Patio and Deck Design/Build in Tulsa - The Benefits

Would you like to enjoy more of your backyard and landscape? Patios and decks make the perfect addition for your Tulsa home. Whether relaxing or entertaining, these outdoor living areas give you a convenient way to ‘find yourself outside’ without having to walk through the grass or mud, thus protecting your home flooring.

These hardscapes are can become the basis for greater outdoor environment embellishments and can add exceptional value and curb appeal to your home and landscape. What are some design ideas and benefits to building a patio or deck for your outdoor environment?

Nowadays, patios offer a great deal of variety in design. They can be made using an assortment of different materials such as stone, concrete, pavers, tile, or brick. Concrete can be stamped or colored to add style and dimension to your outdoor space. Porcelain or ceramic tile can add a unique flair to your outdoor living area by even giving it a Tuscan or Mediterranean feel, depending on the style. Bricks can provide warmth to your patio and also come in a variety of colors. A nice aspect of using bricks is that they can be placed in such a way as to create a variety of patterns and designs providing added character and charm.
Patios provide a nice way of aesthetically dividing an outdoor living space. They are the foundation for your outdoor kitchen, fireplace, or swimming pool, which unfailingly becomes the focal point of your entire outdoor environment. Outdoor structures can conveniently be added to a patio area to provide shade and protection from the elements. Adding character, style, and practical appeal to your space, patios offer an array of benefits.

While patios are built directly on the ground, decks are ideal for landscapes on a hill or with an unleveled ground area because they are built with a support system to help them “float” above ground. Decks are thus a great addition to increase the visual scope of a surrounding area. These hardscapes can even be added to an upper level of the house. Decks can be built using a variety of different material like wood, composite, aluminum, vinyl, and plastic. Most decks include a railing for protection and in a multi-level outdoor environment, homeowners can incorporate some of the hardscapes from the patio with the upper level deck to seamlessly integrate designs.

So in choosing whether you want to build a patio or a deck, Tulsa homeowners have some diverse options. Depending on their budget, aesthetics, landscape, and outdoor living needs, homeowners can have a perfect place for entertaining by building patios, decks – or by including both – in their landscape design. Oklahoma Landscape can help you design/build the right patio or deck for your Tulsa home ensuring you enjoy more of your landscape.

Fall is the Best Time for Overseeding Tulsa Lawns

Is your Tulsa lawn looking a little worn-out? Grass starts to get old and look weary, thin, and brown due to heat or simply the passing of time. In this weakened condition, weeds can easily take over a lawn.

Overseeding your Tulsa lawn with new grass seed can help to revive your landscape and make it look vibrant and new again. Overseeding is the practice of spreading a layer of new grass seed over your existing turf.  This new layer of grass will fill in any bare spots in your Tulsa lawn and help it to stay healthy.

There’s also another benefit to overseeding your Tulsa lawn in the fall. “…overseeding with a cool-season grass in the fall ensures that you will have a green lawn during the winter months,” the University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources division noted.

When is the best time to overseed or reseed? Fall is an opportune time because the soil is still warm enough for seeds to germinate in. Meanwhile, the air temperature is getting cooler, making it more difficult for weeds to grow and choke out the new grass. Cooler temperatures also mean a decrease in insects and disease to harm the new seeds. Thus, with adequate watering and fertilization, the new seeds can start to germinate before winter.

By overseeding your Tulsa lawn, it will become more resistant to diseases, weeds, and drought. Thus, a healthy lawn will need less water, fertilizer, and pesticides. So, a little overseeding now will be a big help in having a thick and green lawn in the spring.

Before you overseed, you will want to cut your grass lower than you usually do to allow more room for the new seeds to grow and to allow more sunlight to reach them. Remove any clippings and thatch in the lawn. It’s helpful to aerate your lawn, removing core patches of dead grass and soil, to allow more oxygen, water, and nutrients to reach the roots.

After you spread or broadcast your new seed over the turf, lightly rake the lawn to help the seeds germinate in the soil. Apply a good fertilizer to the lawn to help the new seed grow strong. Many also recommend spreading enriched soil or a thin layer of compost over the seeds to supplement the soil, but it’s important to apply just a thin layer so as to not smother the new seeds before they can grow.
Watering is vital. Water the lawn immediately after overseeding, keeping the lawn damp but not flooded. Continue to irrigate the seeds several times a day for several weeks. After the seeds have begun to grow, you can water less frequently. Wait to mow the grass until it reaches about 3 inches high.

These simple steps to overseed your Tulsa lawn will help get it ready for winter so that your landscape can look lush and beautiful in the spring and remain healthy. Oklahoma Landscape in Tulsa offers complete overseeding services as well as fertilization and weed control to help maintain a green an attractive lawn.

