Landscape Construction Upgrade

Steven Smith Landscape's youtube channel

Recent video of our project, an HOA upgrade, this a tour of the area 'Before' and in progress.
We will post an 'After' tour when complete.

Osprey Nest Platform Installation

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We recently installed two Osprey nest platforms per the request of the homeowner at one of our sites in the North County.

The Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)is a large fish-eating hawk and a top consumer in the food chain. Like Bald Eagles, Ospreys declined following the widespread use of the pesticide DDT. Now that DDT has been banned in the United States for 40 years, the Osprey is a common sight in open habitats near water. Ospreys are good indicators of environmental toxins, and their recent rebound is a positive sign. - nestwatch.org 

The Osprey  readily builds its nest on man-made structures, such as telephone poles, channel markers, duck blinds, and nest platforms designed especially for it. Such platforms have become an important tool in reestablishing Ospreys in areas where they had disappeared. In some areas nests are placed almost exclusively on artificial structures.  – allaboutbirds.org

The crew may get to see an actual nest building as it progresses. 

Landscape ROI (Return on Investment) as high as 150%

A recent study by realestate.com suggests that landscaping and hardscaping can deliver a return on investment as high as 150 percent – an ROI that puts it ahead of popular home improvement projects like kitchen or bathroom updates.

"When I bring a buyer to a home that features state-of-the-art landscaping and elements like a fire pit and high-end pavers, there's an immediate assumption that the inside of the house will be as
spectacular as the outside," said John Duffy of Duffy Real Estate. "Now we have research that shows that homebuyers will pay a premium for a nicely landscaped property, particularly one that features elements like an outdoor fireplace and finishes in stone or brick. The new mantra in home buying is location, location, landscape."

According to RealEstate.com, for every dollar spent on upgrading a backyard or outdoor space, a homeowner can expect to get back anywhere from 60 cents to two dollars. With up to 14 percent added to the home's resale value; on a $500,000 home, that's nearly $75,000.

The most popular items being requested by homeowners today, according to EP Henry Authorized Hardscaping Contractor® Blase DeMichele of B. DeMichele Inc.
based in Media, PA, are:

    Outdoor fireplaces
    Covered outdoor spaces with kitchen components
    Stone veneer sitting walls
    Fire pits
    Patio pavers

Photos: A recent landscape and  hardscape install in Valley Center by Steven Smith Landscape, Inc.
Please visit our website: stevensmithlandscape.com

suggests that landscaping and Hardscaping™ can deliver a whopping return on investment as high as 150 percent – an ROI that puts it ahead of popular home improvement projects like kitchen or bathroom updates. - See more at: http://globenewswire.com/news-release/2014/09/10/665100/10098067/en/Landscaping-and-Hardscaping-Projects-Can-Bring-Homeowners-an-ROI-of-Up-to-150-Percent-According-to-New-Study.html#sthash.Jgh0kmb0.dpuf

suggests that landscaping and Hardscaping™ can deliver a whopping return on investment as high as 150 percent – an ROI that puts it ahead of popular home improvement projects like kitchen or bathroom updates. - See more at: http://globenewswire.com/news-release/2014/09/10/665100/10098067/en/Landscaping-and-Hardscaping-Projects-Can-Bring-Homeowners-an-ROI-of-Up-to-150-Percent-According-to-New-Study.html#sthash.Jgh0kmb0.dpuf

suggests that landscaping and Hardscaping™ can deliver a whopping return on investment as high as 150 percent – an ROI that puts it ahead of popular home improvement projects like kitchen or bathroom updates. - See more at: http://globenewswire.com/news-release/2014/09/10/665100/10098067/en/Landscaping-and-Hardscaping-Projects-Can-Bring-Homeowners-an-ROI-of-Up-to-150-Percent-According-to-New-Study.html#sthash.Jgh0kmb0.dpuf

Residential Estate Photos

We recently completed a large residential installation in Coronado.  These photos show some views of the hardscape and planting.

Please visit our website, stevensmithlandscape.com

Community Associations Institute Trade Show

Steven Smith Landscape, Inc. was an exhibitor at yesterday's CAI trade show in Carlsbad.  The timely theme: "Tapping into Solutions:Demystifying the California Drought".  Our Marketing Manager Gigi Golden-Smith attended with our Landscape Maintenance Superintendent, Chris Cutler. Both reported back that it was a "great event"!

Please visit our website, stevensmithlandscape.com

Just an ordinary work day...rescuing a kitten!!!

