GM Meeting – PFX

We had a “meet and greet” with our new Parkfairfax General Manager on Friday. We were extending a welcome to him and giving him a brief overview of the services The Garden Contessa offers our PFX residents. With only two weeks on staff he is slowly taking the time to meet up with all the staff and vendors. He is busy, but slowly making the rounds. Our immediate goal is to help facilitate communications between our clients, the office, maintenance yard re: Buildium. We see communication issues.

Our hope is to create a back and forth exchange that will help the PFX team, and our resident community, as it relates to gardening requests for each resident/client. Often our residents don’t know how to use the process that is in place, and so we hope to be an advocate for them to better utilize the process. It is our belief that this process needs some improvement, and we can be a bridge to help the process be more productive and we think less costly based on some recommendations we made

Our meeting was brief —  but a beginning point, and he made a commitment to meet up again, once he has finished interviewing all the PFX staff members.

He invited us to join in on the landscape committee – monthly meetings, because we are working “out there” and we actually see what is going on “in the field.”

“CONTESSA” says, It’s a good thing!

His Promise…..

I Go Before You and With You

Deuteronomy 31:8

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not  be afraid; do not be discouraged. 

My lord God be with me. I ask you to stay by my side. You are my Savior, and I know you lead me and continually open my path. You walk ahead of me so I do not need to be afraid. I can always count on knowing that you will be with me. Sometimes my human self can get discouraged in my heart, but I know my heart is where you live. I can cast out my fears because of your perfect love. I know that any fear or hurtful feelings I have are not from you. I need to continually check in with my own heart, and if I feel fear I need to ask the Holy Spirit to take power over that fear. Then, I can remind myself of your promise; that you go before me and you will always be with me. You alone will renew my Hope.

Ephesians 3: 16-17

I pray that out of the glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

Gardening…. Style by Contessa

We are pleased to present “before “ and “after” videos of a late summer, early fall 2021 project in the 1200 block of Martha Custis Drive. Our homeowner, was not in residence,  but his property was being prepared for a new rental opportunity.

We met in a brief outdoor, on the sidewalk visit in front of the property on a Saturday,  before our owner departed for a new military assignment in Texas. We received instructions to remove everything in the beds, except three well established Azaleas and one Hydrangea. But we’re given permission to remove those as well if we felt they were not suitable. We raised the level of soil in the beds by three inches, deep edged the beds and weeded like crazy. These beds had approximately ten years, with three different tenants who planted randomly. The beds were horribly overgrown and certainly no plan had been adapted regarding plant heights, or consideration given toward sun/shade and Virginia weather. It was in way overgrown shape. We also amended the soil with two different new soils

We received a $200 deposit and began work one week later after a 20 minute “brief.” All permissions and reports of work, including progress by photos and video were how we communicated for three weeks with our homeowner. This was a 22 hour project. It was a smooth and very easy communication by txt “process.” And it was loads of fun. We were given a great assignment and we were up to the challenge.

It turns out our homeowner is a military “General” in the USAF, who had been given abrupt orders to move to a Texas assignment. Such a great person to work for. His trust and confidence in our work was a true gift.  He was extremely pleased with our work and he has now very successfully rented his Parkfairfax townhouse. 

It was our joy to help. We are going to follow up as soon as spring arrives, and we are being tasked with purchasing a couple new bushes and perhaps a few perennial flowering plants. It was our honor to serve this  gentleman. We worked very hard, but the end result was very gratifying.

The “end of story” here, is that if you want the job done well, you need to hire us to do your work; we are precise, we do not cut corners, we are hard working, creative, knowledgeable and we respect your opinion, on exactly what you want to achieve. And we will honestly interject our opinion on what we think will work best. We love a new challenge and will give you all the “time” needed to complete your assignment.  It is our pleasure!

BEFORE

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AFTER

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“CONTESSA” says, It’s all good. 

Chicken Feathers

January 27, Thursday

Kind words heal and help; cutting words wound and maim. -Proverbs 15:4

▶︎ LISTEN TO THE DEVOTIONAL

Years ago, I served as the chaplain for the University of South Carolina Fighting Gamecocks football team. One year, after losing to our arch rival Clemson Tigers, I received a giant box filled with chicken feathers with this note: “Found these scattered all over our football field. Thought your Gamecocks might want them back!”  I kept that box one year. Before the Clemson game the next season, I opened the box of feathers, read the note, and threw the feathers all over the team and locker room! I said, “You’ve got your feathers back. Now let’s go show them how Gamecocks fight!” We won that year! Words are powerful. They can wound and maim, or they can heal and help. They can even fire up a football team for a big game. So let me ask you: How are you going to use your words, your “box of feathers” today

Gardening Yesterday – 50 degrees – YES!

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Gardening Friends,

It was a perfect opportunity yesterday to sneak in a couple hours for one of our clients. We did a check on all the new bushes that we had installed last spring. Three Azaleas and two Knock Out Roses, and one Blue Hydrangea. We trimmed tiny pieces to make sure green growth was coming through. All is well. We can see growth in every bush. Great Success!

We tidied the beds, repositioned mulch around all the bushes, re-established firm placement and trimmed dead growth from the Pansies. This will encourage them to bloom once more. And we “deep edged” half of the largest bed. On our next nice day we’ll put in a couple more hours to finish what we refer to as our “mid -winter clean- up.”  It was necessary. To finalize and provide a finished look, we raked the entire property. Believe it…. we had four bags of debris for the community yard dumpster.

