Hello Current Clients of Contessa

I hope you are all reaching a point of spring expectation. I think by April we will be able to schedule initial visits. Checking out what survived and what is doing well, and setting up semi-solid appointments to begin some real spring tidy and preliminary gardening. Weather is always our definitive.

This year I am requesting that everyone purchase the products that I will need to tend your gardens. In many cases you will receive more adequate and fair pricing, if you will order these items yourself. Amazon has most of the items. This will facilitate my efforts a great deal, as going to purchase, transport and choose is just more efficient if you order online. If you need assistance however, I’m happy to consult with you.

The products I have listed are certainly universal to all of you. If you feel you don’t need a product please send me a txt msg and we can discuss.

I am very much looking forward to planting, carrying for and transitioning your yards back to spring/summer beauty.

If you wish to subscribe again this year to our ongoing “maintenance” program from June through the end of November…our plan will increase this year to $200/month. Please let me know as soon as you can as I have a couple folks on a waiting list. I want to serve everyone well. Same consistent care of your yards, but at $5.00 a day last year, it really was an overwhelming amount of work, and so this year we are raising our fee to compensate. It will now come to roughly $7/day. Very fair we believe. Our hourly “job rate” will remain at $50/hour for 2023/this year. Next year it will increase to $60/hour.  We feel that letting you know now….is very important.

So here are the products we need all of you to purchase prior to our arrival. Questions? Certainly phone us. We are happy to discuss.

AMAZON
Visit the Aqua Joe Store

4.6 out of 5 stars28,829Reviews

Aqua Joe SJI-OMS16 Indestructible Metal Base Oscillating Sprinkler with Adjustable Spray, 3600-Square Foot Coverage

#1 Best Seller in Lawn & Garden Sprinklers

Please order (2) bags

2/5 pks at $2.76 each

$10 to $12  (1 bottle)

Please order (2)

(Fertilizer Wand – Please order/purchase 2/one for spring and one for fall)

Fertilizer for hydrangeas – to acidify and maintain “blue” blossoms with a nitrogen supplement  (1 bag) Approx $20

••••••••••••

We look forward to a great season and to seeing you all again very soon. If you wish to go to the nursery with us, let us consider new plant selections in May. That is the recommended and common planting protocol in Virginia.

Happy Spring to all…….!

Penny

The Garden Contessa

The Garden Contessa – New Business Cards

Heads Up…….all gardening patrons…..

We received new business cards on Saturday. Please make a note of our “change of mailing address.”

Starting this month (March, 2023) we are now advertising in the Parkfairfax and the Fairlington Newsletters. Both publications come out within the first week of each month. We hope you will be pleased we are broadening our reach.
Please do look for us.

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

“ROUNDS” and our CONTESSA Signature Services

“ROUNDS”  What are they?

We provided ongoing maintenance on a regular basis for several of our clients this year. This service is what we call our “Rounds.” You don’t need to call because we automatically come round to provide services.

Today is our last day of “Rounds” until Spring. We will be visiting each current “rounds” client today to make sure they are tidied and ready for winter. We completed late fall clean up for all of them. This included a fresh mulch application at the Final. Their beds were tidied and watered regularly. In some cases additional work such as planting winter bloomers and bulbs and everything needed additional trimming. These projects are scheduled as “work” by appt  and are billed at our regular hourly rate.

If you’ve interest or an inquiry about “Rounds,” as we are out-and-about today, be sure to give us a shout. It’s not too late to sign up for spring. Our “rounds”

service means you will regularly be visited. Tidied, Watered and personally looked after and visited. Your Flowers will be dead-headed and you’ll be notified if we feel extended work is needed.

This is a unique ongoing spring/summer service that we now offer. A subscription is offered at a minimum of six months. We do not offer summer short term watering for vacations.

