Gardened Today – Mt Eagle Place

We stared at 10:30 am. Our client works from home so we’re able to consult with her on the project. We have been giving advice about trimming bushes and guiding this client with the PFX Buildium task process. She finally decided to retain us. This is a very simple front yard bed clean up. This video is a “before” shot as we began our work for her.

We spent four hours edging, cleaning up the beds, trimming bushes, laying fresh garden soil and finally a topper of hardwood bark mulch. It’s looking fresh for sure. And we raked the yard. Folks forget that even though this area is often referred to as common ground, it’s important to rake dead grass and remove leaves, and to water. We see so many yards dry as a bone. PFX actually encourages watering two days a week. Very early morning is preferred, or later in the evening. But your trees, bushes and your garden beds will appreciate a drink. Care for your yard as if it were your own. It will reward you.

Our todays “after” video. The right side bed only. We are back next week on Tuesday to finish the left bed as we prepare this nice spot for the winter season.

Our lovely attorney, homeowner sent a note tonight to say how pleased she is with our work. Very Nice!!

Thank You Aggie…..see you next week on Tuesday.

”Contessa”.

Gardening Today – 1400 block – Martha Custis (Revised – 2 pm)

Today we pick up where we left off a week ago at this clients back yard area. Her front is ready for spring and PFX, upon request, did come came to trim back some lower branches of her tall Crape Myrtle. It looks so much better and she can now climb in the bed and accomplish cleanup without having to bend way down

Today we will focus on the garden beds which are fairly bare. Decisions about amending the soil, laying mulch and a final cleanup of the slate patio. On our last visit all the bushes were trimmed back

Our goal today is to provide preparation for spring planting with tidy beds for a fresh start in the spring. And with this homeowner we will provide a plan for plant selections. Our homeowner is a gardener but with a new position at her company, she us pretty stretched to execute. In the spring we will be planting for her.

We had a very busy September and her flexibility for us to come as we had openings was much appreciated. So we have been working for her throughout Sept and Oct. It’s been an easy and low key, no rush project.

The weather is fabulous so…..Away We Go!

”You all” have a beautiful day in your garden. Our thoughts and our prayers are with you always

Blessings from,

“Contessa”

FOR TODAY – we may do more next week.

Martha Custis -Rental Property, Re-Do (REVISED. 10/20, 2:45 pm

This Video is the right and left beds – prior to any work

Yesterday we began this new project located across from Park East Condominium on Martha Custis. A lovely well kept courtyard and it would appear mostly longer term residents. The townhouse we are working at has established garden beds, but the homeowner is located out-of-state with the Air Force. His tenants are secured through military transfers so they tend to be three to five year occupancies. The last tenant added a ton of plantings and so our homeowner would like to re-do. We started work on the small bed next to the door on the left. Only three items there. One extremely overgrown Azalea, one unhealthy Knock-Out Rose bush and one very weathered Yellow Mum. Now that the bed floor is cleaned up and all three bushes have been trimmed way back, we can consult with our homeowner. We have several recommendations. A txt went to our client last night and we are waiting to hear back. Four hours today on this project and our homeowner wants honest input on how we wish to proceed.

Next week we will be back on Monday and Tuesday. We’ll post our collaboration ideas with the homeowner here. Our initial conversations during our “site visit” suggested a complete overhaul. It will be interesting to hear their ideas and attempt to mesh them with ours. So far it’s good work and cleanup is very satisfying. Stay tuned!

“Contessa”

Attached is our video of yesterday’s clean-up work

Also included one snapshot of the bed in progress.


We visited the nursery on Wednesday. A dreary dampish day. The bushes we were looking for looked rather spent. So the plan is to finish clearing and cleaning up all the beds. Next spring we will do the planting since new bushes will be plentiful. So it’s going to be a two part project. The focus for this week is clean out the beds, trim everything back and lay fresh new rich garden soil. Yes it is pricey. But frankly one inch down was all thick mucky clay. Not desirable for planting new expensive bushes at about $50 a pop. It’s been a pleasure to advise this client. He totally gets it, The medicine we are prescribing is to offer a future for his garden beds. And since he rents it out and is stationed in Texas he needs “the fix” we suggest to last and to thrive.

