Scape-Abilities

Scape-Abilities Providing comprehensive lawn care services, property maintenance and design with an emphasis on letting ONE COMPANY take care of everything.

Established in 1991, Scape-Abilities has over 20 years experience providing innovative landscape design, build and maintenance services in New Jersey. Our knowledgeable staff, lead by owner Steve Costalos, work with our customers to ensure their needs and wishes are met in a professional manner. Our goal is to build long and lasting relationships with our customers while enhancing the value and be

auty of their homes. Scape-abilities provide a broad range of professional landscaping services that can help you design, build and maintain your ideal garden.

-A personalized design consultation from certified Landscape Architects.
-Planting guides specifically tailored to your garden environment
-Skillfully installed landscaping for patios, walkways, pools and driveways
-Irrigation design, installation and maintenance
-A natural, sustainable and 100% organic lawn treatment program
-Complete lawn care and maintenance
-Full service yard maintenance

Scape-Abilities is certified member of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers and is a proud member of the Chamber of Commerce for both Westfield and Bernards Township. In addition, we are also a member of the New Jersey Nursery & Landscape Association, The Professional Landcare Network and the Irrigation Association of New Jersey. We are certified with both the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute and the Irrigation Association of New Jersey.

A note on mosquito timing since we're at the late-May peak.Mosquito Now is our standing mosquito treatment. Applications...
05/29/2026

A note on mosquito timing since we're at the late-May peak.

Mosquito Now is our standing mosquito treatment. Applications start in April and run through late fall, every 4 to 6 weeks. Properties on schedule had their first round in April. Their second round is due in the next couple weeks.

If you didn't start in April, the season has already moved without you. Mosquito populations established their first generation while you were thinking about it. A treatment going down this week works, but you'll be playing catch-up for one cycle.

A couple things worth knowing about the program: the product is pet-friendly, applied ground level to roughly 15 feet up on plants and along the property perimeter. The same application also limits about 30 other insects including fleas, ticks, and gnats. Licensed pros, not a one-time spray.

Reply or call to start a Mosquito Now schedule.

Most outdoor lighting systems we look at on NJ properties aren't working right. Fixtures angled at the wrong target afte...
05/28/2026

Most outdoor lighting systems we look at on NJ properties aren't working right. Fixtures angled at the wrong target after a windy March. Two or three bulbs out across a front-walk run. A transformer humming at a draw it shouldn't be. The system is "on." It is just not actually doing what it was designed for.

Outdoor lighting done well is a quiet upgrade. Uplighting on a mature oak. A grazing wash across a stone wall. A soft downlight that makes the front steps usable at 9pm in October. Curb appeal during the day, and four extra hours of property to actually live in after dinner.

Our Outdoor Lighting Maintenance program runs three proactive visits a year. Fixture cleaning, aim correction, anti-corrosive treatment on bulb sockets, wiring check, bulb replacement. Priced per man-hour. Parts billed separately.

Reply or call to schedule a system walk-through.

A lawn disease note for this week, because the window for early identification is now and the window for cheap intervent...
05/22/2026

A lawn disease note for this week, because the window for early identification is now and the window for cheap intervention is short.
Red thread is showing on lawns across NJ. Look for irregular patches that look pinkish or rust-colored from a distance, with thin red threads visible on individual blades when you crouch down. It's a sign of nitrogen deficiency and humid weather. Mostly cosmetic, mostly self-correcting with a balanced feeding round.
Dollar spot starts as small straw-colored circles, about the size of a silver dollar. It's a sign of low nitrogen, low moisture, and morning dew sitting on blades too long. Mow drier, water deeper but less often, and feed lightly.
Leaf spot shows as small dark lesions on individual blades, mostly on stressed turf. Usually traced to mowing too short or compacted soil.
If you're seeing patches you can't identify, send a photo. We'll diagnose by email.

Memorial Day weekend is six days out. A quick prep checklist for hosts running things themselves this year:• This weeken...
05/19/2026

Memorial Day weekend is six days out. A quick prep checklist for hosts running things themselves this year:

• This weekend: deep edge along walkways and bed lines. Spot w**d pulls in beds. Touch up mulch where the depth has thinned or the volcano shape has crept up the trunks.
• Wednesday or Thursday: pre-event walk-through. Note what's not going to make it (a struggling bed, a worn patch of lawn) and decide whether to address it or stage around it.
• Friday: fresh mow at 3.25 inches. Friday mow, never Saturday. Saturday cuts leave stripes that don't recover before Sunday afternoon.