Tulsa Outdoor Kitchen Design Ideas for Elegant Outdoor Living

 

Are you thinking about an outdoor kitchen for your Tulsa outdoor environment? Maybe you’ve wondered what you can include in an outdoor kitchen? What design concepts might best fit your entertaining style? We can help.  Our Tulsa outdoor kitchen experts can take your lifestyle, your entertaining style, and today’s hottest outdoor living trends and combine them to design/build the outdoor kitchen of your dreams.

For instance, do you love to watch the big game on the weekends? Why miss the game when you’re outside cooking on the grill? Have a flat-screen television installed on a nearby cabinet or hanging from your pergola or roof. Your outdoor kitchen can be as simple or sophisticated as you and your cooking styles need. Having cooking equipment you would not usually have in the house like a pizza oven can add functionality and charm to your outdoor space.


Having enough cabinet and countertop space is often the most overlooked aspect of outdoor kitchens. U-shaped outdoor kitchens are nice for providing additional prep room while also giving guests a chance to sit across from the cook and “be where all the action is” while they’re waiting for dinner, CoastalLiving.com noted. Bar seating adjacent to your outdoor kitchen countertop is a great way to entertain guests or keep kids close by when you’re grilling. Thus, as the cook you can be involved in the party while still watching your food. You can add a water or beer tap and refrigerator to the end of your bar area, giving the guests the opportunity to help themselves without getting in the way of the cook, Houzz.com noted. Just remember to have your grill or burner positioned so as to prevent smoke from moving in the direction of your seating area. A high-powered ventilation hood can be useful in keeping smoke at bay. Make sure you have allow enough room to prep, cook, and serve your gourmet dinner.

When building your outdoor kitchen, remember the visual aspects of your entire outdoor environment. Position your outdoor kitchen in such a way that all guests can still enjoy viewing the pool or garden that accentuates the landscape while they’re enjoying the outdoor kitchen. An attached roof or pergola can keep your dinner plans on schedule even in the event of inclement weather.

With the right lighting, seating, equipment, and design, your outdoor kitchen area can become the focal entertaining point for your entire outdoor environment.

Additional Source: http://www.hgtvremodels.com/outdoors/10-outdoor-kitchens-that-sizzle/pictures/index.html.

Tips to Improve your Outdoor Lighting for your Tulsa Home

Although the days are getting shorter, you can still enjoy your outdoor environment in Tulsa with custom outdoor landscape lighting.

From the front door to the backyard deck, lighting plays an important role in the beauty, usability and safety of your outdoor living space. Small changes in lighting can have a big impact on your home’s curb appeal and your ability to enjoy outdoor living. Oklahoma Landscape’s lighting experts can help you ‘find yourself outside’ and enjoy the fall nights with outdoor lighting. Here’s a few tips on how to improve exterior lighting.

Light the Way

“Night-time visitors should feel welcomed with light as soon as their car stops in front of your house,” Daniel Auer, a lighting expert with LightingShowplace.com, says. That means driveways and walkways leading to your front door should be well-lit enough to ensure safe footing, yet not so bright that they overpower the main lights above or beside your front door.

At the door, if your home currently has just one lantern next to the door, consider replacing it with matching lanterns. Flanking the door with matched lights will create a warm, even glow while assuring the safety of those who enter. If your home has a porch or overhang, you have even more options: a recessed, chain-hung or ceiling fixture.

Light the Landscape

“When it comes to landscape lighting, many homeowners tend to forget about the backyard,” Auer says. While simple canister lights, directed on key landscape elements like trees or planting beds, can create drama for your home, don’t overlook the value of more whimsical choices or of lighting your back yard.

More powerful, practical path lighting makes sense for front areas where guests may be walking from car to house. In backyards, consider using more delicate path lights to highlight areas, like water features and seating arrangements.

Deck it Out

If the kitchen is the heart of the home, a great deck is its crowning glory. Americans are now building and expanding decks more than ever before, as the trend towards great outdoor living spaces continues. Just as you employ lighting to create usability, mood and appeal in your kitchen, the right lighting outdoors can enhance the safety and enjoyment of your deck.


“There are numerous ways to light your deck, from lanterns that sit on the post caps of your deck rails to outdoor lamps that work with your outdoor furniture much as lamps do indoors,” Auer says.

One of the hottest trends in deck lighting plays to a hot trend in deck construction – decorative rails, all the rage right now, require decorative lighting. From strand lighting designed to mimic the twinkling of the stars overhead to sconces shaped like flowers and animals, the options for adding light to deck railings have boomed in the past few years.

