Adding features or updating a landscape can lead to a beautiful and functional outdoor space that’s perfect for your lifestyle. Once your new landscape and hardscape features are installed, it’s time to focus on keeping it looking fabulous for years. Some maintenance tasks involve a lot more time than you may have and so we recommend keeping this question in mind while you’re searching for landscape contractors: What services do you need after the project is completed in Northbrook and Wilmette, IL?
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Hardscape Maintenance
Your hardscape is designed to last for an incredibly long time. However, there are times when the forces of nature take a toll on the masonry features of your outdoor living space, walkways, driveways, and retaining walls. In order to keep your outdoor spaces in tip top shape, you’ll need some hardscape maintenance.
Masonry Cleaning: Aside from cleaning and periodic sealing, masonry features need very little regular maintenance. Regular cleaning involves sweeping away debris that could collect in corners, hold moisture, encourage mold growth and stain the masonry. Once-a-year power washing will get rid of stubborn stuck-on debris and stains.
Masonry Repair: While pavers and natural stone can stand up for decades to the freeze-thaw cycles, sometimes water can work its way in and cause cracking, flaking, or crumbling. Once a year, the horizontal surfaces should be inspected and any loose or crumbling jointing sand should be replaced.
Masonry Replacement: On rare occasions, a natural stone slab or patio paver can break (usually, this is due to improper installation). On horizontal surfaces like a patio, walkway, or driveway, individual pavers and paving stones can usually be replaced without disturbing the rest of the surface. This is one of the main benefits of using pavers or natural paving stones: you don’t have to replace the entire surface if one unit is broken.
Landscape Maintenance
The landscape can either be carefully manicured and maintained, wild and natural, or somewhere in between. General landscape maintenance mostly has to do with plant care and debris removal. This work tends to be time-consuming, which is why many homeowners outsource the work to landscape maintenance professionals.
Lawn Care: The lawn is one of the most expansive, most beautiful, and most fickle of all landscape features. Sometimes it seems that no matter what you do, the lawn doesn’t thrive as much as you’d like it to. Professionals will know exactly what to do in the case of issues with the lawn and you’ll see amazing results within weeks.
Debris Removal: Most of the time, debris removal happens in the fall when leaves fall and get soaked by heavy rains. The resulting dense, sodden mass of leaves can damage living plants, especially the lawn, by preventing air and moisture from getting to the grass. It’s essential that a landscape contractor performs regular leaf removal to protect your lawn and other plant life in your landscape.
Tree Care: Though they don’t look like they need much attention, trees can benefit from regular pruning, trimming, and check-ups that look for signs of disease or insects. Tree trimming as well as pruning dead or damaged branches should always be performed by professionals with specialized equipment.
Plant Bed Care: Keeping your plant beds looking great means regular weeding, mulch replacement, deadheading of spent perennials, and removal of spent annuals.
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