Aspen Creek Landscaping's Fall Lawn-Prep Checklist

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As autumn colors set in this season, make sure your all-important lawn and garden 'to-do's" are done.

Although the lawn is often overlooked during the fall, it’s actually the perfect time to make sure everything is organized before the harsher winter elements take hold ('harsh" is a relative term here in the Pacific NW, but we think you know what we mean…)

Paul James, host of HGTV’s "Gardening by the Yard," advises homeowners to start early — approximately six weeks before the first good freeze.

Here is a list of some of the tasks and items you should add to your fall checklist this year:   

• Maintain the landscape.

• Tidy up the lawn, flowerbeds, bushes, gardens, etc.

• Remove unsightly foliage, dead stems, piles of leaves and other debris.

• Fluff your mulch with a rake so water can seep into the subsoil.

• Plant fall vegetables. Cool-season vegetable gardens can flourish with the right plants — lettuce, greens, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, potatoes and loads more. Imagine all the hearty stews and delicious soups you could make from scratch.

• Make room for indoor plants. Your potted or container plants won’t survive the winter outside, so it’s time to make room indoors for tropical plants, herbs and succulents. Potted perennials can be transplanted into a garden after trimming the roots and some top growth.

If you have fall maintenance questions, we are always happy to help! Just call us at (503) 625-6888 or visit our website: www.aspencreeklandscaping.com

Aspen Creek Landscaping’s October Gardening Tips for Oregon

 (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

With the official start of fall happening in October in Oregon, many of the questions we get from customers at Aspen Creek Landscaping are about fall gardening tasks and how to best prepare our yards and gardens for the cold months ahead.

Here are a few important tasks to keep in mind when doing your fall gardening:

• First and foremost, make sure your drainage is good. Because of the heavy rains we get here in Oregon during the late fall and winter months, it’s important to make sure your yard and garden areas have great drainage.

• For winter protection, it’s a good idea to place mulch over roots of roses, azaleas, rhododendrons and berries.

• To head off future pest problems before they happen, clean up annual flower beds by removing diseased plant materials. Mulch with manure or garden compost to feed the soil and suppress weeds.

• Clean, sharpen and oil those tools and equipment before storing for winter.

• Be sure to store garden supplies and fertilizers in a safe, dry place out of reach of children.

Have more questions? Call us today to ask your burning questions about how best to prepare your yard and garden for the winter months: (503) 625-6888

Or visit our website to view more pictures of our portfolio and to schedule a consultation:
www.aspencreeklandscaping.com  

Landscaping Water Features by Aspen Creek Landscaping

Aspen Creek Landscaping specializes in unique water features. Water features are a terrific addition because they can help turn your landscape into something special, as well as providing a focal point and attracting wildlife.

On this page are some examples of water features we have created for our customers.

When considering including a water feature in your landscaping design, here are a few things to keep in mind:

1) Do you want your water feature to be the focal point of your project - or just an accent? Whether it's the main focal point or just an accent, you will need to discuss placement and surrounding landscaping options with your designer.

2) What type of water feature do you want?
Take a look at different landscaping books or magazines - you can even take pictures of yards that you like. Compile these together in an "idea file" and you and your designer can go over them together to decide which types of water features and surrounding plants you like that also go best with your existing landscaping (unless you are starting from scratch). You can choose ponds, fountains, waterfalls, bubblers, and much more.

3) What's your budget?
You can have the grandest water feature ideas, but if your budget prohibits your ideas, you won't get the project off the ground. This should probably be listed as the first step, but sometimes it helps to get the idea juices flowing and then work with your designer to help turn your vision into a reality that doesn't break the bank.

Whether it's a natural-looking stream, or an ultra-modern sculpture, at Aspen Creek Landscaping our designers love working with your ideas to turn them into reality.

From simply providing design ideas, consultations, and conceptual drawings, to drafting fully detailed architectural plans, we are able to work within your timeline and budget.

