Archives for July 2022

Residential Landscaping Boca

Pool Friendly Plants and Trees

Swimming pools present specific challenges for nearby plantings. They should provide a level of shade, but not too much. They shouldn’t overhang the pool or drop leaves and blossoms in the water. They must be low maintenance and care, while being able to withstand occasionally being splashed by pool water, and have root systems that aren’t detrimental to the pool.

Areca Palm

A palm with a clumping growth habit, it adds interest to the poolscape with golden yellow trunks and feathery fronds. It typically grows about 20 ft. tall and the canopy will be about 10 ft. wide. They need well-drained soil and grow in full sun to partial shade. It’s a relatively slow grower.

Bamboo Palm

Flowing, feathery fronds provide a truly tropical feel around any pool environment. The drawback to bamboo is that it can be invasive, making this a perfect pool plant for growing in containers. It grows from 4 to 12 ft. tall, depending on the size of the container, and about 3 ft. across. It prefers partial shade and makes a good privacy screen.

Bird of Paradise

Nothing says a tropical environment like bird of paradise. Choose the orange variety with blue and orange blossoms or the white variety that sports blue and white blooms. The white variety is best planted in larger yards as it can grow 30 ft. tall, 10 ft. wide, and have leaves up to 18 in. long. The orange variety grows 3 to 5 ft. tall and can be planted in a container if desired. They need full sun to partial shade.

Croton

The croton brings striking foliage to the pool environment with a mix of red, green, yellow, orange and burgundy. They also sport a variety of leaf shapes, depending on the variety. They grow 3 to 8 ft. tall and have a similar spread. A fairly slow grower, they prefer full sun and the amount of light received will dictate the vibrancy of the colors.

RCH Landscaping is a full-service landscape company based in Boca Raton, Florida. We design, install and maintain Commercial and Residential landscapes all around Boca Raton, Delray Beach, and The Palm Beach areas. Our team of highly skilled landscape technicians has an undisputed track record of creating and maintaining beautiful commercial and residential landscapes all over South Florida.

Contact RCH Landscaping Today for a Free Estimate

561-779-9760

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Top 5 Reasons to Hire a Landscape Designer

Planning a new landscape or updating an existing one is a fun and exciting time. Unfortunately, many landscapes suffer from overcrowding as individuals try to get all their favorite flowers, bushes, trees and vines in the ground, only to discover their landscape isn’t at all what they envisioned. The following are the top five reasons to hire a landscape designer.

Expert Planning

Landscape designers do more than choose plants. They offer sustainable solutions. They know where to plant trees that will help reduce cooling costs and the type of plants to install that address areas where water collects. The professionals can utilize materials such as permeable pavers to add beauty and return water to the earth instead of puddling. A designer can incorporate irrigation systems and hard features such as swimming pools.

Works Within the Space

It doesn’t matter whether individuals have a small backyard landscape or acres of land to fill, a landscape designer works within the available space to generate ideas from which people can choose.

Site Exam

The type of plantings will depend largely on the soil and surrounding ecosystem. Landscape designers can determine if the soil needs to be amended or if there are any special features in the environment that need to be considered such as drainage issues. The expert will know if a particular bush, flower, tree or vine will thrive in any environment. He/she will also know which plants are best suited for the growing conditions in South Florida.

Budget-Friendly

A landscape designer is able to work with multiple size budgets to create design plans that are functional and aesthetically pleasing. Landscaping can be performed all at once or even spread over several years to accommodate specific budgets.

Management

Landscape designers will oversee every detail of the project. They’ll either have their own contractors or will have established relationships with reputable companies to perform the work. They’ll take care of all the details involved, from excavations to planting. If an unforeseen issue arises, they’ll be there to provide solutions.

RCH Landscaping is a full-service landscape company based in Boca Raton, Florida. We design, install and maintain Commercial and Residential landscapes all around Boca Raton, Delray Beach, and The Palm Beach areas. Our team of highly skilled landscape technicians has an undisputed track record of creating and maintaining beautiful commercial and residential landscapes all over South Florida.

Contact RCH Landscaping Today for a Free Estimate

561-779-9760

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5 Groundcovers for a Full Sun Plant Bed

Groundcovers are an often-overlooked option for flower beds. They require little care, quickly fill in their allotted area, and provide a brilliant burst of color. There are also types that don’t bloom, but produce interesting foliage. Groundcovers help keep down weed growth and help curb erosion.