You’ll be a Fan

Overhead fans are a great way to add multiple layers of lighting – not to mention comfort – to outdoor spaces like gazebos, screened porches and decks. Any fan that you love indoors can easily be used outdoors with the proper wiring. What’s more, most fans offer dimmer options so you can adjust light levels to match the mood of your gathering.

Fans with blades that evoke the look of leaves or fern fronds are particularly attractive in outdoor settings, helping underscore the natural appeal of the space.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Lawn Care Tulsa - Top 5 Lawn Pests and Diseases

You’ve seen them take over your Tulsa lawn, or you’ve seen what they have left of your lawn and garden. These are the little lawn pests; the culprits that leave your lawn looking tired and battered. What are some of the more common lawn pests and diseases?

Top 5 Lawn Pests in Tulsa:

1. Moles: Of course, these guys will burrow through your lawn’s soil, wreaking havoc on roots and grass, as well as leaving tunnels and holes. The soil they pile up on top of the lawn is not only unsightly, but also makes it very difficult to mow.  They feed on the next culprit, so where there’s one, there might be another.
2. Grubs: These little, white immature beetles, shaped like a “C,” will eat away at your grass roots, creating large sections of brown, dead grass that is easily pulled up.
3. Chinch Bugs: These bugs will cause injury to your grass making patches of yellow or copper-colored turf that may look like the injury was the result of drought or heat.
4. Snow Mold: This fungal disease causes patches of yellow or brown grass that may clump together and have a white, cobweb-like layer.
5. Red Thread: We may begin to see this lawn disease creep up in Tulsa after the wet summer we’ve had. This disease causes patches of reddish-brown grass strings and is often related to a nitrogen deficiency.
   

Keeping your lawn healthy throughout the year will lessen the chances of an attack by these pests and diseases. Regular mowing helps the grass stay strong, as does aerating the soil, overseeding the lawn, and fertilizing it to help give the lawn the nutrients it needs.

Revive Stressed Tulsa Lawns with Fertilization and Weed Control

People associate lawn care in Tulsa with spring and summer, but the fall is actually the optimal time to take steps toward a healthy, greener lawn. Fall gives homeowners time to repair the damage caused by intense summer heat and help prepare the lawn for winter. Lawn fertilization and weed control in the fall can help Tulsa lawns be healthy and green in the spring.

Rout the Drought
This summer’s drought has left many lawns in Tulsa straw-colored and dormant. Fall lawn care can help your lawn recover. During a drought, you should continue to fertilize your lawn every eight weeks with a slow-release fertilizer. A lawn that has the proper nutrients grows dense, deep roots and recovers from drought faster. A regularly fed lawn will also be healthier and thicker than an unfed lawn. Couple feedings with infrequent, deep watering to promote deeper roots, which provide a larger reservoir of water to draw from.

After the drought passes, keeping this feeding schedule up through the fall should help your lawn green up quickly. If brown patches remain, fall is the time to consider raking those spots out and reseeding to get your lawn healthy for the following spring.

Feed the Need
Even lawns not stricken by drought need nourishment in the fall – and autumn feeding can make a big difference. Fall feeding can bring a dramatic improvement as the lawn recovers from summer damage. Lawn fertilization in Tulsa can help store vital nutrients your soil so that underground root development can continue until the ground freezes to ready the lawn for fuller growth in the spring. Two feedings — timed around Labor Day and Halloween — are recommended for Northern lawns, while Southern lawns are best-fed four-to-six weeks before the first frost occurs in your specific region.

Let It Breathe
In order to grow, a lawn needs air. As a rule of thumb, if you can’t see the grass due to leaf coverage, then it’s time to remove the lawn debris from the yard. Clearing leaves and clippings in the fall will help by removing clutter that keeps air and sun from reaching the growing grass. Heed caution if mulching leaves, as a thick layer spread onto the lawn actually does more harm than good.

One great way to let your lawn breathe is through core aeration in Tulsa, which promotes deep root growth. Aeration removes cores of dirt, thatch and grass and reduces soil compacting that can keep grass from developing roots deep enough to absorb rainwater. For best results, choose an aerator that removes plugs of soil, with the remaining holes at least 3/4″ in diameter, 3″ deep and no more than 3″ apart.

Overseed
Once the lawn is aerated, look for weak spots in it. Drought, thatch, insects, disease or seeding too lightly at first planting can make lawns thin or patchy. Overseeding — the spreading of grass seed directly onto soil within an existing lawn — can improve a lawn’s appearance dramatically and eliminate the need for a total lawn renovation.