Video above is for the two hours completed yesterday.
It was such fun…..and we left our client very pleased.

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Please do think about scheduling some mid winter clean and tidy time with us. Next week is looking promising for milder temps. We are happy to work around your schedule and if you happen to work from home,  we can confer in person once we arrive, to commence with your work requests. It’s a great time to trim bushes and clear under them. A fresh new look. “Give it a go.”

We thank you for your support, and we always enjoy meeting up with you when we come round.

”CONTESSA” says…..It’s a good thing!

God is Faithful

 

2 Corinthians 5-7

We will walk by faith, not by sight.

*****
Good  Morning Lord, 

…. my Lord…sometimes I  feel far away from you. My path to heaven seems like a long journey. But I know that you are with me on my way to joy…..with you in heaven. My vision is sometimes limited, but you see my personal journey to fulfillment. I desire to always trust you and keep taking small steps in my faith-walk. If I get discouraged, I pray for your encouragement to remind me that my path is guided completely by you. In your hands, I place all my problems and limitations.

Help me to always remember that you alone had to suffer, so that my path to heaven and eternal life would be open for me. Thank you for clearing the way for me to be with you in heaven.  Amen.

John 14:6
Jesus said to [Thomas]

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.”

Psalm 16:11

You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

 

Gratitude for Wisdom and Direction

Psalm 139.14

Good Morning my Holy Father,

….you who are all-knowing of me. Please teach me your ways. I humbly ask for your wisdom and insight in my gardening assignments. I want to learn and to understand more, so that I can walk in this path you lay before me. Teach me to listen carefully. Teach me to resist any selfish temptations, and to share my knowledge in a teaching, but humble and helpful way. As I do this I learn more. You are all knowing and it is my hearts desire to please you. I want to build a more beautiful world in your honor. I thank you for this foundation that you helped me create. I am grateful for your calling, and this opportunity to work in my occupation that I not only love, but helps me to learn and enjoy my work with a full and thankful heart. I feel very blessed to receive this work and your generous provisions. You Father are very wise, so please nurture me in your path. I seek to spread the love we share with each other – to the people I am working for. It is all my honor to be with you in your earthly gardens. All glory and honor to you, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen 

 

Contessa’s Gardening – 1200 Block Martha Custis (REVISED – 1/24/22 – 4:30 pm)

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Today we are looking back at some completed and some ongoing projects from last year, 2021.  We take videos of our work from the beginning, up to the point of the seasons completion. We thought we would share a project that was a referral. This clients next door neighbor used our services. Referrals are always welcome. We think it’s good to show folks just what progress has been made. And it’s also great for us to view these projects as a reminder of things that we can pick up on for this next year. Our clients rely on us to touch base with them to discuss what we can do for them as each new gardening season approaches. We enjoy seeing these  “before and after” videos. In many cases we’ve come a long way. We have quite a list of clients at this point, and each year we meet so many new folks as well. And our PFF community office now refers to us when you call the office as the “communities gardener.”

It is our pleasure to spruce up and tidy your yards. We live in such a fantastic community and the more we all care for our properties the better Parkfairfax gets. It’s such a pleasure to work with all of you, and we are really looking forward to spring 2022.

Please plan your consultation now, for the month of April. It is honestly not too early to do so. Our calendar will fill up very quickly. Each year you all call at the same time and to be fair to everyone, current and brand new clients, we want very much to be able to accommodate everyone without causing too much delay. As you know, once we start, it tends to “commence” pretty quickly. We are ready to take appointments now.

Thank you very much,

The Garden Contessa

 

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REVISED – 1/24/22 / 4:30 pm 

Our text is somewhat lengthy and we included videos, but we think a compiled list of specific tasks might be helpful for your consideration. This then gives you a “soup to nuts” perspective on the total package of the work we completed.

• Invitation was set to trim all bushes ( they were all very overgrown and growing into each other) We trimmed them 15 inches from the ground, and away from the back brick wall 20 inches. A clean, tidy and manageable distance for being able to properly care for them, without being crowded and making it much easier and more manageable to care for them. This had never been done. Now they look fresh and have lots of room for new growth, and it’s an extremely tidy and clean appearance.  And everything will bloom much better

• Cut back all summer/fall plant bed growth

• Transplant and divide  three (3) Lenten Rose making more plants for next year.

• Trim all undergrowth away from under the bushes. Allowing for easier access to clean up the beds

• Remove all plants from the center courtyard. Thirty years worth of old and “has been” Hostas. (plans now include a visit to the nursery in the spring, to select new hardy perennial plantings at our clients cost) new plants or bushes to stand the test of time. Most  likely flowering

• Mulch all beds.  Haul away 10 bags of dead growth and debris to the community dump

• Rake the property and edge the beds

This project, for two units, side -by-side was billed at a total of six (6) hours.

We hope this gives you a perspective on everything we were tasked with doing. We certainly look forward to helping this great client again in the spring. We have created a friendship and an ongoing client. And other members of this courtyard  have expressed an interest in using our service this year, 2032.

“CONTESSA” says:  It’s a good thing”

Indoor and Outdoor Design

So many ideas. We have a huge interest in so many different venues. Gardening is our number #1 passion, but today we were reminiscing so many different things we enjoy and our photo library is so large,  we decided to share some “favs” with you. It’s interesting that once you have design in your blood it seems to carry  over into so many avenues of interest. From time to time we will share from our photos collection.  ENJOY!