Each year the number of clients has grown .So do let us know if yoyr interest as soon as you can. We just last week added a new residence to our list. We will adjust staffing needs accordingly depending on how many of you we will have…,going forward. So far for next spring, we have six households enrolled. Payment by the month is available for six month sign ups. Folks pay via VENMO, check or cash

We appreciate all of you. You are fantastic clients and we do enjoy serving you.

Please remember that during our winter months of Dermber January and February, on warmer sunny days into the new year, we can still provide some services. Please keep that in mind.

Thank you for a busy and very rewarding 2022!

“CONTESSA”

 

Our Lady….Beverley Drive…FINAL Fall Tidy (REVISED) Tuesday by – 11/15 – 4:53 pm

IN PROCESS

On Thursday we began a front yard clean up and final fall tidy at this corner property. Beds are looking pretty rough. Lack of water was tough this summer,  even though we watered the property a lot as our client subscribed to our summer maintenance and watering plan

The yard and her beds are packed full  of Pin Oak leaves, the front hedge needed trimming, Pansies we’re suffering from leaf suffocation and the squirrels were eating their flowers, and her two new Gardenia’s are very much struggling to survive. We aren’t sure why. Anyway, we plan to carefully  cut them back today, and we are hopeful for renewed growth next spring. We will trim carefully, add new garden soil around the base and mulch well.

The best news is that her two Camellias that we planted last spring are just blooming now. So very pretty. They are smallish bushes, but will grow more this year. She is so excited and so are we.

Headed there first thing this morning to complete and ready her sweet yard for winter. Our pleasure.

Stay tuned. We will post final video later this afternoon.

“Contessa” says…, it’s all good!

REVISED – Sun – 11/13/32 – 2:38 pm 

Continued Progress

Close to completion. But about 1.5 hours more might do it. We still have mulch to spread;3 bags, and a Begonia and Geraniums to pot up to bring indoors  for the winter months. We brought them in last year for  our client and they produced amazingly well this summer, so we are going to go for it once again. Making our homeowner pretty happy to “save” and replant next spring. It’s a savings ….but more than that,  it’s the gardeners challenge we are interested in. Its so fun to watch a plant live the winter in its dormant phase indoors, work to keep it healthy, and then to plant it up once again for spring “re-growth.”’

We have 7.5 hours in this  project and we are booked on Monday at another location, so we will return on Tuesday to wrap it up. Today we  went by to water everything well near the roots/ground because a pretty chilly cold snap has moved into our area. And while at this, we stopped  at the homes of our other “maintenance clients” just t check on the status of their plants too. So far, everything is looking pretty good.

If you can…..do check back with us to see the completion of this project. It’s been fun, and great to tend and care for each plant individually,  in our “ladies” lovely garden.

Happy Sabbath Day!

Now….take the time to relax and rest for the remainder of our “Lords special day.”

…..and on the 7th day He rested !

COMPLETION

(REVISED) Tuesday – 11/15 –  4:53 pm 

Today we  completed this 8.5 hour project. The final laying of three, 3 cu ft bags of mulch, watering all and using our leaf blower for a final property tidy. It’s looking really good. Each plant and bush had new soil put around it. Dead or dried out branches and flower buds were removed. Rose bushes treated with Neem Oil to prevent any pests, coffee grounds added around the Hydrangea, because they love it for good growth,  and finally, Blood Meal compound added around all the plants to deter the squirrels from digging to bury their nuts. ha!

We love this yard which has come a long way, and we love this client. Easy to do work for and she trusts us. It’s pure pleasure to work for her. And now we are good until about March. We will stop by periodically to keep her deep outer edging defined and clear of all debris. It just provides  a clean and finished look to any yard that we take care of and us fantastic  “curb appeal.”

The last thing we will do for her this year is string her mini tree lights (with a remote) on to her two mini trees in the Urns. And we help assist her with mailing all her holiday parcels.

it is good to serve…. and to help others who need a little extra assistance during the holiday season.  Our pleasure and our personal blessing.

“Contessa” says…..it’s all good!

A Garden Contessa Week

We had a good week after five days of rain. So good to be planting flowers and doing some tidying. We’ve added one new property on Friday which we will serve once again on Monday next.

