Landscaping, Irrigation, and More

Doesn’t sound like a company you want to hire right off the bat does it? It’s a genuine proposal though. If you have bought a Cape Coral foreclosure or an old Fort Myers house and the property had been badly neglected for a long period of time then you may need to do an overhaul on the yard. In a lot of instances you can fertilize and irrigate the grass along with some tough weed control and get it to come back to a normal yard. However, in extreme cases you need to just start over.

We usually don’t recommend sodding over sod unless you are just making a patch. If the Cape Coral or Fort Myers yard is in that bad of shape you don’t want to take the chance of the weed and pest problems of the old yard overtaking the new sod. That would be a horrible waste of your money.

We approach a sod replacement with a four step process:

1. Chemically kill the old yard using a professionally licensed pest control company.
2. Scrape out and properly dispose of the dead materials.
3. Re-grade the property so the new yard will be even and free of holes or lumps.
4. Install new sod.

Incidentally, if you don’t already have an automatic sprinkler system the best time to install it would be between steps 3 and 4. It’s always better to put a new irrigation system in during a construction process rather than disrupting the rooting of the new sod at a later date. If you are really dedicated to the restoration and rejuvenation of your Cape Coral or Fort Myers Home then you should ask us about our landscaping services as well.

Happy sod killing!

In Florida a lot of the homes were built with a pretty little knee wall along the front of the house. Whoever thought of this concept had a great architectural mind but had no idea what a pain in the rear it would be to maintain landscaping behind that wall. It’s such an awkward space. To small to get the lawnmower in but too big to have to weed eat the entire area.

How do you maintain that awkward little area at the front of your Florida Home? We recommend you renovate it. Kill the sod (which by now is mostly weeds). Scrape the contents out so you can have a clean slate. Do not re-install grass, instead consider a rock bed or a mulch bed with some easy to maintain shrubs.

If you have your rock properly installed by a professional landscaping company they should lay a weed barrier down first which will help (not eliminate) the growth of weeds up through the rocks. Pick a rock that will compliment your home. Have the landscape estimator help you choose some plants that will be well suited to that area of the property. When choosing plants consider a plant that can tolerate shade and is low maintenance like cocoplums or podocarpus. Even consider a few hibiscus plants to add color to the front of your home.

Be sure to ask your landscaper about the necessary irrigation the plants will need. You may need to make a renovation to your sprinkler system to accommodate the new landscaping. It’s always better to have this done prior to the landscape addition and to have the landscaper and the irrigation company communicate the details of the project before anyone begins work. Your landscaper cannot perform irrigation services unless they have a specialty licensed to perform irrigation services.

You have just taken your out of control entrance of your Florida home from a pain in the rear to maintain issue to an eye appealing addition. R&R Sprinkler and Landscape is able to help you with a project like this from the sod kill all the way to the final landscape installation and sprinkler repair and all the steps in between. Call us today.

A garden focal point is a unique visual element that draws attention to the eye. The combination of garden focal points and accessories create an outdoor area that is pleasant and invites people to spend time there. A small garden should only have 1 main focal point with 2-3 accessories while a larger garden can handle more.

Garden focal points include but are not limited to the following:
1. Fire pits, fire places and outdoor cooking areas
2. Water features, water falls and ponds
3. Statues and sculptures
4. Bird houses and bird baths
5. Outdoor benches or an outdoor seating area
6. A structure like a gazebo, shed, pergola or trellis
7. Outdoor wall art
8. A large hanging pot or collection of hanging pots
9. A tree or group of foliage this is a contrasting color from the rest of the environment
10. Garden gates

There no hard rule for creating garden focal points. Be creative but don’t be over bearing. You want to create a place of serenity, not confusion. R & R Sprinkler and Landscape will be happy to help you design an outdoor area you long to spend time in. With our free design services you will be able to visualize what your outdoor space will look like before it’s constructed.

If your palm trees in Southwest Florida are slowly dying and you’re not sure what is causing the problem, the culprit might be a pest called the Palm Weevil (also known as the “Palmetto Weevil”.) Palm weevils are commonly found in:

• Cabbage Palms
• Saw Palmettos
• Canary Island Date Palms
• Royal Palms
• Coconut Palms
• Bismarck Palms

They can also be found in diseased palms as well as recently transplanted palms that are stressed. Fort Myers landscaping experts have been noticing the destruction that these pests cause a lot more frequently in recent years. So if you come to us and ask “Why are my palm trees dying?”, there’s a very good chance that we’ll find a palm weevil infestation.

Want to see these little guys in action? A local horticulture agent at the University of Florida’s IFAS Extension uncovered palm weevils and their grubs in this amazing video. Not for the squeamish! Read the rest of this entry »