Blog - Next 2 Nature Landscaping and Design

Top 3 Landscape Trends for 2017

On February 15, 2017 / Tips and Ideas

Natural Materials

After years of simplistic style landscaping and hardscaping, there has been a renewed interest in the use of natural materials in the landscapes around Bismarck, Mandan. Homeowners are looking more and more for organic styles in their outdoor living space. Rather then the clean designs of the past, homeowners want their gardens to look more authentic and fit more smoothly into the environments where they are installed. Clients are looking for plant material that already grows naturally in the North Dakota area, stones that are sourced locally, and pavers that are more irregular in shape giving way to a more organic outdoor space.

Low Maintenance

A term used very loosely in the landscape industry by clients, but what does it mean? Simply put, low maintenance means drought-resistant plants and dwarf plant material. Homeowners don’t want to spend their beautiful North Dakota evenings watering plants and want to avoid pruning those arbs back into a perfect hedge on the weekends. If you’re keeping up with the trends, you should already have this one checked off your list because this means you are already planting material that grows naturally in your area. Local plants have evolved to survive on the water it gets naturally and have no problems standing up to Bismarck-Mandan’s summer heat or bitter cold NoDak winters.

Smart Gardens

With the recent technical advances in the landscape industry you can now expect to get the same smart outdoor living rooms that you currently have inside. With new smart sprinkler clocks that can connect to your wifi system and phone. It has never been easier to regulate water usage. These clocks, through the use of wifi, can track weather trends in your area and automatically adjust as needed. Outdoor light has quickly become as advanced as your indoor lighting, you can now dim, change color, or turn lighting on and off all from your phone. Clients are also looking to invest in mosquitoes repellent kits. With one quick click of a button from your phone you can turn on your mosquito diffuser system that will put out an orderless repellent. No more running around lighting torches or spaying down with bug spray.

Contact Us to learn how Next 2 Nature can help keep your property up to date!

Is your parking lot an icy mess?

On February 8, 2017 / Tips and Ideas

As the snow storms keep coming and temperatures jump from -20 to 35 in any given week. It has left most parking lots around town covered in a thick layer of ice that not even the equipment pushing the snow off your lot can remove. So what do you do now? Let cars slide around possibly causing damage to your property and theirs? Let the customers coming to your store potentially slip and fall? Until now the only answer has been to keep applying sand one layer after the next until you find yourself wondering if there is more sand on your parking lot or in your building.

Let us help because we’ve got the MAGIC and we want you to experience the difference.

ICE B’ GONE MAGIC Treated Salt is the original formula that started the treated salt market 15 years ago!

Why choose ICE B’ GONE MAGIC for your parking lot and sidewalks?

Completely eliminate the need for sand on your lot and costly spring clean up
Has the ability to melt up to 1 inch of snow
Keeps snow from bonding lo pavement
Works up to -35 F ground temp
Uses 35% to 50% less salt per application
Eliminates black Ice
Eliminates hard packed snow and ice
70% less corrosive than salt alone
Safer for all surfaces
100% biodegradable
Safer for your landscapes
Recognized by the U.S. E.P.A
Safer for pets

If you could reduce your snow management cost would you? ICE B’ GONE MAGIC can help.

Available for direct applications. contractors , & property managers.

Direct pavement applications per request
50 LB pails available for purchase
Bulk treated salt available per request

Call for your quote today. Matt 701-527-3337

How to reduce damage from browsing deer

On December 28, 2016 / Tips and Ideas

As winter sets in on North Dakota and the snow piles on, deer browsing can become a major problem in your landscape. If you don’t want your landscape turned into the local buffet for browsing deer, here are a few options to consider.

Repellents

Although there are mixed thoughts on the effectiveness of repellents, in a low to moderate deer pressure situation they can be enough to discourage browsing. Contact repellents have proven to discourage browsing more effectively compared to area repellents that are just placed near the food source. When choosing to apply a contact repellent, it is best to apply from the ground to 6 feet up the tree. Application should also be done on days that are calm and above freezing. All repellents should be refreshed every 3 weeks or after any rain or snow melt that may cause the repellent to be washed away.

Fencing

Just like protecting your garden in the summer, fences are the most effective way to protect your landscape in the winter. For protecting individual trees in your landscape, a simple plastic mesh fence will work just fine. Make sure to space landscape fencing one foot away from the closet branch and all the way around to keep deer from reaching through. It is best to keep all material wrapping an evergreen off of the needles whether using a burlap or plastic fence. New growth in the spring can be damaged by rubbing against the fencing material. If you are looking to fence in your entire yard, a permanent fence, a 6-8 foot fence is required depending on the material used.

Deer Resistant Plants

Don’t want to hike though snow every 3 weeks to spray down your landscape? Putting up a fence will block your view of the surrounding landscape? Consider removing old plants and refreshing with more deer resistant trees. Although no plant is truly deer resistant, some tend to be browsed fairly rarely compared to other species. A good rule of thumb is the thicker the leaf and the stronger the scent, the less likely deer are to nibble on that particular plant. Examples of this would be Russian sage, yarrow, coneflowers, barberry, mugo pines and much more. /cto learn more about good options for deer resistant plants in North Dakota.

How to Prepare your Landscape for the North Dakota Winter

On November 15, 2016 / Tips and Ideas

Winter is coming to Bismarck Mandan and it’s time to prepare your landscaping for a successful freeze!

Welcome to the Next 2 Nature blog where we will try our best to inform you of what’s happening, what to do and how to do it in the world of landscape design and maintenence. We’d like to kick off with a post providing you with a quick checklist for better preparing your landscape for the upcoming Bismarck-Mandan winter season. You have invested numerous hours and costs into your landscape and now its time to protect it. Let us help by sharing some quick tips and tricks to get you on your way, and as always don’t hesitate to contact us if in need of any advice or
help.

Cut down dead perennials. This can be done in fall or spring it is completely your preference. This can also be a great time to divide perennials and plant them in other spots in your landscape or simply share with friends!
Trim back overgrown or broken branches on trees and shrubs.
Dig up and remove any exotic or tropical flowers, remove excess soil and store in a dry cool location in a box filled with peat moss.
Cover or protect any evergreens that are prone to wind burn in the winter months
Give all evergreens one last drink of water before the soil freezes to help with water transpiration.
Wrap with Burlap or create a wind break for evergreens that might be susceptible to wind burn.
Aerate the lawn, reseed any and bare spots, and apply a fall fertilizer to promote healthy root growth for a healthy lawn come spring.
Winterize your sprinkler system to remove all water from the lines.
Cut your lawn shorter then normal for the winter to prevent accumulating leaf and thatch build up to help prevent fungus from growing under the snow cover.
Inspect the outdoor lighting and transformer, make sure all dead bulbs haven been replaced and the transformer is properly closed for the winter months.
Remove any attached hoses and drain out the water, store all patio furniture and flower pots in areas to prevent seasonal damage.