This video is the entire right bed clean up and two photos iof a good start in laying the new rich soil. We will finish next Tuesday we are pretty sure. And then we post our Final Video.

FINAL VIDEO

The project ended up at 15 hours.  Our out-of-state owner is thrilled with the transformation. Best part is, he is looking forward already to new spring plantings.  We will be “at the ready” to assist  Let’s hope the new washer/dryer and refrigerator arrive soon, so he can get it rented.   It’s a very nice property.

We so enjoyed this  project.  Our homeowner was easy to work with long distance. On our end, it felt like a seamless transaction. We are preparing his invoice now. He provided an advance deposit and we will now txt his final balance.  Easy-peezy!!

We are very grateful for hard, but satisfying work. Blessings!!

”Contessa”

Tuesday Evening 10/12 Update

Our client has now asked us to lay hardwood bark mulch in the beds.  We hope to complete this on Saturday.  The “final” touch. It’s all good.

FINALE – Wednesday 10/20 – 2:45 pm 

Faithfulness

 

1 John 5: 14-15

God is always by your side and listening to your prayers

“And we are confident that He hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know He hears us when we make our requests, we also know that He will give us what we ask for.”

Prayer

Jesus I give you thanks this morning for your faithfulness. You are always upholding my life. I wish to be faithful to you. I want to honor you by giving you an offering of my gardening work today. I have a lovely assignment for a last years client. She is a kind and sweet soul. May I do good work for her, and while I am there, may I share your wonderful promise…….faithfulness. She has a very hard and stressful employment situation. Relocating and helping to settle the people of Afghanistan. I ask for her safety and that good health is with her while she is entrenched in this humanitarian relocation effort. Please be with her in faithfulness.

I thank you for your every present faithfulness in my life. Thank you for good health, stamina to complete my work, and for bringing me the work I enjoy. You are so faithful to me. I find my gardening missions a great blessing. I wish to always honor you, as you are faithful to always provide this work for me. I know you are always by my side. Hear my humble and faithful prayer this morning. Amen

We’re Back – on Preston Road (Revised 9/30)

This is a last years video.

We completed work for our client, but as you can see, the bed is sparsely populated and definitely needs our touch. So our client called last week and this morning we visited the garden center to select new plants. We will do our regular clean up and also plant new selections. Our client gave us a generous budget and we purchased plants we think will do well in a very shaded garden bed. We purchased a new blue Hydrangea called Endless Summer and two evergreens and some ferns and a nice selection of  Coral Bells. And we are adding a ground cover for fill in between plants. It’s called Ajuga. 

Before we left this morning to head to the nursery we stopped and took a video of how it currently looks. Definitely, they need our fall spruce up.

Tomorrow we will begin the work and will post a final video once we finish.

It’s our pleasure as this is a lovely client and she needs our help. Looking forward to it. We think we will be working a full day. Weather suggest some rain, but it’s all good.

”Contessa”

REVISED today 9/29

We have completed our work for our client today. We finished up with a total ofvfive hours today. It’s looking very good. Our lovely client will come home this evening to our final contribution. We are pretty confidant she is going to be pleased. As a courtesy for such great work, we are going to water daily through October 4th, gratis!  New plantings require a boost. We are pleased to provide this little extra. And we have convinced her to have us come once a week in Oct and Nov to keep things tidy

This was a fun project in that we were able to make all the plant selections and execute as we wished. A dream job honestly. Little supervision and a “carte blanche”  to do our thing. Our pleasure.

”Contessa”

FINAL VIDEO

9/24 Site Visit/Free Consult, and Back Yard Clean Up at 1400 Block of Martha Custis (REVISED 9/25)

Visiting and FREE first time consult on Mt Eagle to check out a shady front yard bed. Customer is requesting recommendation, selection and planting of two larger bushes for the area near her stairway near the front. She  is removing low lying plants, combining all her Lenten Roses (4)  and we will add the new bushes. We will select appropriate bushes at Merrifield during our Sunday visit. Hopefully we can find flowering perennial good sized  bushes. Our job is to recommend and then she will decide. Our seniors in PFF still want to maintain their areas but they need help, so it’s our pleasure to recommend and do the planting.

A single shot and Video of her area. 

Our homeowners garden beds are tidy but rather spread out and smallish. Her goal is to “fill in.”  We will take care of her. It’s all good.

