LAND DESIGNS UNLIMITED LLC

A Patient Craftsman Creating Exceptional Landscapes

Author: John Holden

  • What’s Your Dream?

    What’s Your Dream?

    This week I was pondering what makes me happy.  How do I find joy?

    Many of the things that make me happy as an adult were the same things that made me happy when I was a kid.

    Some of the things on my “Happy List” are:

    • A good conversation
    • Splitting wood
    • My children smiling
    • Listening up beat music
    • Going to a good movie
    • My cat sitting on my lap
    • Shoveling a light snow
    • Listening to the rain while seated outside
    • Going for a drive to clear my head
    • A sharp chain saw
    • Walking around my yard and seeing the changes in the gardens
    • Walking through a forest
    • Organizing things such as my office, the garage and my truck
    • A pink sunset

    What makes you happy?

    By John Holden

  • How I Got My Groove – The Stages of a Landscape Design Career

    How I Got My Groove – The Stages of a Landscape Design Career

    Unlike now, when I graduated UCONN I didn’t have real-world landscape design experience.

    I designed landscapes by the book and my designs incorporated the latest cool plants at the nursery.  If the book said a plant grows in the shade to 10 feet tall I put it in the shade where it could grow to 10 feet tall.

    I talked with associates and read magazine articles about new plants.  I still do because there’s always room for improvement.  The palette of plants to choose from is constantly changing.

    After designing, installing and watching my landscapes grow in for over 20 years I have more experience than most in my field.

    Sometimes, even though the book says a plant grows in the shade it just sits there neither living nor dying.  Arborvitae planted in late fall are going to suffer from winter’s drying winds.  Over-planted landscapes fill in quickly and are a ton of work to keep up.  Landscape construction never goes exactly according to plan and small changes are a natural part of the process.

    My design style is “Form follows function.”  I abhor complexity for simpler is always better.  I like focal points but don’t overdo it.  Viewers get headaches from bedazzled landscapes.

    Landscape design and installation is an art and subject to interpretation by the designer and installer.  Seemingly small differences, like those above, make a big difference in your project.  You can talk to five landscape designers and get five completely different landscape designs.  You can then give that design to five different landscape contractors and get five different landscapes.

    I hope you choose wisely when hiring your landscape designer or landscape contractor.

    By John Holden

  • You Can Talk About it or You Can Keep It To Yourself

    You Can Talk About it or You Can Keep It To Yourself

    I went to a meeting last night for parents of Sandy Hook School children.

    The leader of the discussion had a great insight on poor behavior.  When he was a child he would start arguments when something bothered him.

    When he did, his mom very calmly said, “You can talk about it or you can keep it to yourself.  You’re not taking it out on someone else.”

    What a great way to focus on the real problem.

  • Selectively Pruning Evergreen Shrubs – Part 2

    Selectively Pruning Evergreen Shrubs – Part 2


     
    In the first part of this series I showed you how to selectively prune evergreen shrubs.  Now I’d like to show you one of the greatest benefits of this pruning method.

    By selectively pruning your evergreen shrubs you can control their height indefinitely.  Every time you prune you are cutting into the shrub, so the shrub stays the same size, or gets smaller, with pruning.

    Measure Twice, Cut Once

    In the video above I show you the results of a Japanese Holly that was heavily pruned.  The shrub bounced back quickly and within four months all signs of pruning were gone.

    I don’t recommend people new to pruning start with such an extreme example.  If unsure how your shrub will respond prune some of the branches deep into the shrub.  If they don’t grow back there will be enough other branches to fill in.

    I have Japanese Holly (Ilex crenata) growing in deep shade and the shrubs are extremely leggy.  Using selective pruning on these holly won’t make them more dense, there isn’t enough light.  The shrubs still look better because the growth is at different levels of the shrub, not all at the tip.

    What About Flowering Evergreen Shrubs?

    You can selectively prune flowering evergreens too.  The key is to prune right after bloom.  If you prune a flowering evergreen, such as a rhododendron (Rhododendron spp.), that blooms on the last seasons growth too late you can remove the next years blooms.

    I hope you’ll try selective pruning, your shrubs will be glad you did.

    By John Holden

     

  • Selectively Pruning Evergreen Shrubs – Part 1

    Selectively Pruning Evergreen Shrubs – Part 1

    Why do people get out their hedge shears once a year, usually during the heat of June or July, and prune their evergreen shrubs like a new recruit in the army?  Yes Virginia, there is a better way!

    If you want healthy, attractive and easy to care for evergreen shrubs try selective pruning.

    Benefits of Selectively Pruning Evergreen Shrubs

    Selective pruning has many benefits.

    • Your shrubs will have a natural look, and be more forgiving of pruning mistakes.
    • Your shrubs will have an open habit to allow more air and light to enter, resulting in less insects and disease.
    • You can control your shrubs height indefinitely.

    How to Selectively Prune Evergreen Shrubs

    You can selectively prune many evergreen shrubs, such as:

    • Boxwood (Buxus)
    • Holly (Ilex)
    • Yew (Taxus)
    • Andromeda (Pieris)

    Do heavy pruning in late spring to early summer and continue with minor pruning throughout the season.

    Use a sharp pair of pruning shears to cut the branches at varying lengths throughout the shrub, try not cut them all on one plane.

    Prune with the result in mind, knowing what you want the shrub to look like.  Then, one branch at a time, thin out the branches by cutting them back into the shrub.  Your goal is to cut the branch where there’s new growth or back to a crossing branch.  Work your way around the shrub pruning some branches a little below your desired height and some branches way inside the shrub.

    I begin pruning where the foliage is most dense and cut some branches deep into the shrub to allow air and light to enter.