Beach Verbena

This is a perennial groundcover that can stabilize dunes and it’s equally at home in full sun landscapes inland. There are tall and short versions, with the shorter varieties making the best groundcover. They bloom profusely throughout the summer. Verbena is heat and drought tolerant, and available in colors of red, blue, purple, pink, lavender, white, and bi-colors.

Moss Roses

The delicate appearance of moss roses belies its hardiness. Sold as an annual, it will freely reseed itself even in northern climates. It requires full sun and is a semi-succulent. Blooms encompass single and double varieties in shades of red, yellow, white, pink, orange, scarlet and bi-colors. The groundcover will happily bloom all season. However, it can be poisonous to pets if ingested.

Sea Fig

Also known as ice plant, the succulent rarely grows over 6 in. in height. Bright pink, white or yellow blooms adorn the plants for most of the summer and into autumn. The foliage evergreen, but plants will experience some dieback in winter months. They’re resistant to drought, heat and salt, and honey bees find them very attractive. They like full sun, but will tolerate light shade.

Dwarf Chenille

It grows to about 6 in. in high and flowers in full sun to partial shade. Flowers are brighter red the more sun they receive. A relatively slow grower, it blooms more during warm weather, but will do so periodically throughout the year. The blossoms are upright and have a fuzzy appearance. It will even tolerate mowing to encourage new growth, as long as it’s not cut too short.

Sunshine Mimosa

This is a perennial legume that likes full sun to light shade. It’s also known as powderpuff mimosa. Blossoms are small and have the appearance of pink puff balls. Leaves are fernlike and will shrink back when touched. It’s a quick grower and excellent for areas where erosion is a problem.

RCH Landscaping is a full-service landscape company based in Boca Raton, Florida. We design, install and maintain Commercial and Residential landscapes all around Boca Raton, Delray Beach, and The Palm Beach areas. Our team of highly skilled landscape technicians has an undisputed track record of creating and maintaining beautiful commercial and residential landscapes all over South Florida.

Contact RCH Landscaping Today for a Free Estimate

561-779-9760

Read more

6 Beautiful Trees That Also Make a Mess!

Many trees have interesting foliage and make beautiful specimens in the landscape. They also create a significant mess either through dropped blossoms or fruit, peeling or shedding bark, or insect pests. It’s important to perform sufficient research before selecting a tree.

Bradford Pear

Stately and beautiful when it’s in bloom, spent flower petals will litter the ground and the blossoms are smelly. It’s a prolific self-sower that easily overwhelms wooded areas and chokes out native species. Many states have enacted bans due to its highly invasive nature. When it crosses with a regular pear, it develops thorns that can puncture tires. The trees have weak branches.

Weeping Willow

Many people like the graceful growth habit of weeping willows, but the trees bring a lot of drama to the landscape. The roots are aggressive growers that seek out water sources – including underground water and sewer lines. The roots can destroy the lines, crack foundations and break sidewalks. Branches become weaker as the tree ages and prone to breakage. They attract a variety of insect pests that leave their own messy mark on the environment.

Mimosa

Puffy pink flowers and frilly leaves make the mimosa a charming tree. However, it’s short lived, weak wooded, has invasive roots, and is prone to multiple diseases and insects. They’re also prolific self-seeders.

Ginkgo Biloba

One of the oldest living species in the world, they make beautiful shade trees with golden fall foliage – as long as it’s a male ginkgo. The female ginkgo tree develops seeds with a distinctly unpleasant odor. The cherry-sized fruit is messy and malodorous. It’s the only descendant of a species that lived before the dinosaurs and there are six known ginkgo trees known to have survived the bombing of Hiroshima.

Red Oak

A red oak tree can live up to 300 years. They have invasive roots, shed a large number of leaves, and produce acorns that litter the ground in autumn and are capable of denting car roofs when they fall. That have a large number of pollen-bearing catkins that fall to the ground and exacerbate allergies.

Sycamore

The trees shed strips of bark and twigs, drop an enormous number of very large leaves in the autumn, and have hard, spiky seed balls that fall to the ground. The seed pods are moderately allergenic and contain a toxic agent. It has an aggressive root system able to damage sidewalks and home foundations, and can develop large surface roots that impede mowing. It’s prone to heartwood rot and the anthracnose disease that can cause massive leaf drops.

RCH Landscaping is a full-service landscape company based in Boca Raton, Florida. We design, install and maintain Commercial and Residential landscapes all around Boca Raton, Delray Beach, and The Palm Beach areas. Our team of highly skilled landscape technicians has an undisputed track record of creating and maintaining beautiful commercial and residential landscapes all over South Florida.

Contact RCH Landscaping Today for a Free Estimate

561-779-9760

Read more
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