Two properties we served today….. we will take pics of tomorrow morning when we complete our customer “rounds.”  We offered continuous service during our summer months and the clients are carrying over into fall. Folks are busy and so they rely on us to “take good care.”  It helps us tremendously because we can keep up on their work so that their places are continuously in good shape. It was a quite busy summer,  and we think carrying our “maintenance service” over to fall is great as well.  It just makes sense. They all asked to continue so we are happy to bridge over to our new season. It just goes to show that folks are busy and they still need us. We love serving

More pics coming tomorrow so please stay tuned

“Contessa” says …. It’s all good! 

Autumn is here…..

…. a lovely time of the year. Our gardening tasks take on a new dimension. It is preparation for winter time hibernation…….but it’s also preparing beds for “springs awakening.”

Time now that  our rainy days are behind us, we can now proceed with fall tidying and bed cleanup, and we still have time to plant during October.

Be sure to book us if you have intention. We are filling up fast, but want to serve everyone, so call us now to book our calendar.

Oh..and enjoy our gorgeous fall season. it’s full of magic! 

“Contessa”  says…. It’s all good.

Beverley Drive….Early Fall Cleanup

Contessa’s completes fall clean up for every one of our clients. But this year, we are offering early fall cleanup. It’s just necessary because we have had such a dry summer and a slightly early fall. Leaves and debris, branches and limbs are falling from the trees and our lawns are bone dry. We rake your whole yard removing the spent grass that’s been laying there after the lawnmowers have come round. Frankly that dead grass just mats down your grass growth. Raking it brings new life to your grass and if it’s watered during our early fall, in just a few days it green’s up. It’s so exciting to see.

Today we worked 2.5 hours at this property tending the beds and the grass. We are about half way to completion. And we worked one hour on the patio cleaning up all the leaves. Two tress, one in the front and one in the back are so prolific. They are huge and dropping a ton of leaves this year because of our drought. They are Pin Oaks.

This property is an end unit and has come a long way. We’ve transformed the beds and planted all new bushes. It’s been a work in progress but it’s looking better and better each year.

We are pleased to be this clients gardener. It’s great work,  a very congenial relationship and we think our client is very happy. We are here to help. Our pleasure. Please stay tuned for a final completion video.

“Contessa” says…it’s all good.

Valley Drive….Phase 2….inside the Courtyard (REVISED) Fri – 9/16 – 7:06 pm

We have been working with this client about two months. No work had been completed in five years. We’ve completed a total cleanup of the perimeter of the property, removed tons of plant life that was mostly green and we have created new perennial flowers beds. 

Today we started a total clean up of the inner part of this courtyard. English Boxwoods enclose this courtyard. They were in desperate need of inner trimming. Tons of dead growth. A cleanup today will encourage lots of unew healthy growth. Our goal is to bring them back to box style as they should be. Simple neglect can be fixed. It’s simply about careful trimming, tidying the soil in the beds and watering.
Tomorrow we are back to continue with this project. Our time will be spent finishing the bushes on the left side of the property and then tilling the soil and tidying the right side which is now full of new perennial plantings.  It’s coming along. We are delighted to continue and this client, gives us a free reign to take care of his property. We complete the work, keep track of our hours and bill every ten hours.
One of our newest payment enhancements is using VENMO. Clients seem to love it. Very hassle free.  And for us it totally works.

We trust you will stay tuned to this project as we post additional work progress

“Contessa” says…..it’s all good!

