"The Mulching Mind"

EnviroColor Inbound Ideas

 Twitter |  Facebook |  digg it |   delicious |   StumbleUpon |   LinkedIn |   Technorati |  reddit 

Having been a part of growing small business for the past year there are many lessons I have learned. Some are obvious, but I feel the need to repeat them anyway. Here at EnviroColor® we strive to provide deliver a product and service that the customer believes in completely. We attempt to exceed the customers "expectations" to keep that customer loyal in a very competitive market place and we try to do these things consistently. OK, so everyone knows this and they are doing the same things, so what has helped us grow in this struggling economy. My one word answer is marketing. Inbound marketing to be specific. By learning to optimize your website (SEO), using social media to get your message out to the masses and following up responsibly with the leads that these techniques generate are essential for all start ups. There are several tools available ranging in price and the metrics and feedback they provide.

Google, where 80+% of internet searches are done has unbelievable tools and are free. Taking the time to learn the how's, what's and why's can make a tremendous impact. And speaking of small company growth, businesses that specify in inbound marketing are popping up all over the place. My favorite is Hubspot. You can go to their site and have them "grade" your website for free. Their platform is easy to use and the amount of advice and tools for you to use are second to none. My only issue is the cost. It seems they must pay their marketing mavens and gurus well based on the cost of their service. I feel it is worth it, but if you plan to use Hubspot make sure to budget your dollars and time appropriately. I came in know absolutely nothing about SEO, social medial, landing pages, keywords, etc. I don't claim to be an expert now, but at least I have a real concept of how the search engines spiders work, writing blog articles that someone might actually read and using Youtube, Facebook and Twitter effectively. SEO is a moving target. It seems what is important for a high ranking today may mean nothing tomorrow. If you are a small business owner and have a website, have Hubspot grade it and learn what you can do to improve. Like I said, my expertise lies in exceeding our customers' expectations by providing products and services they believe in and doing this consistently. I need to focus on pine straw, mulch and grass paint and the advantages they provide.  I let the inbound marketing experts help me with the rest. I look forward to your feedback and ideas.
Cheers.

Two Tone Lawns

 Twitter |  Facebook |  digg it |   delicious |   StumbleUpon |   LinkedIn |   Technorati |  reddit 

Doing research for EnviroColor's 4EverGreen I came across this on the HGTV website. This is great advice from Master Gardner Paul James. I added my thoughts in between. I hope to hear your ideas too.

There are usually two reasons for the two-toned lawn, says master gardener Paul James. "One is that many homeowners desperately want a green lawn year-round so they over-seed warm-season Bermuda or zoysia lawns, which go brown during the winter months due to dormancy, with a cool-season grass that stays green throughout the winter months. In nearly all cases, reseeding must be done every year, and unless the seed is spread uniformly, a two-toned lawn is inevitable."
If you reseed on a regular basis and at the right time for your area, you can achieve the uniformity you desire. Bear in mind, though, that with this kind of lawn, you may extend the mowing season by at least few weeks and you'll have to continue watering for perhaps a few months.

This extra water usage and mowing can come at high expense. Some areas under drought restrictions may not be able to water at all.

The other reason for a two-toned lawn has to do with growing conditions, especially in landscapes with lots of mature trees. Throughout the country and in older neighborhoods in particular, parts of the lawn may be in full sun, while parts may be in the shade cast by large trees. This creates a real problem because warm-season grasses like to grow in full sun and don't like to be in the shade, and cool-season grasses love the shade, but they don't really like growing in the blazing sun. As a result, people wind up with two-toned lawn.
In this type of situation, there is no easy solution, says James. "You can open up the canopies of the trees by removing several of the large branches to let more of the light in, you can limb up the trees to achieve essentially the same effect, or you can forget trying to grow grass under the trees all together and opt instead for rugged, shade-tolerant ground cover, or maybe just a bunch of mulch," he says. "And in fact, that's often the best solution, especially since all the water and nutrients are quickly sucked right out of the soil by the dense tree roots, making it next to impossible to grow grass beneath them anyway."

Using mulch under these tree canopies provides a great looking, cost effective solution to this dilemma. Make sure you mulch all the way to the trees drip line. And remember from previous articles, no mulch volcanoes!
Plus, we at EnviroColor offer 4EverGreen grass and lawn painting colorant as well as Sierra Red, Black Forest and Cocoa Brown mulch dyes.

Mulch, a basic element of Xeriscape

 Twitter |  Facebook |  digg it |   delicious |   StumbleUpon |   LinkedIn |   Technorati |  reddit 

Back in 1978 a new term was coined in Colorado that has a growing impact on the landscape business.  As water conservation becomes more prevalent all over the world, EnviroColor® encourages the use of this landscape technique to keep "water wise"

Xeros from the Greek, meaning dry.

Xeriscape landscaping is a growing trend among individuals, organizations and corporations who want to do their part is preserving our environment.  Through the use of low water consuming plants and gardening practices that support water conservation, we can extend the life of our precious clean water supplies.

Many pursue xeriscaping primarily as a means to lower their own water consumption.  This practice has a "bigger picture" trickle down effect.  Even if you are not thinking as much about "going green" or helping the environment, you inevitably contribute to building a sustainable future.

Xeriscape landscaping incorporates seven basic principles which lead to saving water:

• Planning and design
• Soil analysis
• Practical turf areas
• Appropriate plant selection
• Efficient irrigation
• Use of mulches
• Appropriate maintenance

By incorporating these seven principles, you can help preserve our most precious natural resource-water.

Mulching Conserves Moisture

Mulch is a layer of nonliving material covering the soil surface around plants. Mulches can be organic materials such as pine bark, pine needles, compost and wood chips; or inorganic materials, such as lava rock, limestone or permeable plastic, not sheet plastic.

Use mulch wherever possible. Good mulch conserves water by significantly reducing moisture evaporation from the soil. Mulch also reduces weed populations, prevents soil compaction and keeps soil temperatures more moderate.

If it is color you desire in your xeriscape, remember EnviroColor® Georgia Pine, Sierra Red, Cocoa Brown and Black Forest to enhance the color and extend the life of your mulch.