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How to Care for Plants in the Winter

Contrary to popular belief sunny Las Vegas does have a winter. Snow has happened, but it is not common, what is normal is that it does get chilly, and on occasion temperatures do fall below freezing. We here at, Showcase Land Care Services in Las Vegas, wants to help you, help us, to keep your plants and landscape healthy by offering this useful information on caring for your plants during the winter. But what we want you to consider first is what plants are most suited for the winter months ahead.

Winter Friendly Plants

There are three categories of plants common in greater Las Vegas; these are Trees, Annuals, and Cacti. Within each category there are also sub-categories. Trees contain Groundcovers, Palms, and Succulents. Annuals contain Natives, Perennials, and Vines. And Cacti include ornamental grasses and shrubs.

Trees (Groundcovers, Palms, and Succulents)

Within the Tree category the most common type in Las Vegas are Palms, Desert Trees, and Evergreens. Most of these are winter resistant, the best care for these is to do all your pruning during the winter, because then the trees are in their dormant state.

When choosing Ground covers, if it is color in the winter time that is your main objective, then here are a few that bloom all year long. This list includes, but is not limited to; Hibiscus Single Bloom Red, Katy Ruellia all types including pink and purple, Orange Jubilee, Oleander. Other strong plants to consider without color are Japanese Privet and Photinia. Contact our team at Showcase Land Care Services for free consultation and more options.

One thing to keep in mind with succulents and cactuses is that these plants are native to arid regions so when the winter time comes these will need very little watering, usually once a month during cold season is enough.

Annuals (Natives, Perennials, and Vines)

Believe it or not some annuals favor the coolness of winter over the heat and drought of summer. Common annuals include; pansies, alyssum, calendula, petunias, and hollyhock to name a few, but there are many to choose from and again seek advice from our informed staff here at Showcase. The key to remember with these winter bloomers is that they need to be planted in the fall to reap the colorful reward during the winter.

Cacti (ornamental grasses and shrubs)

Cacti are dessert survivors. They are native to Las Vegas and this is there stomping ground. Keys to remember with them are it never hurts to fertilize, and aerated soil is always a plus.

Another helpful hint for winter is mulch, mulch, mulch. Mulch is an aesthetic and always adds beauty to your yard, but also protects and shield plants. Finally just remember Showcase Land Care Services is here to be the doctors and care takers of your yard. Our aim is to keep neighborhoods beautiful one yard at a time. If you are looking for landscaping in Las Vegas, contact us for a free consultation today.

Increase the Value of Your Home

Professional landscaping not only beautifies your home, it can also make it worth more. In fact, a study released by Virginia Tech revealed that landscaping can increase a home’s value by 10 to 12 percent, and that a $150,000 home that didn’t previously have landscaping could sell for between $8,300 and $19,000 more after the addition of high-quality landscaping. So, maintaining the land surrounding your home not only makes living in it more enjoyable, it also means you could get more money if you eventually decide to sell the property. If you want to maximize your land so that it enhances the value of your home, consider the following tips.

 

Opt for a Sophisticated Design

Any landscaping or lawn upkeep will boost curb appeal and your home’s value, but the more sophisticated the design the better the results. For maximum impact, include a wide variety of plants and trees in your landscaping. Mix it up by including both large trees and small plants, and create interest by using several different colors. This will increase the perceived value of your home and make it easier for you to sell it at a higher price.

 

Set Your Home Apart

Landscaping not only optimizes your home’s inherent visual appeal, it can also distinguish it from the other homes in the neighborhood. This is especially valuable for homes located in housing editions and subdivisions, where many of the homes have a similar appearance. You can instantly make your home stand out by keeping the land well-maintained. You can also create any kind of look you want. For example, perhaps you want an English- or Japanese-style garden. This gives your home exotic flair that can entice home buyers to take a look.

 

Keep Your Lawn Maintained

If any aspect of a home appears to be in disrepair, this can dramatically lower its value. This includes the land surrounding the property. However, by ensuring that the lawn is well-maintained, you make the home seem of much higher value. Potential buyers will be much more likely to seriously consider a home where the lawn is well-manicured and has obviously been cared for. Hiring professional lawn care experts to maintain the land can give it a high-quality appearance that will attract homebuyers and make them willing to pay more.

 

Showcase Land Care Service offers high-quality landscaping in Las Vegas. Whether you want to enhance your home’s visual appeal so you can sell it at a higher price, or you simply want a beautifully manicured lawn you can enjoy, we can create just the right look for you. Call us today to learn more about what we offer and how we can help you maintain your home’s land.