Call us today to ask your burning questions about adding a water feature to your landscaping or to get your project off the ground (or IN the ground if the case may be!):
(503) 625-6888

Or visit our website to view more pictures of our portfolio:
www.aspencreeklandscaping.com

Aspen Creek Landscaping Offers 3 Ways to Simplify Your Landscaping

This quote is a great way to start off National Simplify your Life Week.

When we think of simplifying things, often we tend to omit our landscaping, but that is a great place to simplify because caring for your yard can truly be a chore the more complex you go.

Here are 3 ways to simplify your landscaping:

1. Reduce lawn and yard maintenance. Depending on how much property you have mowing the lawn alone can take up most of your time. Plant ground covers, shrubs and perennials, and the remaining lawn will be simpler and faster to mow and maintain - especially if corners are eliminated (continuous, rounded swaths save you time when mowing). 
   
2. Complete the incomplete. Many times the thought of starting a new project is much more exciting than actually finishing something that was started weeks (or months) ago. Before you dig in to something new, take stock of any incomplete projects in your yard and finish them up. The satisfaction that comes from this, can be enough at the end of the day to satisfy those urges to move on to other bright shiny object.
   
3. Don't do it! That's right - we said "Don't do it." Sometimes it's easier to just have someone come in once or twice a month to take care of the heavy lifting for you so you can take time off to enjoy more of the things you love to do, like take a trip out of town for the weekend, or spend time with the family, or go see a movie. 

Whether you are a do-it-yourselfer or someone who needs VIP treatment - or someone in between - we're here for you. At Aspen Creek Landscaping, we have professional designers available to work on any project you have in mind. From simply providing design ideas, consultations, and conceptual drawings, to drafting fully detailed architectural plans, we are able to work within your timeline and budget. Contact us today (503) 625-6888 www.AspenCreekLandscaping.com

Aspen Creek Landscaping's Top 20 List of July Adventures

Crater Lake National Park in Southern Oregon
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

With July being National Anti-Boredom Month, Aspen Creek Landscaping thought we could offer up some suggestions on how to tackle boredom and add some adventure into July.

There are so many fun things to do right in our own backyard here in the Pacific Northwest, so we hope that some of these Top 20 ideas inspire you to get out there and enjoy it.

1. Oregon Coast via Lewis & Clark Bridge
2. Salmon Fishing on the Columbia River in Rainier
3. Oregon Coast Aquarium (Newport)
4. Camping under the stars
5. Golfing
6. Silver Falls State Park (Silverton)
7. Sea Lion Caves
8. Crater Lake
9. Bonneville Lock and Dam (Interstate 84)
10. Oregon Coast Light Houses
11. Oregon Wine Makers
12. Covered Bridges
13. Thunderegg Searching
14. Bird Watching in the Klamath Basin
15. Ancient Fossils
16. Oregon Trail Treking
17. Oregon State Parks
18. Hot Springs
19. National Forests & Wilderness Areas
20. Oregon Caves National Monument

From all of us at Aspen Creek Landscaping to you -- have a fun adventure this summer and be sure to tell us all about it on our Facebook page when you get back: https://www.facebook.com/AspenCreekLndscpng

Did we miss something? Comment below to add your own top Oregon adventure spots.

Are you ever stumped for landscaping ideas? Here are a few to get you started

There are many different factors that go into choosing a landscaping design. It’s not uncommon for homeowners to look at their yard and feel overwhelmed.

Instead of looking at the state of the place and thinking, I don’t know how to landscape, the thought that should be running through your mind is that you have a blank canvas to work with. Woohoo!

You have to be able to see beyond the weeds and overgrown grass and see what may lie beneath. It’s not like you have to do it all on your own either – you can contact a landscaper in, oh I don’t know… Aspen Creek Landscaping in Sherwood maybe? or look at garden designs online to get some ideas of what you can do with that space.

