Berggren Blooms' the Garden of Weeden

Building your maintenance package

2012-02-02T16:40:00.000-07:00

You build your own maintenance service package based on the services you need. The most common services listed. Chose the services and then group them into a package. We total the prices of all the services and divide the total out into easy monthly payments. Choose Berggren Blooms because we are about your convenience!

Our to do list:

Mow, Trim, Edge
Weeding
Flower Planting
Lawn Fertilization
Lawn Aeration
Spring Clean-up
Fall Clean-up
Sprinkler System Start-up and Adjust
Sprinkler System Repairs
Sprinkler System Winterizing
Pruning
Bulb Planting

Your to do list:

BBQ With Friends in the Back Yard
Read a Book
Enjoy a Bike Ride
Go For a Walk
Sit Out in the Lawn With an Ice Tea
Play Ball with the Kids
Watch Your Dog Run Around
Put Out A Bird Feeder
Enjoy Your Yard!

Don't Wait Call Berggren Blooms 303-485-2189

http://www.berggrenblooms.com/

Berggren Blooms serving the Front Range for 12 years!

2012-01-01T16:04:00.000-07:00

Celebrating Twelve Years!

Berggren Blooms started business in Longmont in January 2000.

We are so happy to be starting our Thirteenth landscape season. We owe our success to our customers.

So to all of our customers in Longmont, Niwot, Boulder, Firestone, Frederick and Dacono -

THANK YOU!

Sincerely,

www.berggrenblooms.com

Ford's diesel drama drags on: Power Stroke woes anger buyers, drive up warranty costs

2009-11-13T09:53:00.002-07:00

From Auto Week -
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20051216/FREE/51216021

Longmont Ford

Planting in a wet area --

2009-11-05T08:34:00.003-07:00

A few plants for planting in a wet area...

Trees - Colorado Blue Spruce or Cottonwood.

Shrubs - Dogwood, Alder, River Birch.

Ornamental Grass - Maiden Grass.

Perennial - Iris, Siberian Iris, Mist Flower, Golden Flax.

Annual in our area - Canna Lily

Longmont landscape and snow removal www.berggrenblooms.com

Ford?

2009-10-20T14:37:00.003-06:00

We purchased a Ford F450 from a local Longmont Ford dealership in June 2008. Just over a year and under 20,000 miles it has major mechanical problems including a recall. It looks like the Dealer and Ford is now going to not follow through on the Warranty and not fix the truck. If you have had similar problems with Ford vehicles or Ford dealerships we would like to hear from you.

LongmontFord

It is going to SNOW!

2009-08-25T10:11:00.007-06:00

That is right, soon enough it will be winter and we will have snow on the ground.

We are busy renewing our snow removal contracts with our customers. We even have a few new customers calling, asking for bids already. You don't want to wait until you are buried in snow to start calling around looking for a plow truck. Give us a call now at 303-485-2189 and we will get you set up on our schedule. That way when it happens, you will be dug out without having to call around.

Our services include:
Plowing , shoveling and plow long walks with an ATV. We also have sand and ice melting service.

Let it Snow!

Longmont, Niwot, Boulder snow removal

www.berggrenblooms.com

So, what the heck is it?

2009-07-21T08:37:00.003-06:00

It is a Ladybug's larva.

Yes, that ugly bug is a baby ladybug. You might have played with Ladybugs as a child and never noticed these before. They actually eat more aphids as a larva then they do when they reach adulthood. We hear a lot about the benefits of ladybugs all the time but we always seem to see and think of them as the adult beetles only.

Think twice - when you see some ugly creature crawling on your prised rose.

Know what it is before you reach for that all purpose insecticide. Don't judge the creature by its looks because it might be there to help you.

A list of beneficial insects coming soon.

Berggren Blooms Longmont Landscape

What the heck is that thing?

2009-06-18T21:28:00.006-06:00

Who knows what this ugly, nasty looking bug is?

I bet you have these things in your yard!

Please answer by commenting. I'll confirm the correct answer sometime next week.

http://www.berggrenblooms.com Yard care in Longmont

Chillin' in the shade! 10 plants for the shade.

2009-06-18T20:51:00.004-06:00

1. White Fir also called Concolor Fir - Tall evergreen tree.

2. Euonymus - Many verities, ground covers and shrubs. Leafy semi-evergreen.

3. Kinnikinnick - Very cool ground cover. Grows all over in the Colorado mountains naturally. They are also very good for fall color.

