Patios and Pavers for Tulsa Homes - Spring Home Improvement Projects

Spring is almost here! And thoughts of home improvement are in the air for Tulsa homeowners. Spring brings with it a sense of renewal and regeneration – it’s a fresh start. Home improvement and landscaping projects naturally follow. 

In the area of home improvement, patios make a great addition to just about any home. They become the basis for an outdoor environment and serve to extend the boundaries of your home. Even a simple patio can add noteworthy value to your property and home. 

Building a Tulsa patio with interlocking pavers is ideal. Pavers not only add charm and definition to the outdoor space but they are also extremely practical. Paver stones are very strong and versatile. Pavers are available in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, colors, textures, and materials. These hardscapes are also easy to install and easy to replace if they do get damaged. 

Interlocking pavers create a sophisticated look for any landscape by providing a seamless transition from inside to outside.  Our Tulsa paver patio designers and installers are certified by the Interlocking Concrete Paver Institute to create quality paver and patio designs that highlight your personal style.

Natural stone pavers like flagstone offer another incredible patio look. Flagstone offers a unique beauty and style with a natural look and feel. These hardscapes also add depth and character to the landscape and come in a variety of shapes and colors. Flagstone is also a very durable material. 

For a more classic patio with a modern twist, decorative concrete patios provide an upscale patio look for typically a lower cost than some of the other hardscape materials. Concrete can be stained, adding a variety of different colors and hues, as well as various designs or border accents. Stamped concrete mimics the look and feel of other hardscape materials like pavers, tile, and natural stones. This imprinted or textured concrete offers a wide array of color and pattern options to create a chic outdoor living area. 

As the base for your outdoor environment, patios bring versatility and charm to your Tulsa home and outdoor living space and are a great start to your spring home improvement plans.

Outdoor Kitchens in Tulsa - Upscale Summer Entertaining on the Grill

Kids playing in the yard, friends talking over a glass of iced tea, and delicious food on the grill – that’s the classic American summer, right? No summer scene would be complete without grilling outside. We love to be outdoors and cook outdoors when the weather is nice. And families in Tulsa can have all the conveniences of the indoors while they’re outside grilling. Tulsa outdoor kitchens remain a growing trend and for good reason. 

Not only do outdoor kitchens in Tulsa make for awesome ‘staycations’ or the favorite spot for hanging out on the weekends, but these outdoor spaces are a great investment for homeowners and can significantly increase the property value of a home. 

Today’s outdoor kitchens can be as over-the-top or as basic as you would like. These outdoor living spaces can have stainless steel appliances like burners, refrigerators, grills, and sinks. They can have extra storage space bins and custom built-in containers for utensils and other essentials as well as granite countertops. It’s important to include plenty of counter space to afford the cook enough prep space. State-of-the-art grilling and cooking equipment including pizza ovens make outdoor entertaining easy and more enjoyable.   

The outdoor kitchen can be located close to the outdoor living area to keep the person cooking fully involved in the action or separated, depending on your style of entertaining and how you want to utilize the two spaces. Bar seating can be built as part of the outdoor kitchen to allow guests to easily talk and eat with the cook. Often, homeowners have a spacious dining table and comfortable lounge area adjacent to the outdoor kitchen to fully enjoy their meal with friends and family. Placing the kitchen and grilling space near the inside kitchen makes for easy transport of food and other prep materials. 

An elegant pergola or steel arbor may provide a comfortable cover for the outdoor kitchen space and create a more distinct outdoor living space. Next to a custom pool or spa, these outdoor environments provide the definitive space to entertain or just relax. 

The amenities and styles of these outdoor kitchens are almost endless. Their style and theme can coordinate beautifully with the architecture and feel of your home to create one cohesive landscape design.  

So plan now to enjoy the classic American summer even better with a complete Tulsa outdoor kitchen area.

Benefits of Tulsa Fertilization and Weed Control to Your Spring Lawn Care

With all the winter storms, the entire country is probably ready for spring.  With spring on its way, what lawn care tips can aid Tulsa lawns to be ready for the warmer weather? How significant are fertilization and weed control in a lawn care program? 