*******

At 9:30 am we were back at our Martha Custis location from last week. This time the back yard. We became so absorbed in proceeding with this project we neglected to take our “before” video. So in the morning we will go by and video what we’ve done so far. As it turns out, we may be on this project slightly longer –  as our resident realizes that getting the beds and patio in order is just one phase. We need to level the beds, select suitable plants, abate the soil and finish tidying. She is garden savvy so will help with plant selection. The project is to bring it to a place for robust spring planting. It is a very shaded patio so we will be challenged to find suitable “shade loving bushy perennials that are tidy and low maintenance. Merrifield has such a vast selection of plants to choose from we are certain we can find great plants. And we will be treating the slate pavers with a weed treatment to get it to a place where repeat weeding is minimal.  A great project and very cordial client and yet again very good work. We love it, and our fabulous weather is such a wonderful contributor to this project.

Posting current video with progress so far, tomorrow……stay tuned!

“Contessa”

Gardening Yesterday and Today -Martha Custis Drive – 1400 block (REVISED POSTING)

BEFORE

We started at 7:30. Basically lots of undergrowth and trimming of overgrown and crowded bushes. They  need-definition so they don’t  overlap. It creates an untidy and very drowned look. And it affects good growth. We cleared and edged the border of front of the bed. Beds are infested with Morning Glory Vine and  Vinca Vine. Beds are full of dead debris. We anticipate four hours for this project.

Let’s see how it goes.

AFTER

Three hours today to finalize. The total project took 5.5 hours. And we have been invited back next week to do what we do in the back yard.  Looking forward to it. Our client seems very pleased. She is in negotiation to purchase this property from the current owner. Very nice as her little boy attends Charles Barrett Elementary School within walking distance. it’s a great property in that it’s on complete level ground and direct access from the street to her from door. A prime location we think. Anxious to serve her next week. It was fun and so satisfying. Looks great.

“Contessa”

Gardening Today – Rose Bushes Install (Revised)

Yesterday we took another trip to the Garden Center at Merrifield. Selection is so much fun and this garden center has a massive amount of Knock Out Roses to choose from. Our new client referral who saw the bushes at our previous clients yard – decided they wanted red rose bushes as well. While there we did a little browsing. Honestly you feel like you are in heaven. Such beauty. So many varieties and we were early, so we had leisure time before the Sunday buying folks arrived. Because we have a corporate account we are blessed to receive a very nice discount which we do pass on to our customers. They are always delighted to find this out. It was a quick trip and we were back to Alexandria in about an hour and a half. Nice timing…..so we could enjoy the remainder of our Sunday.

Install will be this morning  – beginning at 7:30 am.  Time to roll…..

“Contessa”

Revised/ one bush added, second to go in now. Pansies added across brick border.  Complete by Noon.

 

Completion at 1007 Beverley Drive

This was a wonderful project. We did most of the work over a month ago. The main bed was full of Ivy. That is how the project began. Today we finalized the planting of six new bushes and laying 10 bags of mulch. Raked the entire yard, watered for about an hour and lastly planted some pansies. Looking good. We are proud to deliver this yard completed to our client. It was a labor of love.

We begin two new projects next week. Both very different. It’s going to be a very warm week with temps in the 90’s so we will be out and about by 7 am. It works. We are able to finish each day by 1 pm. Very happy to have new work. We are blessed.

Thank you……my Lord.

“Contessa”

Beverley Drive – Bushes Selection Complete

Tomorrow we will complete our bushes install. Our bed was full of Ivy and so we have removed it all – over a month ago. We have been waiting to select and plant, because of our intense summer heat. And our homeowner was in Rhode Island for a month. We’ve beautiful bushes and are very excited to get them planted. Then we will tidy up the beds and  finally add a light dressing of bark chip mulch. It should be great. Some bulbs will be installed towards the end of October and some smaller perennials as fillers for the perimeter of the beds. It’s coming together.  We will take a video upon completion. This is the fun and satisfying part of the creation. We have three “Crimson” baby blossom Azaleas, two Berry Red Knock Out Rose bushes and one “Original/Traditional Blue Hydrangea.”

All the bushes were just delivered at the end of August so we have the most recent plants the nursery had in their very plentiful inventory. It’s all a very good thing.” 

“Contessa”