July 16, 2014, A typical day on a job site, getting ready to use some of our heavy equipment. But wait what's that?  A tiny sound - that should not be coming from the inside of our tractor!(see red arrow) Meowing in fact, from a very tiny and not very happy kitten, somehow wedged deep within the machine.

Our President Steve Smith together with our crew, really wanted to get to work, but of course they had to solve a problem first.  Where was the kitten and how to carefully get him/her out ? They spotted her finally, but she was wedged very tightly in a space they could not reach.  After 2 hours they finally came up the plan using a bendable covered wire to make a soft 'hook' to delicately slide under kitty's belly and gently pull her out - unharmed!  Of course that was not the end of the story.  Steve called Gigi and asked if he could bring the kitty to the office. "Yes!" we all agreed. Steve drove little "Lucky" up to our headquarters in the only thing he had available, an empty power bar box with a towel inside.

Then with Leslie driving and Debra cradling the kitten - we drove to the Escondido Humane Society where she would get the utmost care.  It was surely a long time since she had eaten.  We thought perhaps mama cat had deposited her kittens there for safe keeping and could not retrieve this one.  Her eyes were not yet open!  All in a day's work!

New gallery photos, residential landscape installation

We've just added some new photos to our Installation Gallery at stevensmithlandscape.com under the Before/After and Residential tabs for a recently completed residential install.

Visit stevensmithlandscape.com 

to see our latest gallery photos and more.

Polyphagous shot-hole borer beetle

A new beetle/fungal complex was recently detected on avocado and other host plants in Los Angeles, Orange,  San Bernardino, and San Diego Counties.  Photo shows symptoms to look for on the trees. Contact Steven Smith Landscape, Inc. for a consultation.

"The two fungal species are  Fusarium euwallaceae and Graphium sp., which form a symbiotic relationship with a recently discovered beetle that is commonly known as the polyphagous shot hole borer (PSHB, Euwallacea sp.) (Fig. A). Together, they cause the disease Fusarium dieback (FD). When the beetle burrows into the tree, it inoculates the host plant with the fungus (Fig. D), which is carried in its mouthparts in a structure called mycangia. The fungus attacks the vascular tissue of the tree, blocking the transport of water and nutrients from the roots to the rest of the tree, and eventually causing branch dieback. The beetle larvae live in galleries within the tree and feed on the fungus.  FD has been observed on more than 110 different plant species in California, including many species common in urban landscapes and on such agriculturally important species as avocado, olive and persimmon." From Akif Eskalen PhD, UC Riverside www.eskalenlab.ucr.edu

ASLA Workshop on Bioswales and Bioretention, featured speaker: Chris Cutler

Chris Cutler from Steven Smith Landscape, Inc. will be one of the featured speakers, on the subject of Bioswales and Biorentention. Free event, Mesa Community College, 03/14/14. For more information and to download the flier: http://www.asla-sandiego.org/events.html

Heritage Garden Christmas Tree

The Heritage Garden Christmas tree fully trimmed.  Steven Smith Landscape installed and maintains the park in the City of Escondido, at the corner of Grand and Juniper. Photo credit: Debra Moore

 Merry Christmas to All!

Christmas Tree Lane 2013

We attended (Thank you Steve!) the Annual Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego's Christmas Tree Lane event held at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido.  The event  raised over $72,000 for the BGCGSD, and featured 10 designer decorated holiday trees, a boutique, luncheon and fashion show.  The theme for the afternoon was "Vintage Glam Wonderland."  Guests were able to get some of their holiday shopping done, while having a great time in one glorious afternoon of fun, food, fashion and champagne. 

Lucky Gigi won one of the gorgeous wreaths that were raffled off!

Heritage Garden

Another perspective from today, of Heritage Garden Park in the City of Escondido, at the corner of Grand and Juniper. Steven Smith Landscape, Inc. installed and currently maintains this park.

Meanwhile, stay tuned for photos at the park of the completed Christmas tree with all the trimmings!

Heritage Garden Christmas Tree

 Today we stopped by Heritage Garden,  the park Steven Smith Landscape installed and maintains in the City of Escondido, at the corner of Grand and Juniper.  This park is an ongoing collaborative project and the beautiful Deodar tree was donated by Evergreen Nursery and use of the lift courtesy of G. Weir .  Rosemary Duff Florist was on hand to get the trimming underway!  We plan to stop back in a day or two to get photos of the completed tree in all its splendor.

