Will you do maintenance work in majority non-native gardens?

No, we do not do maintenance work in non-native gardens. We choose to devote our maintenance capacity to mostly native gardens, which provide the greatest ecological benefit to the local environment.

For pruning shrubs, will you use hedge trimmers to shape our shrubs into a box or bowling ball?

No, typically when that is done, it promotes a flush of outer growth and leaves the inside of the shrub devoid of leaves and full of dead branches. We use hand pruners to provide shrubs with a natural form that more closely mimics how they would look in nature.

Do you mow lawns?

No, we focus on native plant care rather than traditional lawn maintenance. However, we're happy to discuss reducing lawn areas and replacing them with native garden beds or lawn alternatives.

What types of tree pruning do you do?

We only do light pruning on lower branches under 15' height using a pole saw. Our pruning work typically focuses on young trees, improving form and removing lower growth to raise the canopy.

How often do native gardens need maintenance?

This depends on the garden's maturity and your aesthetic preferences. New gardens typically need monthly attention, while established gardens may only need seasonal care. We'll assess your specific needs during our consultation.

What's included in a typical maintenance visit?

Each visit is tailored to your garden's current needs and any specific requests that you have, but typically includes weeding, deadheading, light pruning, and problem identification. We provide a summary report after each visit with observations and recommendations.

Do you provide maintenance year-round?

Our active maintenance season runs from March through December. Winter visits can be scheduled for specific needs like shrub/tree pruning or cleanup, but most native gardens (and hibernating pollinators) benefit from minimal winter disturbance.

Why do you charge maintenance on an hourly basis as opposed to a fixed price?

Unfortunately, most maintenance tasks (hand weeding, hand pruning) are less predictable as far as how long they take to complete. We would rather do the work properly as opposed to rushing to finish it as quickly as possible without regard to quality.

Why do you prefer to dispose of removed plant material on-site in compost or brush piles?

First, allowing it to decompose on site provides a source of organic matter and improves your soil. Second, brush piles provide habitat to a variety of native pollinators. Lastly, it lowers the cost of your maintenance in that we do not have to bill you for time and fees for disposing of it off site. If you prefer us to dispose of it off-site, we can also dispose of it via the city's weekly yard waste collection or arrange to have it taken directly to the landfill.

Do you use herbicides?

We do not use herbicides for routine weed control. All of our routine weed control uses physical removal. However, we do use herbicides during the site preparation phase of our installation process (i.e. killing existing vegetation before installing new plants) and in certain situations when removing invasive plants. In the latter situations, they are limited in use and more effective than other techniques.