    Next, I work my way toward the outside of the shrub cutting some branches about half way.

    Finally, I level out the ends of most branches to give the shrub a loosely manicured look.

    Take your time and everything will be fine.  The beauty of selective pruning is that if you make a mistake there will be other branches to fill in.

    I have trained many on this pruning method and assure you it’s normal to be a little nervous the first time you do it.  Take your time.  After a few shrubs you’ll get the hang of it.  By the end of the season you’ll wonder why you ever bothered with a hedge trimmer.

    By John Holden

  • Tricks of a Monroe CT Landscaper

    Tricks of a Monroe CT Landscaper

    As a Monroe CT landscaper this landscape was a challenge to design.  The stately colonial perched on top of a hill and doesn’t look like part of the landscape.

    My goal was to make the home look like it fit in.

    Tricks of a Monroe CT Landscaper

    I made the home look like it fit in the landscape using a few tricks.

    1. I planted larger trees and shrubs at the back of the landscape to ‘ground’ the house.  By planting a larger trees and shrubs you ground the house making it more to scale with the surrounding landscape.
    2. I installed a retaining wall to raise the grade.  The climb from the drive to the front steps was very steep and difficult to climb.  My goal was to make the journey pleasant.  I didn’t want a landscape with random steps that became an obstacle course or ankle twister.
    3. I brought in truckloads of fill and topsoil to create a level area in front of the house.  The goal was to soften the grade so the home didn’t look like it could slide down the hill.

    The home went from looking out-of-place to a stately home gently placed on top of a hill.  It’s all in a days work for a Monroe CT landscaper.

  • How to Aerate and Overseed Your Lawn

    How to Aerate and Overseed Your Lawn

    A few hours aerating your lawn this weekend will give benefits for a long time.

    Why should I aerate?

    Aerate your lawn if you have compacted soil, the grass is getting thin or you would like to overseed with a more vigorous type of seed.

    When should I aerate?

    I prefer to aerate from late summer to early fall because grass can set up before the heat and drought of the following summer.  Aerate an established lawn every two to three years, yearly for a poor lawn until you get it back under control.

    What type of aerator do you recommend?

    You can rent an aerator for the day or a few hours at most rental centers.  If you have a small lawn a few hours is all you need.  Aerators are heavy.  Have a friend help you load and unload the machine.

    There are many different types of aerators.  Some have hollow tines which move up and down to punch holes in your lawn, some have a drum with hollow tines that remove cores from your lawn and some are a solid drum with solid tines that you pull behind a tractor.  I recommend a machine that removes a core and is easy to maneuver.

    What type of grass seed do you recommend?

    There are many types of grass seed and just as many types of lawns.  Grass seed mixes for our climate here in Connecticut include ‘Landscapers Mix’ or ‘Sun and Shade Mix’.  These mixes have bluegrass, ryegrass and fescue for a nice lawn.

    Avoid ‘Contractor Mix’ grass seed which establishes quickly but not give a quality lawn in the long-term.

    Do your research before purchasing seed and always buy the best.  The biggest factor in determining you lawns success or failure is the seed you plant.

    A word of caution

    Before aerating mark all sprinkler heads and wires less than four inches deep.

    If you run the aerator over a sprinkler head or wire you may break it.

    By John Holden

  • Hurricane Sandy – We Got Our Power Back Today

    Hurricane Sandy – We Got Our Power Back Today

    hurricane sandyToday power returned to our neighborhood, four days after it went off on Monday night during Hurricane Sandy.

    This was the second year in a row that our home had no power on Halloween.  A year ago, almost to the day, we had a freak snowstorm that dumped almost two feet of snow and left us in the dark for a week.

    My heart goes out to the residents of New York and New Jersey who took the brunt of this storm.  I can’t imagine what it would be like to watch my home destroyed.  I can’t imagine the pain of losing a loved one in the storm.  My sympathy goes to you all.

    Some lessons I learned during this and last years outages are:

    Our friends and neighbors help us through.

    We are blessed with a neighbor with a generator who gave us a warm dinner, and shower if we wanted, every night.  That time with our neighbors, connecting with others, was a big help in coping with the situation.  A friend in Southbury, who did not lose power, watched our kids during the week so my wife and I could work.

    Less light brings families closer together.

    My wife and I often spend our evenings in different rooms of the house.  While the power was out we spent our time together.  We had longer and more meaningful conversations than we’ve had in a while.

    Do we really need all those lights?

    After a couple of nights with no power and I was getting used to dark neighborhoods.  When I drove past neighborhoods with power I couldn’t believe the waste.  When I would have killed for a few working lights every room in some houses were lit up.

    The most shocking example was driving past the high school at 6:00 pm.  The parking lot was lit up like day.  I know lighting is essential for safety.  Must it be that bright?

    When the power came on at 4:00 pm today, the first thing I did was go around the house and turn every light off.  I didn’t want to squander the gift of light.

    I’m glad we didn’t have power the last four days.  Not because I enjoyed it.  I had my low points like we all do.

    I’m glad we didn’t have power because I learned there are people who reach out to help others.  I learned how things that seem important, like this computer, are not.  I learned we are survivors and can bend without breaking.

    Did you leave any lights on?

    By John Holden

  • How to Deadhead and Maintain Daffodils

    How to Deadhead and Maintain Daffodils

    While maintaining a gorgeous bed of Daffodils I thought, “I wish more people knew this simple garden tip.”  The tips in this video will keep your daffodils blooming and looking their best.

    I deadhead the spent flowers to return the energy to the bulb to produce blooms next year, not to produce seed for next year.

    This video has a special place in my heart as it is the first landscaping tips video I ever recorded.

    By John Holden