Our own  Debra Moore and Gigi Golden-Smith with some of the shiny "tree bling"

Consider the Cyclamen for Your Holiday Plantings

The holidays are right around the corner and we get a lot of requests for winter color changes for entryways and beds that speak to the season. Poinsettias are one logical choice, but a beautiful alternative is the Cyclamen.  A mix of the red and white varieties are perfect for this purpose.

Cyclamen, a tuberous perennial,  with orchid-like flowers, is a genus of the Primulaceae or primrose family.  They have large heart-shaped leaves and are available in many colors and bi-color combinations.
Cyclamen are surprisingly hardy as outdoor winter plants.

Please visit our website, stevensmithlandscape.com

Shades of blue

I wandered out to our loading dock on this beautiful crisp fall day, to see our latest plant deliveries and encountered a sea of blue Plumbago flowers.

 Plumbago is an evergreen shrub, flowering in various shades of blue. Plumbago auriculata, also known commonly as Blue Plumbago, Cape Plumbago, Cape Leadwort and Skyflower, is the most commonly seen.
A native to South Africa, Plumbago is a popular ornamental, and is considered moderately drought tolerant. Typically it is used in borders, foundation plantings, and for color massed in beds.


Please visit our website at stevensmithlandscape.com

Spring

My favorite benchmark that spring is afoot is the coming out of my Paperwhites,. aka my Tazetta Narcissus Paperwhite Daffodils.

My lovely, fragrant bulbs return every year at Easter time.  In 1999, I inherited 300 Paperwhite bulbs from a friend and planted them in my yard.  It sounds like a lot, doesn't it? It really wasn't that difficult. Not knowing a thing about bulbs, I googled Martha Stewart and read all about bulbs and how to plant them.  There is a special bulb planting tool you can buy, but i planted all 300 with a simple spade in one afternoon.

It was a labor of love. One that has been rewarded many times over as they multiply each year they come back up. It's been 14 years and now they fill up my yard!
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They look so pretty with some of my other misfit plants.
Here they are with some Begonia I rescued from a neighbor.







I wish i could make this blog a "scratch and sniff" because they smell so fresh and beautiful.  For just a few short weeks, my garden smells like heaven, especially at night. And then, they're gone. Until next spring, when they'll bring more buddies.

2nd Annual Mountain Bike Ride Benefiting the Challenged Athlete's Foundation

Don't miss the 2nd Annual Mountain Bike Ride to benefit the CAF! By participating in this fun outdoor event, you are helping physically disabled individuals receive the support they need to live active lives. This event has 3 different distance courses 10, 15 and 25 miles and we are encouraging all levels of mountain bikers to come out and join us. If you don’t ride, please join us for food, live band, beer garden, give aways, and more on:

Saturday, JUNE 1, 2013 9:00am
3680 Sunset Drive
Lake Hodges, Escondido 92025

Please arrive at 7:00 to register onsite.
For all the info and to register/donate online, please visit

mountainbikeforcaf.com

Heritage Park May 9, 2013

Steven Smith Landscape staff was onsite for the May 9th flag raising dedication at Heritage Garden.  Also attending were the Mayor, members of the Rotary Club, the Boy Scouts and representatives from other local businesses who were involved with the construction of the Park, along with our team.  Its great to see the result of all the hard work on this newly beautified corner of Escondido, at Juniper and Grand.

Please visit stevensmithlandscape.com to view our project galleries and contact us to arrange for a consultation.

Heritage Garden Escondido - Flag Raising Dedication May 9, 2013

This photo taken last week at Heritage Garden, shows the pavers we installed at the entrance to the corner of the garden, at Juniper and Grand, Escondido. Steven Smith Landscape, Inc. is currently participating in a collaborative effort to build this park in the City of Escondido.  We donated all the labor for the grading, planting, heavy equipment, irrigation, walls and pavers. All the materials are being donated by local Escondido businesses. Steven Smith Landscape, Inc. has committed to performing the landscape maintenance of the Garden as well.

We are attending  the Flag Raising Dedication at Heritage Garden, tomorrow May 9, 2013 at 8:30 AM.
Stop by and say 'Hi' !

Visit our website at www.stevensmithlandscape.com
For more information on Heritage Garden visit www.heritagegardenescondido.com

New Photos in our Galleries

Check out photos of these raised planting beds we recently installed at a residential landscape in Carmel Valley.  To view more photos of this project, please visit our installation gallery (select the 'features' tab)  at stevensmithlandscape.com