4. Hosta - If its not protected from the hail it already shredded around here. 'Hosta shredafolia' corny garden joke... Use the light colored green and variegated plants in part sun and the darker gray and blueish plants in very heavy shade.

5. Columbine - Colorado State Flower. Flowering perennial.

6. Bellflower - flowering perennial.

7. English Ivy - Ground cover, climbing vine.

8. Vinca also called Periwinkle or Vinca Major - ground cover vine.

9. Impatiens - great for annual color, annuals

10. Coleus - Very cool foliage plant, annual

This is only the first 10 that came off the top of my head of a long list of nice plants. If you are looking for something in particular please ask me.

www.berggrenblooms.com a Longmont landscaper

BerggrenB on Twitter and Facebook!

2009-06-15T10:11:00.006-06:00

We are also on:

Twitter

and --

Facebook

See you there, thank you!

Longmont landscaper www.berggrenblooms.com

Building your maintenance package

2009-05-13T06:36:00.013-06:00

Mow, Trim, Edge
Weeding
Flower Planting
Lawn Fertilization
Lawn Aeration
Spring Clean-up
Fall Clean-up
Sprinkler System Start-up and Adjust
Sprinkler System Repairs
Sprinkler System Winterizing
Pruning
Bulb Planting

Your to do list:

BBQ With Friends in the Back Yard
Read a Book
Enjoy a Bike Ride
Go For a Walk
Sit Out in the Lawn With an Ice Tea
Play Ball with the Kids
Watch Your Dog Run Around
Put Out A Bird Feeder
Enjoy Your Yard!

Don't Wait Call Berggren Blooms 303-485-2189

http://www.berggrenblooms.com/

10 cool plants for shade areas!

2009-02-07T10:31:00.004-07:00

Columbine - I had to mention this one first because it is Colorado's state flower.
Hosta - Great foliage plant some have real nice flowers to, some have flowers that you don't notice much. Use the darker leaf Hosta in heavy shade. Use the lighter greens, golds and variegated in lighter shade, part sun and a few can even go in the Sun. Watch out for slugs and hail damage. (Pasta Hosta - Hosta shredafoilia) yet another corny joke.
Euonymus - some of these have evergreen leaves, great for winter interest. Many verities from tall shrubs to ground covers.
Lilac - the big old fashioned - Common Lilac to the dwarf Korean Lilac. Great Spring color in the shade.
Viburnum - some of these are leafy evergreens. Some are partial evergreen, they hold leaves into the Winter but drop them at some point. Common Viburnums include Snowball Bush, both American & European Cranberry Bush, Nannyberry and Wayfaring Tree. Many sizes and leaf textures to chose from. They bloom on old wood like Lilacs (prune lightly after bloom.) They also provide fruit for birds - not Snowball Bush its a sterile hybrid.
Kinnikinnick - I love this ground cover plant because it reminds me of camping in the Colorado mountains. Leafy Evergreen ground cover. Native of Colorado Mountains.
Oregon Grape Holly - leafy evergreen shrub also, Creeping Oregon Grape Holly is a ground cover. Looks similar to Holly but not a true Holly at all. Its actually a Mahonia, it has other commonly used names - Mahonia or Mahony.
Dwarf Alberta Spruce - cool little spruce. These guys get damaged by the Sun in the Winter time. If the Sun hits it, shade it in the Winter.
White Fir - Large evergreen tree. Also called the Concolor Fir. This one has really neat soft thick needles, pale green in color.
Arborvitae - many verities and colors to chose from, ranging from blue needles to dark green. These are the softer version of an upright juniper. They are not junipers they just resemble them.

www.berggrenblooms.com

Longmont Landscape Ideas

Ahh - I got Gnats in my plants!

2009-02-05T14:57:00.015-07:00

Fungus Gnats, in my houseplants to be specific...

Fungus Gnats are tiny flies that usually live in houseplants. There are 100's of other tiny flies that we call Gnats, most of them living outside. Sometimes Fruit Flies get inside too and are also refereed to as Gnats. These Fungus Gnats can be seen walking on the top of the potting soil of houseplants. They are a common problem.

They eat the fungus that is breaking down decomposing matter in the soil. They also eat the decomposing matter and if there is a lot of them, they might feed on the plant's roots. They can damage the plant if they are there in large numbers. Generally they do no harm other than being an annoying little pest that buzz around in your face. These Gnats don't bite.

When potting or re-potting plants try to pick a potting soil that drains out fast and drys quickly. One that is not over loaded with organic materials, like wood.