Fall is the prime time to overseed because the warm soil promotes rapid seed growth and typically, fewer weed problems emerge at this time of the year. If the thatch layer of dead roots and stems below the green blades is more than 1/2″ thick, you should de-thatch the lawn before overseeding. If the presence of tree roots has resulted in an inadequate topsoil layer, spread a layer of topsoil no more than 1/4″ over the lawn.

The day before you overseed, mow the lawn slightly lower than normal. Be sure to use fertilizer when you seed. For the next several weeks after overseeding, keep the top inch of soil moist to permit growth.

Performing these simple Tulsa lawn care steps in the fall will help you have a beautiful lawn in the spring. For more information on fall lawn care and tips on preparing your lawn for winter, visit http://www.oklahomalandscape.com or call 918.299-LAWN.

Courtesy of ARA Content.

Weed Control in Tulsa - What is the Best Defense?

Lawn Care Tulsa

Weed Control…Tulsa homeowners know that to have a beautiful, healthy lawn you have to keep weeds in their place…virtually nonexistent, right? But what does that involve? Consistent lawn care all year round is the best defense against weeds. With a thick, healthy lawn, there’s less of a chance of weeds taking over.

For broadleaf weeds, you can start by using a weed herbicide to kill the weeds; and then after they turn brown, you can remove the thatch. But removing the weeds is only the beginning of consistent lawn care and a subsequently healthier lawn.

Aerating your lawn in the fall (for cool-season grasses) and in the spring or early summer (for warm-season grasses) can greatly improve the health of your lawn. Core aeration, as it’s sometimes called, breaks up compacted soil that over time can harden, keeping the roots from growing and preventing rainfall, fertilizer, and other nutrients from penetrating the soil. Aeration is done by making small holes in the grass and soil or by removing small core patches of soil and dead grass, or thatch. These small holes allow oxygen, water, and nutrients to reach the soil and grass roots. Oxygen helps prevent diseases and increases growth, and with enough room in the soil, roots can continue to grow and flourish. Thus, this simple procedure can greatly increase the health of your lawn, giving it the strength and thickness it needs to choke weeds out.



Weed Control

Fertilizing your lawn in the fall, just after aerating, will allow the nutrients to reach the soil and roots. And with temperatures cooling, there will be better conditions for the soil and grass to repair and rebuild itself.

Overseeding your Tulsa lawn with cool-season grass varieties in the fall will help to fill in any bare patches of grass and strengthen your lawn with new grass seeds. This will help grass stay healthy and more resistant to diseases and weeds. Again, a healthy, vibrant lawn is the best defense against those pesky weeds.

While herbicides can help keep weeds at bay, truly healthy lawns require a regular maintenance program of aerating, fertilizing, and overseeding to have effective weed control.

For more information visit, Weed Control Tulsa.

Outdoor Fireplaces in Tulsa - Camping with All the Comforts of Home (and no Mess)

Although it’s still hot out, today is the day we traditionally say goodbye to summer. It’s a bitter-sweet goodbye, having enjoyed swimming and other outdoor sports we cherish so much here in Oklahoma. But with fall and winter come another exciting time and another hobby – cozy outdoor fireplaces!

Outdoor Fireplaces have become one of the trendiest new additions to Tulsa homes, providing a practical place to entertain while adding value to your home itself. Tulsa Outdoor Fireplaces become a focal point for your outdoor environment. They add depth and character and an entire additional season to enjoy your outdoor living space.

What better way is there to entertain guests during fall and winter than with a cozy outdoor fireplace? Everyone loves smores. So, an outdoor fireplace becomes a campfire without the messy camping problems and work. After you enjoy your fireplace, you can go right inside and snuggle up in your own bed. Thus, outdoor fireplaces offer the best of both worlds – the outdoors with all the comforts of home.

Outdoor Fireplaces in Tulsa can be built with a variety of hardscape materials including various stones, concrete, and brick. Thus there’s an endless array of designs and colors available to perfectly match your home and outdoor environment style. You will need to have a layer of flame-retardant firebrick around the flames before you add any decorative outer materials.

These focal points extend the boundaries of your home, creating an inviting warmth and glow for your backyard. Fireplaces add dimension to your outdoor environment, defining the outdoor living room, so to speak, especially with a pergola or other outdoor structure.

And what if you decide to sell your home? Having an outdoor fireplace adds great value to your entire home and landscape. This added property value can’t be duplicated with just a store-bought fire pit or chiminea.

These elegant and functional additions to your outdoor living space are more than just a place to get warm. They represent countless evenings spent this fall and winter making unforgettable memories with family and friends. Learn more about Tulsa Outdoor Fireplaces.