The difficult part is going to be clearing out the backyard space by weeding and mowing, but once that is done you can really get down to the fun part of making your new garden come to life.

When you look at designs and other gardens online, you will quickly discover that the landscaping ideas backyard is virtually limitless. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Open Space: You can go with a space that is open yet alive with a million different colors that burst forth from the plants and flowers that you out in there.

Build a deck or patio to fill too much open space: You could have a great deck or patio that is perfect for barbecuing and having friends over for some fun.

Create a sanctuary: You could also have a tranquil spot away from it all, where water features hum a liquid song that will put you in your happy place. That may be taking it a little too far, but you get the idea that you can do whatever suits your style.

It’s one thing to know exactly what you want, but quite another to have the tools and imagination to put it all together.

It really is worth your while to go and visit a garden center to get a good idea of what sort of items are actually available for your backyard space. There is nothing like seeing that actual pieces to get the imagination going and that can help you start to see where things will fit in your garden and how the finished article will look.

Another good idea is to take pictures of the kinds of pieces that you like and take them to a professional landscaper. Chances are they will have done more than one garden that incorporates the styles that you like. They will be able to assess your space and see how each of the elements that you like will fit into place to give your garden a perfect look. 

Your idea of style and the landscapers experience can make for the perfect combination that can turn that overgrown space into a thing of beauty.

Come visit Aspen Creek Landscaping today for free ideas – we have a great garden center and some already landscaped spaces to help get the idea juices flowing. We’re conveniently located just outside Portland – between Sherwood and Newberg on Highway 99 at 25470 SW Gimm Lane, Sherwood, OR.

How a beautifully landscaped backyard adds value to your property

There is a ton of work that goes into making the interior of your home look presentable, but many folks often forget that their outdoor areas are just as important. It’s easy to get the priorities mixed up, especially when the majority of your time is spent inside, but a beautifully landscaped backyard not only becomes an extension of the interior, but also adds value to the property in general.

It’s fair to say that most of us don’t know how to landscape, and it’s altogether too easy to look at the blank canvas that is your backyard and be totally lost for ideas.

The good news is that there are plenty of professional backyard landscaping companies that will be more than happy to help (ahem… like Aspen Creek Landscaping…), but you need to have at least a basic idea of what you want from that space. 

For example, a backyard that is going to be used for entertaining will end up looking a lot different from one that is designed to be a place where you can go and relax with a good book and a glass of wine. 

Once you have decided what you would like the theme of your backyard to be, you then have to look at your budget so that you know exactly what you can get for your money. It would be great to have a pool with flowing waterfalls, but if you only have a limited budget, you might be looking at a nice water feature instead.

The next decision that you will have to make is how much effort you want to put into maintaining your backyard once all the landscaping has been done. A wide selection of colorful flowers and plants may be easy on the eye, but it also means that you are going to have to make sure that they are tended to regularly. The same rules apply if you decide to go with a pool, as you are likely to have the added expense of weekly maintenance if you don’t have time to take care of it yourself.

Sometimes the best landscaping ideas for the backyard are those that incorporate a few different elements that reflect your different moods. You can create a great patio area that has a built-in kitchen of some sort for entertaining, while also having an area that has colorful flowers to add a splash of beauty to the barbecue. It’s always nice to incorporate a water feature with a small seating area where you can go to relax and unwind after a hard day.

Your backyard truly is an extension of the style that you have incorporated into the interior of your home. Carrying that all the way through from the front door to the backyard fence will create a living space that will truly reflect your own personal style, and the best way to achieve that is with a professional landscaper who can quickly turn your ideas into reality, creating the backyard space that matches your minds eye.

Contact Aspen Creek Landscaping today for a free consultation. Either visit our website at: http://www.aspencreeklandscaping.com/ or call us at 503-625-6888. We’re conveniently located just outside Portland – between Sherwood and Newberg on Highway 99.