Allow the plant to dry out between waterings. Remove and discard any decorative foil wrapping from around the pot.

There are several tricks to reducing their numbers, I suggest trying them all at the same time.

You can top your potting soil with a layer of sand creating a barrier between the good stuff and the outside.

You can also put out sticky yellow cards that the adults will go to and stick on.

Try a small glass of red wine - a little for you, a little for Mr. Gnat! They are attracted to the fermentation smell and drown in the liquid. Apple cider vinegar might work as well but red wine is still better for the gardener!

Finally, try a thin slice of potato on the soil's surface. This attracts the larva out to to die. The larva are little tiny white maggots. Toss the potato into the trash when its done. Believe me, tiny dead maggots in your house plants - your guests won't even notice. Gnats swimming in guest's red wine, might embarrass you.

There are also chemical products that you can buy at the garden center. For one that is natural look for BT. It has to be BT labeled for Gnats. BT for mosquitoes or caterpillars will not do the job.

www.berggrenblooms.com

Prevent Fireblight!

2009-02-04T07:47:00.007-07:00

Fireblight is a bacterial disease that effects some of the Prunus genus of trees and shrubs. In the Longmont area the hardest hit seem to be Crabapple, Apple and Pear. We also see it in Peking Cotoneaster. Cotoneaster is another genus of plants that is from the same Family as Prunus (commonly know as the Rose Family.)

The bacteria is spread during wet Springtimes. It spreads from blossom to blossom. The bacteria can be carried by water droplets, pruners and pollinating bees, visiting blooms carry it from plant to plant.

It is often described as a Shepherd's crook or a cane. The Bactria move down from the blooms into the branches. The tip of the branch typically crooks or cruels into a cane shape. The wood darkens and becomes sunken in slightly. The leaves die on the infected branch and in the next winter the dead branch holds the dead leaves. The healthy part of the plant goes dormant for the winter and drops leaves.

There is no easy cure for Fireblight. Fireblight is serous enough that it will cause a steady decline in the plants health to the point that the plant dies. "Blight" after all does refer to death.

A very good control for Fireblight is prevention. Dormant pruning done in or before March to thin the plant and promote air movement through the tree. The Fireblight is also dormant at this time. First, remove all dead, dieing or diseased parts of the tree. If you are removing Fireblight cut back as far as reasonably possible from the diseased wood. Then, remove the small inside branches, remove branches that are crossing or rubbing on each other. Without stripping the tree to nothing the idea is to just open it up so that air can move through and dry the moister that is on tree in the Springtime.

Cut Fireblight out when you see it during the growing season. Try to cut well below the visibly diseased wood. It is very important that you sterilize your pruners with something like Lysol (kills Bactria) between each and every cut you make. Chlorine Bleach and water will also work. The Bactria can be spread by the pruners from branch to branch and to other trees.

When you start your sprinkler system up in the Spring make sure it is adjusted so that it is not pounding young short Crabapple trees with water.

Chemical control of this disease is hard this makes cultural control and prevention all the more important! It may not work well, it is expensive and may even make the problem worse in the long run. Because Fireblight is a Bactria it can become resistant to the chemical control. Controls include Copper Sulfate and Streptomycin. Copper Sulfate is used as a fungicide and has some effect on Fireblight. Streptomycin is an antibiotic drug. Spraying it on trees may control Fireblight but I fear that used too much it will cause the Bactria to become resistant. What if using antibiotics in the environment on a tree could cause other Bactria to become resistant to antibiotic drugs? When the discussion becomes Bactria that cause human and animal disease it is far out of my area of expertise. It is something I think about and make certain assumptions on but do not know as fact, if I am correct. I strongly promote prevention.

www.berggrenblooms.com

Longmont landscaping

How to get rid of your dog's spots.

2009-01-25T18:12:00.007-07:00

The dog's spots in the lawn!
My daughter liked that corny joke.
There is really only one or two options here.
One train your dog to go in a rock area or in a dog run.
If that is too hard to do. Water out the spots. Try to go out after your dog and wash it away right after he goes. Following your dog around the yard with a hose is not something most of us can do either. Inevitably if you have dogs you end up with a couple of spots in the lawn. When you see these spots, water them heavily. Try to water out all of the salts.
Female dogs make spots more often then male dogs. That is why some dog owners don't get dog spots at all. I have been told that Dalmatians have higher amounts of salt in their urine then other breeds. Your neighbor might have a dog and no problem with getting dog spots. It is just a difference in the dog.
Don't change his food for this, the idea that you can change the dog's urinary pH, it doesn't work. Also, hardware store cures don't work. Home remedies that include anything more then plain water can make the problem worse.

www.berggrenblooms.com

Longmont Lawn Care

Crabgrass got you crabby?

