Mountain Laurels and More Latin

Last week we had the pleasure of working with one of the most beautiful flowering plants on the east coast of the United States; the Mountain Laurel. Known in the flower world by it's Latin nomenclature of "Kalmia Latifolia", this bush is native to US Northeast.

The Kalmia Latifolia is a part of the blueberry bush family, latin name "Ericaceae". It is also sometimes referred to as a "Spoonwood", because the flowers were once used by Native Americans to make their spoons.

The flowers on these plants come in all shapes, colors, and sizes, but generally always have some pink in them. They' truly are a majestic plant, and being able to plant and care for them is a privilege!

Drilling Basics

While we all tend to our weekend sunburns on this dreary Monday and wait for the rain to pass, please enjoy the textbook instructional drilling video below:

(for legal reasons we have to say that you probably shouldn't try this at home)

No Rest for the Wicked

With temperatures on the rise and the month of May rapidly coming to a close, everyday is a working day here at All Decked Out. Whether we're building decks, planting flowers or installing irrigation, we have all been working nonstop to get through these installation months in one piece!

Here's a few snapshots of the what we've been up to over the past two weeks: 

 Mulching!

 Watering!

Sweeping!

Pruning!

 and Bragging ....only a little :)

Gardening Isn't Just for Pansies

Happy May!

On this rainy Tuesday we left our prunes and snips at home in anticipation of indulging in one of our other favorite jobs as a landscaping company; Building patios.

Back in Brooklyn again, we are completely renovating a client's backyard. We removed over 5 TONS of debris in order to create a clean slate to work with:

With a bare surface ready, we delivered 2 tons of gravel and stone this morning in order to begin construction on our client's custom-cut diamond pattern blue-stone patio!

How will things look once we're finished? ...You'll have to stay tuned to find out ;)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Although most of our jobs are on the great island of Manhattan, we do sometimes get the pleasure of crossing the river to work in the ever green and always lovely Brooklyn.

This past week, the entire team (about 10 workers in total) transformed a rooftop in DUMBO from a simple place to get a good view of downtown Manhattan, to a menagerie to be viewed FROM downtown Manhattan!

 

Above: The rooftop prior to it's All Decked Out makeover

We started the day at 5am with a trip out to our nursery to get shrubs, grasses, pansies, and planters. Then, once the goods were delivered, the team set to work to bring our designer's plans to life.

Above: The rooftop after 8 hours of genius at work ;)

After a long hard day and a successfully completed installation, we of course all had to stop for pizza and a beer at the famous Grimaldi's before making our way back to across the bridge. Until next time...!

Plagued by Pollen and Poles!

After two long weeks, we're back on the blog! (miss us??)

We have officially hit the ground running (sprinting, really) here at All Decked Out, and we have been busy nearly every day installing new gardens all over the city, all while fighting the good fight-seasonal allergies!

As you may be able to guess, one of the most exciting and equally daunting parts of Spring installations is that you never can tell exactly what to expect-especially in a city as old and storied as New York. 

Last week, during a backyard installation on the Upper West Side, we encountered the remnants of a chain-link fence installed at least 80-100 years prior. While digging a large hole for a new Cherry tree, we struck concrete and metal. Unable to stray from the original design of the garden, we spent the next THREE HOURS with a sledgehammer and pick steadily chipping away at the antique foundation.

Above: Diego, Gui, and Jessica posing in a pollen fog of victory with the enemy pole

After all our hard work, not only were we finally able to pull the (3ft long!) metal pole and it's concrete base out of the ground, but the Cherry tree looked perfect in it's corner spot :). A job well worth the work!

Sunshine is here, and Tulips are too....

 ...But with all this heat, they'll soon bid us adieu!

It's the first hot day of 2012, and the city is alive with color! As ladies lunch in billowing sundresses and hipsters lounge in their neon-hued denim, millions of tulips are standing tall all over Manhattan.

Unfortunately, however, these beautiful little additions of color to city-life won't be holding their own for long. It may be common sense to assume that warm weather and sunshine brings more flowers rather than less, but in the case of Tulips, that's not true.

Tulips, like the "All Temples of Beauty" bulbs pictured above from this morning, prefer cooler weather and less sunlight. That's why these early risers are always the first spots of color you see in the Spring.

All this sunshine and the heat from a day like today are like hitting the fast forward button on the life span of a Tulip, which is why they seem extra full and marvelous. In the same token, that fast forward button will stay on all day today, and by as early as tomorrow those same tulips will begin to wilt and die.

In the end, as sad as it may be that the last day of a flowering Tulip's life is it's most beautiful, the same heat and sun that are scaring away these Springtime plants are what will bring us even more beautiful summertime plants in the months to come!