Making sure your lawn is clean is the first step in turf care. Remove any limbs or debris in the yard and lightly rake your lawn when the ground has dried out. This debris can stop your soil and lawn from obtaining the nutrients they need. 

You may need to test the condition or pH levels of your soil, particularly if you see various bare patches, to see what nutrients your soil is lacking. There are DIY kits available, or your local agricultural cooperative extension could have testing available. 

Soil can become compacted during wintertime and patches of dead grass, or thatch, may need to be removed. Core aeration can help loosen the soil and remove thatch. This thatch not only stops proper drainage, but also permits weeds and pests to more easily overrun the turf. Lawn aeration removes small patches of soil to better let water and nutrients to reach the roots. 

Overseeding your Tulsa lawn will help to fill-in any bare spots and improve your lawn overall. The new varieties of seed planted can have a higher resistance to disease than those varieties already in the lawn, making your lawn tougher and easier to maintain. 

And, of course, your lawn must be feed. As grass begins to grow, it’s imperative that it has the nutrients it needs to grow strong and vibrant enough to block weeds. Slow-release fertilizers and regular watering will help the soil and grass flourish. Timing of lawn fertilization is important to having healthy grass. Fertilizing too early or too late could harm the growing turf.

Oklahoma Landscape uses a 6-step fertilization and weed control program customized to your lawn to give it just the nutrients it needs at the right time. An effective pre-emergent and post-emergent weed control system is needed to thwart weeds from overtaking the lawn; however, weed control also must be applied at the right time. 

But healthy grass will ultimately do the best job in thwarting weeds by naturally blocking out sunlight and choking the weeds. That’s why a good lawn fertilization program will ensure the lawn stays healthy. 

Correct mowing is also essential to a healthy lawn. Although it may be easier, mowing your grass too short can harm the lawn in the long run by causing the soil to dry out faster, giving weeds more sunlight to grow, and putting more stress on the grass. 

Thus, you’ll need to mow at the uppermost level so that you only remove the top one-third of the grass blade. Taller blades will be stronger and better able to choke out weeds and hold in more moisture in the soil. A lush, thick lawn will actually need less maintenance and be more resistant to disease. Make sure your lawnmower is in good repair and the blades are sharp to allow for cleaner cuts and thus healthier grass. Each new lawn mowing season, you can alternate the direction you mow to prevent putting unnecessary stress on your lawn. 

So while spring hasn’t arrived yet, you can still begin planning for a healthy, vibrant lawn now. Oklahoma Landscape can alleviate the stress of lawn care with a custom fertilization and weed control schedule and lawn maintenance program for your Tulsa landscape.

Landscape Design Plans A Must For Your Tulsa Outdoor Environment

When developing their Tulsa outdoor environment, many homeowners may start by buying a grill for the patio or a porch swing. They may add items to their outdoor living space as they find them at gardening stores or change things about their landscape as they see new ideas.

Of course, starting small and finding new things as you go to add to a garden is fine, but without a particular theme or design in mind for the landscape, a yard could become a jumble of mixed-matched styles and items. This could leave the homeowner feeling a little disheveled, like there was always something missing in their outdoor living space, and then they’re on a never-ending search for what will complete their landscape design. 

Having a definite design style in mind when creating an outdoor environment will help to keep your landscaping projects focused and make your outdoor space a work of art. You can have a theme for your outdoor environment such as Mediterranean, Tuscan, or Asian-inspired. Choosing one of these themes not only will help you to have a more unified look, but will give you direction and purpose in your landscaping. 

It’s good to put your landscape design ideas down on paper. This will help you carefully plan out how best to divide your space, where to plant shrubs and trees, and help you anticipate any problems to your landscape plan. To help save water and maintenance, try to group shrubbery together by their watering and sunlight needs. Also, plan for the future in deciding where to plant foliage by determining how big trees and plants will grow when they mature. Will they block a view from window, or will their root systems have to struggle against other plants’ roots for nutrients as they grow? 