Protecting Your Yard for the Winter

Even in the warm, sunny climate of Las Vegas, you’ll need to prepare your yard and your plants for potentially chilly winter temperatures. While the weather is typically much warmer than in other states, there remains a possibility of freezing temperatures during the winter months, which is why you need to protect your foliage from weather-related damage. Landscaping in Las Vegas during the winter requires keeping in mind the following tips:

Protect Your Pipes
If you have an outdoor sprinkler system, the pipes could burst if the temperature falls below freezing. This could flood your yard and disturb the landscaping you worked so hard to create. Start by covering your irrigation backflow device to insulate it from the harsh temperatures. This is often as simple as laying a towel over it and then placing a bucket over the towel to secure it.Also, disconnect garden hoses when not in use and drain all of the water from them. This prevents against your hoses freezing, and disconnecting them protects against damage to your pipes if there happens to be any water left in the hose.

Reduce Watering
During the winter, you only need to water your lawn once a week and possibly even less. If you water too frequently, you can increase the chance of ice forming not only in your yard but also on sidewalks and possibly in your driveway or the street if the water flows out of your yard. This can create a safety hazard for you and for other neighborhood residents.

Mow Your Grass Short
Lower your mower to 1 1/2 inches during the fall months. Cutting the grass this short stimulates it to grow at the crown, thus ensuring a lush lawn.

Fertilize Your Yard
At the end of September or beginning of October, and then one more time in November, fertilize your yard not only to foster new plant and grass growth, but also to protect your lawn against the cold. Choose a balanced fertilizer that contains potassium, nitrogen and phosphorous to keep your yard healthy and vibrant.

Protect Your Plants Against the Cold
When watering your plants during the winter, water them only below the surface and avoid exterior areas such as leaves, flowers and stems. Cover your plants at night to protect against freezing, and also use a nitrogen fertilizer to support your plants throughout the cold winter months.

At Showcase Land Care Service, we provide full landscaping services in Las Vegas. We can help you create the landscape of your dreams and also protect it from the elements so it stays beautiful all year long.

Artificial vs Natural Turf

For people and businesses alike, grass and lawns are important: front lawns are often the first things that people see meaning that they make the first impressions of the property (and the business or individuals dwelling within). A beautifully maintained lawn sets great expectations for the rest of the property, even increasing the perceived value.

It can be difficult to choose whether to install artificial turf or natural grass. So whether you are renovating or installing a brand new lawn, there are several options available to you.

Artificial Turf pros: 

 

Artificial turf is very High quality and has a very natural appearance, however, unlike natural grass doesn’t get diseases, pests, etc. that completely destroy your lawn. Chafer beetles for instance can be devastating for your natural lawn, plus, they attract birds who tear up your lawn even more (when trying to get chafer beetle larvae). You honestly don’t have to worry about damage to your lawn, artificial turf doesn’t die! Fungus and weather conditions are just a few things that can kill your natural lawn. Furthermore, it doesn’t stain, fade, or discolor. As you probably know, during dry seasons where there are water restrictions your lawn may turn yellow or brown for various reasons, but you literally never have to worry about this happening to an artificial turf.

Furthermore, artificial turf ends up saving you money. It usually pays for itself in water/maintenance savings within 7 years. Furthermore, by not having to water your lawn it preserves our most precious natural resource…

Natural Turf pros: 

Natural turf is definitely cheaper to install than artificial turf, it also is known to be better for the environment because when it break downs it is absorbed into the earth. Furthermore, it is important to pay attention to other environment implications of your choice. For example, climate is changing precipitously thus posing major ramifications for flora and fauna in addition to human health (and non- human health… don’t forget Fido). Air pollution is unfortunately absolutely everywhere. Thus by choosing natural turf you are serving to help reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. That is right, grass contributes positively to creating a healthier environment through the oxygen production and carbon dioxide absorbed through natural grass.

Furthermore, if you step out in the middle of a hot summer day onto natural turf with bare feet you will notice that the grass is nice and cool, however, artificial turf gets extremely hot in the summer heat. Plus, people tend to love natural turf because it is, well, natural!  Traditional grass is fun to walk on, lay down on, have picnics on… it’s just enjoyable! 

There are both positive and negative attributes associated with natural turf and artificial turf. Basically, you need to choose what is best for you. 

Now that your decisions has become clear, schedule your free estimate with Showcase Land Care for all your landscaping in Las Vegas needs!

Why Choose Pavers over Concrete

If you’re considering replacing or adding a new walkway, patio or driveway to your property, you may feel flustered over the countless of choices available to you, all claiming to be the top choice. While some of these materials are more cost-effective when compared to others, and some of the options are more durable than others and are easier and more economical to maintain.

As a responsible homeowner you do your best to make sure that your walkways, driveway, or patio is able to stand up to the weather while requiring little maintenance and look awesome at the same time.  Furthermore, it is important that these are cost-effective. The two top choices usually come down to pavers and concrete, and while both of these options are good options one has to come out the winner, and in our opinion that would be pavers.