2009-01-21T16:04:00.009-07:00

Crabgrass grows out-right on the edge of your sidewalk, on the edge of the driveway or at the curb. Crabgrass will be happy at the front edge of your flower garden too. It is not a weed that likes to hide itself in the middle of your back lawn. Oh no, it wants to take the spot right up front where it is most noticeable!

So what is up with crabgrass? Well, it is an annual summer grass. It likes the hot stressed out areas of your lawn the best. The areas of your lawn that are trimmed with a string trimmer are usually cut lower then the rest of the lawn. Pavement, rock beds, walls, a foundation or even the South face of an evergreen shrub reflect heat back on the lawn. The competing lawn doesn't like it. The crabgrass not only doesn't mind the heat, it likes that lack of competition.

A few technical facts about the weed. Crabgrass begins to germinate when the soil is about 55 degrees. Another thing happens at about this soil temperature too, Forsythia blooms. Do you know Forsythia? It is that shrub with straggly twigs, bunching up from the ground. It has yellow flowers on it early in the Spring. It blooms before it has leaves on it. It must be the first shrub to bloom and it is more often planted at the older homes in town. When we see Forsythia blooming we know crabgrass is getting it's start, even though we can't see it yet. Crabgrass is an annual plant. That means it germinates, reaches full growth produces seeds and dies all in one season. Its whole life cycle is lived in one season. This means crabgrass can only start it's life from the seeds that were dropped by the weeds the summer before.

I could have probably skipped telling you all about what it likes and how its life goes and just got right to how to kill it. That is what you really want to know. Well, how to get rid of this pest is all answered in it's life cycle.

First, the natural and obvious way - pull it when you see it. This prevents next season's seeds. Keep the competition strong! Be careful not to mow too low or do your trimming too low. Fertilize, aerate and practice good watering of your turf lawn. Crabgrass doesn't like your strong lawn it likes the weak lawn areas. A healthy lawn is 90% of the fight.

Secondly, you can use a pre-emergent herbicide. These can give good control but timing is the key. Pre-emergents don't kill seeds or growing plants, they kill germinating seedlings. (A word of caution - don't use them if your seeding a new lawn.) One thing that can be hard about the timing is that the soil on the North face of your home is a colder than on the South. It warms up at the edge of the road quicker than in the shade. Cool dry Springs set back the germination time. Germination is earlier in years with wet warm Springs. Use the pre-emergent according to it's labeling. Do not over use the product this can cause damage. If the label allows consider putting it over the entire lawn at half the recommended rate early in the Spring and another half rate mid-spring. Say at about the beginning of April and then again about mid-May. Never going over the total maximum application rate. Sweep granules off the side walk with care, don't use a leaf blower and blow it far from the edge that the crabgrass loves. Then water in the product according to the label. If you are using the product before your sprinklers are turn on for the season, time the application just before rain or snow.

You can use post-emergent herbicides too. These crabgrass killers really only kill crabgrass when it is young. By the time you see two to three of those branches out of the first branch post-emergents won't really work anymore. When you see a well established plant pull or dig it out. Remember it is not coming back from that plants roots in the next year, only it's seeds.

One final tip, don't pick out and try just one of these controls - combine them all. To get the best results use all of your tools, a holistic approach. If you want to control crabgrass without the use of herbicides, pull it and keep your lawn very healthy. It will be more pulling work but you will get reasonable control over it.

www.berggrenblooms.com

Longmont yard care

Your Winter to do list...

2009-01-15T21:03:00.008-07:00

Cut back last season's perennials.
Leaf clean-up for health -- the plant's and your health (great exercise!)
Clean out your annual beds and prepare them for Spring.
Cut back the ornamental grasses.
Lightly thin trees and shrubs.
Plan and take on small renovation projects now.
Yank out those overgrown, 20 year old junipers you don't want and prepare that area for Spring planting.
Did you wait too long to winterize your sprinkler system and already know it needs to be repaired? It can be done now.
If you have leaking plastic manifolds you can replace those with copper in the Winter, be ready for Spring.
Aerations are not far off now!

www.berggrenblooms.com

Longmont HOA