Determining how you will most often use your Tulsa outdoor environment will help you to better use the space you have. You may not be able to include every outdoor feature you would like in your space, so by drawing or writing out your plan, you can better see the amount of unfilled space and prioritize what you’ll include accordingly. Do you want an outdoor kitchen space or a fire pit? Would you like to have an outdoor dining area? Is a swimming pool a must? Knowing what you must have in your outdoor living space will help you know where to start when you begin building.  

Professional Tulsa landscape architects can help you to design and build your entire outdoor environment and can assist you in choosing a theme that will best match the architecture of your home and how you want to utilize your outdoor space. These professionals also understand how to use retaining walls and other hardscapes to prevent erosion and how to effectively divide your outdoor space into ‘rooms’ that mimic all the comforts of home.  

So before you dive into renovating your backyard this spring, think about how you want to use your space and carefully design a landscape plan and theme that will create a one-of-a-kind outdoor oasis.

'Living Classroom' Coming to Jenks Public Schools - Landscape Design by Oklahoma Landscape

A unique project is currently in progress for Jenks Public Schools. A “living classroom” including Chimney Swift towers, butterfly gardens, rain barrels, and other landscaping features is being built near the Freshman Academy in Jenks, Okla. This interactive outdoor living space will serve as a fascinating way for students to learn about nature.  

The school and 9^th grade biology/ornithology teacher Todd Humphrey approached Tulsa landscaping company Oklahoma Landscape in Spring 2013 with the idea for a living classroom. Our licensed landscape architect Paul Strickland then got to work creating 3D concept models of how the finished classroom would look. 

As a Tulsa-area landscaping company, we can see the sweeping benefits a project like this could have. In thinking about the project, we felt this was a very unique school concept that could spread across the Tulsa area into other school systems, allowing kids the opportunity to learn more about landscaping, plants, caring for gardens, etc. 

“We are excited to see this continue to grow each week,” Oklahoma Landscape President Aaron Wiltshire said. “Ultimately, this will be an incredible and unique space.” 

We’re also excited that many of the Jenks families we’ve done landscaping for have children who attend Jenks Schools, so they’ll get to enjoy this natural space.  And the site for the project is actually just a mile or so from the Oklahoma Landscape office, so it really feels like it’s in our own “backyard.”

When the “Flycatcher Trail” classroom is completed, students will be able to plant vegetables, perennials, feed birds, and study insects. Students will also be responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the gardens, trails, and water feature. 

“This project can help students in many ways. It can teach them how to do things outside. We all know how electronics can dominate the time of our youth. This project helps kids to get their hands dirty, into the soil, so to speak. It helps them take pride in caring and nurturing plants and gardens,” Aaron Wiltshire said. “There’s a lot of pride that comes from nurturing living things and benefiting from the beauty that is created.” 

As a landscaping company, we know the benefits that come from working with nature and the creativity that can be awakened in the process, and we hope this project will continue to foster that sense of creativity in our children…and it could even inspire a future Tulsa landscape designer. 

“Some of our youth will become aspiring designers, architects, etc., and there are little opportunities we can make available to help put something in front of them that may guide them one way or the other,” Aaron Wiltshire added. 

What are some of the features this distinctive classroom will have? 

Entry structure with rain barrels and a pergola pass-through.

Water feature with streams and a stone bridge.

Compost bins

Butterfly garden

Upright Chimney Swift towers

Native landscape plants and trees

Fully automatic sprinkler system

Cedar split rail fencing

Extensive decomposed granite trails

While Oklahoma Landscape is spearheading the project, there are many others who have donated time, labor, and materials to make this happen. We felt like we could pull off this huge undertaking because of our reliable team of professionals and with the valuable help of our trusted sub-contractors and suppliers. 

“Tulsa and the surrounding towns have made Oklahoma Landscape what it is today, and this project is a great opportunity for us to give back to the community we all share!” Aaron Wiltshire noted. 

The Flycatcher Trail, located in a lot east of the 9^th grade center, is estimated to be completed in March or early April. Stay tuned for more information on how the work is progressing and the various features of the living classroom…