Posts by John Close

Every June without fail, our email and phones will light up with frantic messages from customers wondering what to do about their annual weed invasion. The first thing we do is calmly remind them that this happens every year, annually in fact, and to not worry too much about it. The second thing we do…

What….Was…That?!?!!? Ok sure, we can handle some “quaint” snow on say…Dec 24th/25th or even the exact moment we fall in love but beyond that, us Islanders have a pretty low snow tolerance…which is why this past week was snow good. 😉  Yes the snow started off kinda pretty and, ok, even I found myself ooooing…

We easily do dozens of lawn consults a week. Sometimes dozens a day. The calls/emails/lawns are always the same. “The moss has never been this bad”  “My lawn always looked decent until last summer’s drought” “My lawn was just put in last year and now look at this mess, it’s embarrassing”. Can you help??? Of…

Fall is best for many reasons.  1.NHL  2.NFL  3.CFL  4.MLB playoffs – there may be other reasons too… In all seriousness, Fall and its cooler temperatures and increased rains are just some of the reasons why when it come to growing lush lawns and gardens, it is definitely best!. 1. Coolness If you read our…

Seeding Sunny seed mix, Shade mix, Front lawn mix, Backyard Mix, Eco lawn mix, Drought resistant mix, blah blah blah. This is marketing at it’s worst. How is it possible for the seed companies to know how much sun, shade or even water your particular lawn gets? They’re guessing, of course, so why invest in…

Aerating All soil needs air, water and nutrients for its plants to thrive. In the case of a lawn, when its soil is compacted, these resources become trapped and its grass roots are unable to access them. The result is always the same; crabgrass, weeds and moss take advantage of the lawn’s weakened state and…

Power-raking If your lawn is currently covered in moss and it meets the two conditions for renovation (adequate sun, good drainage), it all starts with a vicious power raking (some call it de-thatching). We say vicious because most homeowners and even landscapers fail in this regard. The point of power raking is to remove all…

Moss Doesn’t Care Depending on your tolerance level, moss is either lawn that you don’t have to mow, water or fertilize (yippee) OR… the bain of your existence. For most of you living on Vancouver Island it’s probably the latter. It’s the same every spring…the rain slows the sun starts to peak out and the…