Do you consider yourself a fairly handy person? You can dig a hole, put a plant in, and water it or maybe you think you can use a level to build yourself a patio, steps, etc. But you wonder, how do we get to that point? What plants are best suited to your location? How deep do you need to dig the blocks in? How much can I accomplish with my budget?

Our landscape designers have been working with homeowners for over 30 years to improve their yards, and we can help you too! Here are some of the questions you should ask yourself: Is my yard sunny or shady? Will I actually do much maintenance? What do I want to be able to do in my yard? We have created a homeowner worksheet for you to fill out, just print it, fill it out, and bring it into the store for the most specialized landscape design!

In the next article, you can read a letter about Tim A., a customer who has worked on his landscaping, one project at a time, for the last 2 summers. Tim tackled a couple of ambitious projects including a new front stoop and a raised walkway. Please read Tim's letter and see some of his before and after photos. It is quite impressive what one man can accomplish with quality products, good advice, and an iron back!

"I could not have attempted this project without the help I received from Chris and all the folks at Tholen's. I consulted with them during all phases of this multi year project and received dependable advice at all times. Their willingness to share their expertise pertaining to retaining walls and pavers is what made my project turn out as great as it did. I would whole heartedly recommend Tholen's to anyone considering a paver or retaining wall project."

- Tim Arseneau

Lately, we have been getting a lot of phone calls from customers complaining about the health of their newly planted trees. Upon further discussion we are finding that many customers have not been watering this spring. Certainly, we have had some cooler weather and in April we got more rain than we thought we needed. However, we have to remember that trees which were planted last year or this spring, do not have an established root system, they only have access to the water which falls directly onto their root balls. Particularly, when a tree is planted in the lawn, it needs even more water (no, your irrigation system is not sufficient), because it is competing with your turf for moisture.

So, you wonder, how do we diagnose that your tree is not getting enough water? We ask lots of questions! The first indicator that your tree needs more water is often yellow leaves or some fall color. Early fall color, in particular, tells you that your tree is in desperate need of help. We can also diagnose lack of water by brown crunchy leaves which are falling off the tree, bending of the new growth, etc. If you think your tree might be dry, give it water, then call us. If the soil is saturated and squishy, it is not too dry.

We recommend deep, infrequent watering. Please lay a hose at the base of the tree with a trickle the size of your small finger for 30 – 45 minutes; twice a week, less if we have had more than 1” of rain, that week. Remember that your tree has its own method of communicating with you; it is telling you if it is healthy or sick. So make an effort every day to look at the tree and make sure it isn’t waving a yellow leaf at you!