Contessa’s Signature Service

Our ongoing clients usually have us four times per year. So what exactly does a Contessa Signature Service include?

• Weeding all beds
• Pulling and trimming along brick borders; we will reset stones, bricks and any border that has recessed deep into the edge or that has moved a from a straight position
• Trimming/pruning all bushes
• Deadheading all blooming plants
• Amending soil as needed and refreshing soil around existing plantings; giving them a boost.
• Transplanting/dividing and plant relocations as requested
• Deep Edging all bed borders
• Cutting back all dead growth
• Mulching beds upon request
• Fertilizing spring and late fall.
• Raking all lawns, removing dead grass and rejuvenating new growth after mowers have weighed them flat all summer.
• Complete Watering (watering maintenance offered by the month)
• Final “Tidy” to all the sidewalks; remove all leaves and gather all leaf, twig and branch debris in large paper debris bags; positioning curbside for PFX to pick up at your location.

Our clients pretty much know the drill now, and they completely rely on us to come, execute and “do our thing,” They trust us  They leave us to our work and usually they communicate by txt from indoors, if they have requests or suggestions.

We also offer “monthly maintenance plans” that include three day a week visits to water, complete “light tidy” and leaf removal and sidewalk tidy. Please  do call and inquire about this service. Once you get used to it, you will be hooked. Its way worth subscribing too. All of our last years clients retained us from June through the end of November. It’s our pleasure and we are pretty certain “their JOY.”

We love what we are doing and clients know that we treat their garden work, as if we were working in our own yard. A  personal but professional approach.

Please do contact us if you have questions or would like to book with us, for a 30-minute “free gardening consultation.”

“Contessa” says….. it’s a very good thing!

One job….for the record books (REVISED ) Wed – 1/4 – 3:10 pm

Day 1

36 degrees by 9:30 am on Thursday 12/29 and imagine that we are gardening today. It was in the mid/teens most of the days during the Christmas holidays.so the earth is fairly cold  but only two if the night were in the teens  so we don’t think the duration of intense cold was enough to freeze everything underground  

Our repeat client has had a bucket load of family issues. So for her the fall season slipped away from her radar. But…. Steady-Edfie, moi’ is going to her house this morning to dig up 200 Daffodil bulbs from years of being covered by deep dirt and mulch. Ha! They might just bloom this spring if we can dig them up and bring them more to the surface. Cover with, and add some new soil…. plus spread them out in the generous bed she has.

VA winter weather can be unpredictable. 25 degrees one day and 65 the next. And although we are not quite that warm, we are going to complete this task. And some very well established “Iris” need to be moved as well. Total will be around 5 hours.

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Day 2

Please stay tuned for a final wrap up and a video with the bulbs planted. We are positioning them about only 5 inches deep, because we will add more mulch. It turns out our client divided them up into large (32), medium (90) and very small, over 100. We will find neighbors to give them too. Typically when bulbs are tiny they just have become so overcrowded in the bed,  and are so compact they are unable to produce. So all in all,  this “dig and divide” process was way overdue. We are hopefully going to see the 32 bulbs produce lovely blooms come spring, which is really not that far off. Oh what a blessing. We can’t wait!

“Contessa”

(REVISED) Wed – 3:10 pm – 1/4

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We promised a “final” video, so there you have it  32 latest bulbs spaced nicely in the bed and covered back up with the mulch that was originally covering the bed. I have  ordered  a 2 cu ft bag if the “black” Quail Ridge shredded mulch from the nursery in MD because supplies are low Post Christmas at the Alexandria location. It should be here Sat,  so we’ll spread in just in case we get a hard freeze in the remaining winter days. After all our hard work to recover the bulbs we surely don’t want to loose them …. and we must admit we are slightly out of sync with Mother Nature on this project.  But with a little luck and a prayer we will produce blooms come late March or early April. It was such a fun project and our homeowner admitted that first thing each morning, she goes right to her window to keep her eye out for any new “popping up.” from her little guys. Awesomeness!

Wildflowers in Iowa at the Farm

          FOXGLOVE – Digitalis

Dearest Lord, I’ve been thinking about my roots. My cousin sent me some pictures last night of native and rare prairie flowers at the farm in Marshall County, Iowa. I am unable to share them as he has restrictions on copying. But receiving them reminds me that I come from the roots of these plants. I’m thinking that it’s taken me 75 years to find myself working with soil and Your earth. I cannot tell you how privileged I am to serve your purpose as I tend gardens. It’s definitely where you have planted me. Thank you Father my God. You are my Father and have been since I was a child, as my earthly Father was absent. But You alone have brought me the comfort that I needed. You have always been very loving, kind and nurturing. I always counted on your love for me. But I do not wish to ever take your love for granted. “Teach me your way, oh Lord” was my prayer, “and when I grow old,  I will not depart from it.”

The Iowa farm is alive and well and is being planted and harvested every year. My cousin shares progress every week with me. He is one of my only relatives remaining from a very large Irish immigrant “prairie settling family.” He and I are blessed to share stories with each other of our childhood days on the farm. I treasure these memories and we both are thankful to You, our almighty and gracious God,  for our farming heritage. My Lord and my God, I cling to your goodness and your provisions both materially and most importantly, spiritually. Thank you Father in Heaven.  Amen.

       NATIVE WILD CONEFLOWER