A Monday morning review from an twenty-year local NJ client:"We have used Scapabilities for 20 years! They are reliable ...
05/18/2026

A Monday morning review from an twenty-year local NJ client:
"We have used Scapabilities for 20 years! They are reliable and quick to respond to any questions/issues I may have. They are one stop shopping. They landscaped our entire yard, installed irrigation system and have maintained it all this time. Well worth the price and confidence."
- Ellen Biasi,

"They are one stop shopping." Closest description of our motto to "Let One Company...take care of everything"

A pruning calendar question that comes up every May:Spring-blooming shrubs (lilac, forsythia, azalea, rhododendron, moun...
05/17/2026

A pruning calendar question that comes up every May:

Spring-blooming shrubs (lilac, forsythia, azalea, rhododendron, mountain laurel) set their flower buds the summer before. Pruning them now removes next year's bloom. Wait until immediately after bloom, then shape lightly. The window for forsythia closed two weeks ago. The window for late azalea is open through end of May.

Summer-blooming shrubs (hydrangea paniculata such as Limelight, knockout rose, spirea, butterfly bush) bloom on new wood. They can be pruned now, or were pruned earlier in spring, without affecting bloom.

Don't prune at all right now: oak, elm, and any tree susceptible to fungal disease through fresh cuts in warm humid weather. Save oak pruning for winter dormancy.

When in doubt: light shaping, never structural cuts, on anything you're unsure about. Reply or call for an on-site pruning walk-through.

The single biggest mistake in residential NJ lawn care is mowing too short.The right height for most cool-season turf in...
05/16/2026

The single biggest mistake in residential NJ lawn care is mowing too short.

The right height for most cool-season turf in NJ (fescue, bluegrass mixes, perennial rye) is three to three and a half inches. Some homeowners cut at two inches because the lawn looks "neater" right after. It is the same lawn that browns first in July.

Why height matters: taller blades shade the soil. Shaded soil holds moisture, stays cooler, and resists w**d germination. Crabgrass needs sun on bare soil to establish. A three-inch cut blocks most of that sun. A two-inch cut invites it.

Also: never remove more than one-third of the blade in a single mow. If the lawn grew to four and a half inches between visits, cut to three. Not to two. Mow more often, not closer.

Most of our maintenance routes are set at 3.25 inches by default. Reply or call to ask.

"Scape-Abilities is the best! Very responsive and they take a great deal of pride in their work. Lawn and plant care as ...
05/15/2026

"Scape-Abilities is the best! Very responsive and they take a great deal of pride in their work. Lawn and plant care as well as sprinkler and lighting maintenance/installation. They make sure your home look great. Highly recommend using their services!"
- Michael Krystalla

Thanks for the note Michael - We have enjoyed working with you on your project and continuing to work with you to keep your landscape hassle free and beautiful

Most lawn crews in NJ are running gas equipment that registers 95 to 105 decibels at the operator and carries 60 to 75 d...
05/14/2026

Most lawn crews in NJ are running gas equipment that registers 95 to 105 decibels at the operator and carries 60 to 75 decibels into the neighbor's yard. For two hours every Thursday. That noise isn't a service feature. It's an externality the whole street pays.
Our Eco-Quiet division runs commercial-grade battery equipment: mowers, blowers, trimmers, edgers. Same productivity. About 65 decibels at the operator. Effectively inaudible two yards over.
What that means in practice: we can mow a property at 8am without waking the neighbors. We can run a Friday cleanup without interrupting a backyard birthday across the fence. We're welcome on streets where gas crews are increasingly not.
Same crews. Same standard. Different sound footprint.
Eco-Quiet maintenance plans are available on residential routes around Scotch Plains and Westfield. Reply or call to ask.

Most NJ irrigation systems are running wrong right now. Not because they're broken. Because the schedule got set in May ...
05/13/2026

Most NJ irrigation systems are running wrong right now. Not because they're broken. Because the schedule got set in May 2019 and nobody touched it.

A few signs your system is mis-set:
• Lawn looks fine but the water bill is up. You're overwatering. Roots stay shallow, the lawn fails first in July heat.
• Lawn has dry rings or strips. A head is clogged, broken, or no longer aimed where it was when the system was installed.
• The system runs in the middle of the afternoon. Half the water evaporates. The other half encourages fungal disease.
• Beds and lawn are on the same zone. They have different needs. One is always being mis-served.

A spring irrigation audit takes about 90 minutes per property. Adjustments often pay for themselves inside one summer water bill.

Address

2470 Plainfield Avenue
Scotch Plains, NJ
07076

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm

Telephone

+19086541155

Website

https://www.google.com/maps/place/?q=place_id%3AChIJB2k-9l6ww4kR2103A1yS1cw

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