Let us tell you why:

Pavers is both very aesthetically pleasing and extremely solid. Of course you would want to choose the most beautiful hard surface, which is why pavers is rapidly increasing in popularity. The unparalleled beauty, effortless upkeep, and long-term financial benefits of correctly installed pavers are becoming more and more evident to homeowners. This point is especially true for homeowners who have to cope with the stress of extreme temperature and weather changes which can have a severe effect on certain materials such as concrete.

Whereas adding new concrete next to old concrete looks pretty terrible, you can use pavers to make beautiful additions to existing concrete.

Furthermore, pavers don’t crack the way that concrete does. Concrete is greatly affected by the natural and inevitable movement of the earth making it prone to splitting and cracking. Changes in temperature, especially freezing and thawing, can also cause concrete to expand and contract which also results in unwanted cracking.

People often think that concrete is the most permanent of options, which really isn’t the case. Pavers, in actuality is just a permanent as concrete, and in many cases even more permanent due to its durability and ability to not crack to the same extent as concrete.  

Finally, if you ever damage or stain a paver area, it can easily and inexpensively be replaced. However if concrete becomes damaged it must be completely removed, and you will need to have new concrete poured. This is both had work and needlessly expensive. This can be especially pricey if more than one area need to be replaced, and while you are able to correct minor problems by patching cracks in the concrete, this often results in mismatched coloring which can be pretty noticeable and can even be quite hideous in large areas such as patios or driveways. Unlike concrete, pavers comprise of separate interlocking stones, which means that each piece can be replaced as needed. If one paver becomes damaged you are able to remove only that piece and replace it with a new piece making it significantly less expensive and far easier than concrete.

If you’re looking to install pavers in your home, call Showcase Land Care for all your landscaping in Las Vegas needs at 702-531-6789 and schedule your free estimate today.

Grass Conversion

Landscaping

Part of having a home is making sure that the landscape is maintained. In some areas of town, it is required that your yard is maintained, and if it is not then you can be facing a fine.

 

Expense

Keeping a yard maintained and looking good can be fairly pricy. If you have grass in your yard, then you either have to pay to have someone come out and mow the lawn and trim bushes, or you have to do it yourself. You also have to pay to water the grass so that it stays green and healthy. This can become very pricy, and turn into a lot of work.

 

Grass Conversion

A grass conversion is the same as a desert conversion. By undergoing this kind of conversion, you are changing the current landscape of your yard to a desert landscape. A great thing about this is that the Southern Nevada Water Authority offers a $1.50 per sq. ft. rebate for making the conversion. It will also reduce most water bills by 50% or more. The conversion will most likely pay for itself within 5-6 years.

 

A desert landscape is more consistent with the desert environment that we currently have. By converting your lawn into a desert landscape you will be saving precious natural resources, and when the conversion is done correctly, your lawn can look more attractive than it did with grass.

 

Make the Change

When you are making a landscaping change, it is important that you are working with someone you can trust. Here at Showcase Landcare Services we are Las Vegas landscapers who strive to make the customer happy, and the majority of our work is obtained through referrals.

 

Call us today at 702-531-6789 for an estimate on giving your yard the grass conversion.

Changing the Landscape of Your Yard

What People Think

There are two main things that come to mind when people think of Las Vegas: deserts and casinos. That being said, it makes sense that many people believe that rocks and dirt are what they are going to see in the yards of many Las Vegas homes.

 

The Truth

In recent years many people have chosen to put their home through a “Desert Conversion”. Grass is being replaced with different types of rocks and gravel which give the home more of a “Desert” themed look.

 

In addition, many homeowners are adding their own flare to the landscape conversion by adding colorful plants, bushes, and different sized rocks which give more dimension and personality to their yard.

 

The Benefit

Having a desert landscape in your yard can be very beneficial to both you and the economy. How is this, you ask? Well, when you see a home where grass fills the yard, you need to think about how much water it takes to keep the grass looking the way that it should. It can take thousands of gallons of water, as well as watering multiple times a day, to maintain the proper color of grass.

 

It can be expensive to properly maintain the grass on your property. By cutting back on the amount of water that you are pouring into your yard, you are not only keeping more money in your wallet, but you are conserving water while in a drought.

 

Making the Change

Showcase Landcare Services has been helping the Las Vegas valley make their landscaping conversions for over ten years. No matter what kind of landscaping you want in your yard, Showcase Landcare can make it happen. We can offer support with the landscape design, install the new landscape, and even perform any maintenance that your new yard may require.

 

Let us Help You

Landscaping in Las Vegas has never been easier. Call us at 702-531-6789 so that we can answer any questions you may have about changing the landscape of your yard. Call us today for a free estimate.