REVISED – Fri – 9/16 – 7:06 pm 

Today we completed Phase 3. The flowers bed.
It has bloomed very nicely all summer. Everything has grown. And today we first used our new “leaf blower” to clean the bed of all debris. Then we hand tilled – on hands and knees all the soil in the bed. Propping up each plant as needed with existing soil and cutting back any dead growth as needed. The newly transplanted Coneflowers in particular needed cutting back. They have seen their best days. And now the new Pink Muhly Grasses show up much better. We then added the quantity of 80 lbs of new rich organic soil in and around every plant in this flower bed. We even put new soil around all the Pencil Boxwoods. Our client has mentioned on a few occasions that he did not see the need.  Well we convinced him that for new things to grow well… it’s very important. Thus us the first client who could not see the need. If I’m to cultivate and care for this Garden….. it is a necessity. First off,  it helps protect the plants for the winter, 2nd it gives the whole bed a fresh and tidy look and third it’s organic material. There is Compost and Maneur and Fertilizer and organic waste in this $11.04 bag of soil. And we spread two bags. $22.08 in total. A very small investment….but he will see the end result. Things will begin to grow like mad, and they will “green…up” (chlorophyll) and this will become very evident. He gave in… in the end. A new gardener who is learning process. We understand.

And so tonight we send you our todays work video until late fall….or if he may decides to plant more things.  He is looking into adding some bulbs.  Purple Delphiniums in particular was one he likes. He will select…I will plant.
And he mentioned that once the summer flowers completely die back that he wants to add some “winter blooming” flowers. We talked about White Camellias, perhaps some Lily of the Valley or some Lenten Roses.

We will wait to hear from him.  He also has a great selection of English Boxwoods, so a few small “ball shaped” Boxwoods might be nice for fill in.  He dies not like to see soil or mulch. Hex wants very full and lush beds. The budget is flexible so we will browse at the nursery the first week in October when we go out with another client. I’m certain we can find some new things to plant.

It’s fun to create a look and it’s also fun forus to do the work. We are pleased to work for this new client….. our first season with him. We’ve both enjoyed the process and we think he’s pretty content with our collaborations. Fun!!

AFTER

Once again “Contessa” says…..it’s all good:

Valley Drive – back bordering property ….a continuation

The outside of the courtyard is complete……

Now to get inside the courtyard and trim. Also included will be the tall Boxwoods. Towards the bottom I’m taking off three inches. This will allow for tidying in and under when PFX comes to trim them. Otherwise all the cut debris lays there, dries out and blows all over the patio. Makes for a very untidy patio and very messy garden beds. And once the bushes inside have been trimmed back,  then I’ll finalize tidying the planted beds.  Added we’re all new Perennyals this year.

I stopped the deep edge at the end because our owner thinks the neighbor might think he’s encroaching. I’ll convince him otherwise. That neighbor never uses his patio and frankly I’m guessing he will never even go out there and see it. 

It’s looking pretty fresh we think. And we raised the bed slightly by creating this deep edging, all that soil was tossed up into the mounded bed. It gives such a professional appearance. So far we have five (5) hours on this outside border phase

Please do stay tuned to our accomplishing the trimming and tidying inside this lovely courtyard. This is a really nice property and every day it’s looking better. We are very pleased so far.

“Contessa” says……it’s a good thing.

Announcement……

Hello Gardening Friend’s,

The Garden Contessa plans to participate in our community yard sale along  with other artists/crafters and entrepreneurs. Our tables will be grouped together.

And 32 other Parkfairfax residents will be participating as well.  The largest yard sale ever this year. it should be a lot of fun.

So far our vendor group will include:

1.  Pawetry In Motion  https://www.facebook.com/FunnyDogPoet

2.  Blooms of Paradise   https://bloomsofparadise.com/

3. Art by Jim and Tommye (watercolor)

4. Tumbleweed Design (watercolor)

5. Millie Rose Clay Company Instagram@millierose__clayco

6. Rare Bird Press (wood prints)

7. Happily Hyers Sweets  – cupcakes

8. The Garden Contessa (www.Contessas.net

Please stop by and visit us.  We will give away two (2) $25.00 gift certificates for your use with a “confirmed fall clean-up” booking.

 First  come….first served!

We will have yard sale items available as well. Some of which will include, remaining inventory from our former Delray store…..Contessa’s Garden and Gift, LLC 

We look forward to seeing all of you Saturday, October 1.

Thank You!