Springtime Landscaping Tips

April 4, 2022 by gibson Leave a Comment

Springtime Landscaping Tips

The temperatures are climbing, trees and bushes are donning their new green spring coats, lawnmowers are firing up for the first time after a long winter. That can only mean one thing: Spring has sprung!

With the renewal that spring brings, following suit with your landscaping chores is, or at least should be, at the front of your mind. Here are a few landscaping tips to get the outside of your home ready to enjoy.

Start Springtime Landscaping by Inspecting Your Trees and Shrubs

Trees are very valuable assets to your landscape – not only because of the beauty they provide, but also because they act as wind breakers, provide shade, and help to hold soil in place. You will want to inspect both your trees and shrubs to make sure they are healthy. Remove dead or dying branches, broken branches, and crossing branches. You may want to trim them back some too, encouraging a solid structure, plus keeping them nice and tidy. It also helps to prevent rogue limbs from causing damage to other structures, fencing, power lines, etc.

Preparing Your Perennial Beds

The next stop should be your perennial beds – good examples of these are your ornamental grasses, butterfly bushes and spireas. Depending on the plant, a good rule of thumb is to cut these back to between 2” and 8” from the soil. Conversely, you’ll want to hold off pruning some of your flowering bushes like your lilacs, forsythia, magnolias, or azaleas. Plan to prune these in late spring or early in the summer instead.

Testing Your Soil

When working in your plant beds, take a few minutes to evaluate how your soil looks. Healthy soil has moisture and life – living roots and living organisms, such as insects or worms. Unhealthy soil typically appears to be dry, crumbling, cracked, and/or compacted.

If you have concerns about soil health, inexpensive soil testing kits can be bought online or at your local home improvement stores. There are also some do-it-yourself options online that use some standard pantry items. Testing your soil can help you to determine if and what nutrients may be missing from your soil. Fertilizer can be added to soil with insufficient nutrients, but before doing so, you should always check with state and local governments regarding usage rules and regulations for your area.

Moving onto Mulch

Be sure to thicken up the mulch in your beds and around your trees to at least 1” but no more than 3”. You’ll want to ensure your mulch is lying flat and isn’t pushing up against the tree trunks. Adding mulch helps to maintain moisture, control weeds, and prevent soil erosion. It also aids in insulating the roots, helping to keep them cool and protected from the hot Florida sun. And above all, mulch beautifies your landscape. Plus, the mulch rings around your trees and shrubs will prevent damage from your mower and weed eater.

Springtime Landscaping Services from Gibson Outdoors

If your springtime landscaping leaves more to be desired, Gibson Outdoors landscaping services can help you – by designing the perfect landscaping plan for your Florida property. Contact Gibson Outdoors via the website contact form to learn more.

No waterfront? No Problem! How Decking can add Style and Purpose to your Summertime Florida Home

February 26, 2016 by gibson Leave a Comment

With summer just around the corner, you might be thinking about remodeling your yard to enjoy the warm months in the sun. Who says you need to be at a waterfront to enjoy the benefits of a visually-pleasing, functional deck? Although decking is usually associated with docks, pools, and waterfront homes, you can take advantage of this beautiful addition to your home even if you don’t live next to the water. An outdoor deck is a popular way for making better use of your living space and increasing home value without breaking the bank!

Quick and Inexpensive

In comparison to patios, decks are faster and cheaper to build ranging from an average of $20- $30 per square foot. Because decks can take as little as a week to build, you can be sure to have your new outdoors ready to enjoy well before summer. Another benefit of a deck is that the terrain doesn’t need to be levelled, and you can have a flat surface anywhere without having to pay for expensive retaining walls and dirt filling to level the ground.

Beauty with a Purpose

Just like the Miss World pageant, decks have beauty with a purpose. They add design to your home, making it more visually pleasant. Who doesn’t enjoy the natural look of wood complementing the yard and garden? Apart from being a decorative structure, a deck is functional for many reasons. Decks increase your living space, making room for an outdoors living room or barbecue area to enjoy alone or with guests. In addition, space under the deck is a great storage space for those “toys” like the kayak you once thought was a good idea but only ended up using once in a blue moon.

Safe for the Family

If you have children or pets, a deck is a better option for keeping them contained in an outdoor space. Our services include the construction of child safety fences, of which we are proud to be experts. We specialize in the highest, most innovative fence layout design and installation, without skimping on quality.

High Quality, Low Maintenance Relationship

Discouraged by the perceived upkeep and maintenance requirements of a deck? Gibson Marine Construction takes pride in providing different choices of quality materials. If taken care of the correct way, good decking can last a long time. Our composite decking with a 25 year warranty is an excellent option for those seeking to “keep it casual” with their decks without compromising in an exhausting relationship. Hosing down the surface with water every once in a while is more than enough for maintaining the long-lasting material and the mutually enjoyable relationship with your deck. We also offer extruded PVC with limited lifetime warranty, and pressure treated lumber for the more passionate deck lovers.

To discover what deck material and design better fits your needs, feel free to schedule a professional appointment with Gibson Marine Construction.

Integrating Your Dock into Your Outdoor Space

January 15, 2016 by gibson Leave a Comment

As marine construction specialists in Florida, we are tremendous proponents of periodic dock inspections to:

Save you money in the long run so you will be able to stay ahead of the curve on repairs
Keep the structure safe for your family and friends
Preserve compliance with local homeowner association regulations
Prevent the structure from becoming an eyesore for your neighbors across the inlet!

Although we live in the Sunshine State and enjoy the majority of the calendar months outdoors, it is the sun that can wreak havoc on dock surfaces, right along with the wear it imposes on shingle roofs and paint jobs in general. Consistent maintenance is the key to keeping your dock’s integrity intact.

Decorating Your Waterfront Space

Here in Florida, waterfront real estate is one of our prides and joys of life on the Gulf Coast. Outdoor space is an extension of the indoors: sets of sliders open onto screened lanais, which reveal stunning vistas of the boat docks and water. You can create your own world essentially. One where all the components transition seamlessly into one another for a cohesive picture.

“Dock-Scaping”

Dock-scaping is not really a word per se, but it can be applied to integrating those marine structures into your overall landscaping plan. By taking elements like shells, rocks, fountains, shrubbery, pathways constructed from pavers; their design and relation to one another will naturally train the eye to transition from one point to the next to the focal point or points you wish to showcase. Cost is always a consideration, but even a simple motif carried throughout your backyard space lends a consistent beauty.

Robust, flowering plants for example may be added to rustic outdoor planters. Placed around the perimeter of the lanai, along a fence, and then over onto the dock offers a design treatment that is both affordable and easy to swap out as the seasons change. A wide selection of LED lighting can also be positioned along pathways and the dock’s perimeter to add a soft glow to enjoy come dusk and into the evening.

Landscape architect Peter Langham describes the overall approach he employed when developing the design for an HGTV Dream Home by tying together the different sections that transitioned from the home’s staircase that descended from the outdoor deck, to the path, to the boardwalk, and onto the dock house with boat lift. “We tried to set up a series of visual experiences.”

Selling Your Waterfront Home

With the trends in playing up outdoor space, it stands to reason it too should be made home buyer-ready and benefit from staging just like the property’s interior. Planters, benches, dock lighting, even lounge chairs, a little table, and an umbrella can create a welcoming ambiance. Especially if your home’s dock is a little older, it can be contemporized by giving it a simple face lift with a gentle power wash, a new coat of sealant (if pressure treated wood) and a little splash of personality.