Plant Life

Landscaping in Las Vegas is becoming more and more popular. It makes sense. As a people, we want the place that we are living in to be beautiful. That is why we pay HOA fees so that the neighborhood we live in will stay taken care of.  We also want to make sure that the homes that we live in are impressive. We like it when people take notice to what we have going on.

 

Here are some fun facts about landscaping from Signature Concrete Design, http://www.signatureconcretedesign.com/blog/fun-facts-about-landscape:

 

  • Plants improve air quality
  • Landscaping can add as much as 14% to the resale value of your home
  • A tree shading an outdoor air conditioner unit can increase its efficiency by as much as ten percent
  • One hour of weeding burns 300 calories, and manual push mowing of the lawn burns 500 calories per hour
  • After a stressful day at work, looking at a yard with a view of natural elements can lessen job pressure, and people tend to be more satisfied with their jobs and reported fewer ailments and headaches than those who had no outside view or could only see build elements from their window

 

Your home is your sanctuary, or at least it should be. When it comes to having a place where you can truly be at peace, your home should be at the top of the list. One way to help make that happen is to have your home landscaped. Showcase Land Care Services, can help to provide you with a beautifully landscaped home. When it comes to them, you do not need to worry about what you are experiencing. You can have a beautiful home and a beautiful yard.

 

Showcase Land Care Services can provide you with a beautiful yard that you want. The professionals at Showcase Land Care Services can help you to design your new yard, put everything together, and help you to keep it maintained. Call Showcase Land Care Services today so that you can get started with your new yard.

Desert Conversion

In times of drought, water is becoming scarce. That means that the price of water goes a lot higher, while the amount of water is there. In order to save some money on the water bill, many people are changing their grass yards to rock and desert landscaping.

 

Some people when they hear desert landscaping, they automatically think negatively about it. There are a lot of misconceptions about desert landscaping. Many people that when you are going to go desert you are going to be simply pouring a lot of sand over your yard, and that you are going to have dry and boring colors in your yard. But, desert landscaping is actually becoming more and more popular. The desert is not an ugly place. Instead, people are able to use different kinds of rock that have some different colors in it. When paired with different sized rocks, walkways, and some trees, your yard can become a work of art that is going to save you both money and water.

 

Showcase Land Care Services specializes in sod removal and desert conversion. When you go with them, you know that you are getting the best. The professionals at Showcase Land Care Services can help you to identify the parts of your lawn which are good candidates for desert conversion. They will also be able to help you design a beautiful landscape, while being in strict compliance with the SNWA’s guidelines. Showcase Land Care Services is actually one of the SNWA’s approved Water Smart Contractors.

 

With the best credentials and experience, Showcase Land Care Services, can provide amazing landscaping in Las Vegas. You will be able to benefit in both having a beautiful yard and saving money. When it comes time to re-do your yard, call Showcase Land Care Services today so that you can get started.

Maintaining Yards

While for many of us, it is important that we have a landscaped yard, it is not always east to find the time to do the work required to keep your yard looking great. Showcase Land Care Services has been providing landscaping in Las Vegas for several years, and they are dedicated to keeping your yard looking great.

 

If there are changes that you would like to make to your yard, then you are able to have Showcase Land Care Services come in and provide you with the landscaping that you want. They can help transform your yard into the masterpiece that you want it to be. BUT, that is not where they stop. The professionals at Showcase Land Care Services understand that you are have a lot on your plate, and that you probably do not have the time to dedicate to keeping your yard looking great. Showcase Land Care Services can provide maintenance packages that will help benefit you and your needs.

 

With Showcase Land Care Services they offer the following maintenance packages:

  • Regular service which includes weekly visits where they will mow and edge your grass, blow the grass clippings off of any walkways and patios, and fertilize the grass five times a year.
  • Full service care with lawn maintenance which includes weekly visits where they will mow and edge your grass, blow off the clippings from all walkways and patios, fertilize the grass five times a year, adjust the sprinkler clock, shape all shrubs and trees, blow out and remove dead foliage and debris, fertilize the shrubs and trees twice a year, pull unsightly weeds, and remove trash and debris from the landscape areas.
  • Full service care without lawn maintenance which included visits every other week where they will groom and shape all shrubs and trees, blow out and remove dead foliage and debris from the landscape areas, fertilize all shrubs and trees twice a year, pull weeds, remove trash and debris from the landscaped areas, and adjust the sprinkler clock.
  • Once a month service which includes the grooming and shaping of al shrubs and trees, blowing out and removing dead foliage and debris from the landscaped areas, fertilize all shrubs and tress twice a year, pull weeds, remove trash and debris from the landscaped areas, and adjust the sprinkler clock.

 

Having a beautiful yard does not need to be a dream. It can be your reality, and Showcase Land Care Services can help to give you that reality. When it comes to maintaining the landscape of your home, there is no one else that you should trust. Call Showcase Land Care Services today so that you can get the yard that you desperately want.