutrition than the sugar and water in hummingbird feeders? Plants serve up high-energy nectar which has fat and vitamins and even protein from small insects that might get "slurped" up. Especially when hummingbirds migrate south for the winter, they need the high-energy drink that flower nectar gives them.

Pollinator-friendly plants include annuals, perennials and even herbs. This year, if you want to start an herb garden, select flavorful herbs that also attract pollinators.

Above all, diversity should be the goal in order to offer the variety of plants that will attract and serve many kinds of pollinators throughout the growing season. Plants should be varied in color, height and season of bloom to appeal to the needs of individual pollinators. Some pollinators, for example, seek a wide-open flower like a poppy and others prefer a long, tubular bloom.

Here are some of those tried-and-true easy-growers that can help you create a pollinator-friendly habitat within your yard:

Annuals:
Pollinator friendly annuals include these traditional favorites: Alyssum, Cosmos, Dianthus, Lantana, Nicotiana, Pentas, French Marigolds, Salvia, Verbena and Zinnia.

Perennials:
When selecting perennials keep in mind that most perennials don't bloom all season long. Having a variety of plants with bloom times that are staggered helps keep pollinator friendly flowers in the garden throughout the growing season - especially, before annual migrations begin. Larger perennials will also provide shelter. Varieties to consider include Achillea, Agastache, Centranthus, Coreopsis, Dianthus, Echinacea, Gaillardia, Helinium, Monarda, Nepeta, Penstemon, Perovskia atriplicifolia and Salvia.

Herbs:
Many of the go-to herbs we use every day in our kitchens are the ones that attract pollinators. They include Chives, Dill, Fennel, Lavender, Mint, Parsley, Oregano, Sage and Thyme. Planting herbs is especially sustainable because they nourish both people and pollinators.

When the mud dries, be ready to grow pollinator friendly plants!

04/12/2015

It is the season for Honey Bee swarms, help them and contact Erin Cox 303-709-7051 so we can do our best to give them a home.

DO NOT SPRAY THEM WITH ANYTHING.

In Colorado, bees swarm from April 15th until the end of the summer with May and June being the busiest months.A swarm occurs when a hive, wild or managed, becomes overcrowded and the old queen and approximately half of the original hive leaves to find a new home. Swarms are generally quite docile but they can be disconcerting due to the sheer numbers of bees within the swarm. It is still a good idea to keep your distance so as to not make the bees feel threatened.

Swarms will eventually leave on their own, once the scout bees have returned to inform the group that they have found a suitable new home. Where it may have taken an hour or more for the swarm to collect, they can be gone in less than a minute once they get word it is time to go. However, beekeepers prefer to catch the bees as a swarm in case their new home–is yours!

Let the word spread, and SHARE THIS POST on your own FB page.

Thanks.

03/27/2015

How gardening helps grow kids.

Did you know that 98 percent of kids who grow their own vegetables will actually eat them? That means kids will want to eat peas, carrots, tomatoes, broccoli and maybe even spinach! This is the official word from the American Gardening Association which offers programs to encourage kids to head outdoors and into the garden. .

Gardening is catching on in schools all across the country and that includes a big emphasis in Colorado. Every year, more schools are building gardens on their campuses and using them as an educational opportunity. And much of the produce ends up in the school cafeteria.

If you have children, consider getting them involved in gardening at home as well. Already, kid-sized tools and boots are showing up in garden centers. Helping kids pick out their own properly sized implements will make the process more fun.

Then head over the seed aisle and let them select veggies, herbs and flowers they would like to grow. This kind of involvement is more engaging than handing them your packet of seeds early some Saturday morning when it's time to plant.

Here are four ways to keep the engagement going:

Help kids to learn by doing. Even a 3-year-old can tuck some seeds into the soil and will love holding the water wand to sprinkle water over newly-planted seeds. What child doesn't like to play in the dirt or spray water? Older children can do more - and as the growing season takes off, you can make pulling w**ds a game rather than a chore.

Keep it simple.

Kids are most motivated when they grow plants that are easy to grow and that show fast results. Sunflowers and pumpkins, for example, grow quickly and are dramatic in their size and shape. They can be started indoors before it's time to plant outside.
Kids can stand by the window sill and check out the changes as seedlings emerge and become little plants.

Make it "mine."

Remember those seeds that the little ones selected? Create an area for those plants and allow children to have their own group of plants to care for. Having them water and w**d their own plants - and pick the harvest later on - imparts pride of ownership.

Teach value.

At harvest time, weigh some of your harvest and write down how many pounds of zucchini, tomatoes or other veggies your young gardener has grown. Then go to the grocery store, find the current price of these items and help them do the math. There's a good lesson in knowing that you've just grown $5 worth green beans!

Gardening is more than just another outdoor activity - though fresh air is always a benefit. Gardening connects us with Mother Nature, involves us in environmental stewardship and is an ongoing lesson in a healthy lifestyle and nutrition. And that applies to grownups as well.

Koru Landscape Construction

02/08/2019

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