Now Hiring!

We’re expanding our team!  Selected as one of Inc. Magazine’s “Winning Workplaces” for our open-book management and innovative employee development, A Yard & A Half Landscaping is a landscape design-build company committed to sustainable and organic practices.

We are seeking qualified applicants for an additional Project Manager and several positions on our maintenance crews. Besides the qualifications described below, we are looking for individuals who are enthusiastic to share new ideas, enjoy a challenge, and take pride in their work.
Compensation for all positions includes:
Safe work environment with excellent growth potential. Competitive wages, performance-based incentives, and profit-sharing. Paid holidays and vacation, medical and dental benefits, and Simple-IRA retirement plan. Tuition reimbursement for approved courses.

Project Manager

Responsibilities include:

• Meeting with customers on site, estimating project costs, and preparing customer contracts
• Scheduling subcontractors as needed for accepted contracts
• Scheduling delivery of job materials and equipment through operations manager
• Reviewing plans with crew leaders to ensure that customer specifications are met
• Managing and training crew leaders in proper operating procedures, timely project completion, and quality standards
• Preparing weekly work schedules
• Estimating and preparing job change orders
• Following up with customers to determine customer satisfaction at project completion
• Approving final customer billing
• Evaluating estimates to actual job costs
• Developing new sales
• Participating in management team to make company decisions

Minimum Qualifications:
Two years’ experience with cost estimating and landscape construction, or equivalent educational experience.
Valid U.S. driver’s license and good driving record.
Proficiency in Spanish and strong computer skills preferred.

Maintenance Crew Members

Responsibilities include:

• Organic maintenance of residential landscapes, including mowing, weeding, hand-pruning, cleaning hardscapes, etc.
• Safe operation of power equipment, trucks, and trailers.
• Ensuring customer satisfaction with job performed.
• Assisting crew leader in timely completion of work assigned.
• Positive attitude toward work, customers, and crew leader.
• Keeping truck equipment and garage supplies organized.
• Contributing ideas and opinions to assist with crew and company decision-making.
• Performing work in accordance with high quality and company standards.

Minimum Qualifications:
Valid U.S. driver’s license and good driving record.
Ability to work in all weather and lift 50 lbs.
Spanish-English bilingual and prior landscaping/gardening experience preferred.

Send resumes and cover letters to:
A Yard & A Half Landscaping
26 Thayer Rd., Waltham, MA 02453
fax: 781-788-8854
email:  info (at) ayardandahalf.com

Hurricane-Ready Your Outdoor Space

With the chance of severe wind and rain on Sunday from Hurricane Irene, we wanted to offer a few tips to protect the investment you’ve made in your outdoor space:

• Bring in or secure any outdoor items that might be damaged or become projectiles in high winds.
• Move containerized plants and window boxes to a protected spot so they won’t be overturned.
• Prune branches away from windows, and have any dead branches removed from overhanging trees.
• Make sure sump pumps are working and soil is sloping away from the house to minimize basement flooding.

Our crews have offered to make themselves available to help customers prepare for the hurricane, so feel free to call our office if you need assistance. 

Flowers for Geeks

Ok, if you’re a plant geek like me, they’re *all* flowers for geeks, but…

Bulb catalogues just started arriving, and I was struck by two new Asiatic lilies with high-tech names: Lilium ‘Dot Com‘ and L. ‘White Pixels‘. It got me wondering how many other computer-themed plant varieties there are out there.

Two that came to mind immediately (and maybe I’m dating myself here) were the ‘Big Blue’s – Lilyturf and sea holly (Liriope & Eryngium ‘Big Blue’). A quick search also yielded Kniphofia “Ada” and
Clematis ‘Countess of Lovelace’, and there’s always Lilium ‘Mona Lisa’ for the William Gibson fans.

The Skinny on “Miracle Grass”

Today’s piece on the “New Uber-Grass” on WBUR made me pause at this busy time of year to weigh in on these branded grass blends that promise great results with minimal maintenance:

I was tickled to hear this story on a day when we were reviewing lawn installation with our crews!  Having designed, installed and maintained many organic and sustainable landscapes using this and other products, I’d say that like many other high quality, weed-free grass seed mixes, Pearl’s can be  sustainable choice for the appropriate application and with good soil preparation and maintenance.

However, a lawn’s success depends on proper seed selection for the conditions.  Fescue blends like Pearl’s will perform better than the standard bluegrass in light shade, and as advertised, will require less inputs of water and nitrogen.  The tradeoff is that fescues grow in clumps rather than spreading, and so are less tolerant of wear from regular foot traffic. Many of us want lawn area for kids and pets to play on, so in those conditions, fescue requires regular overseeding to create a dense turf.

Any well-maintained turf, organic or conventional, will require some upfront cost for good soil preparation, as well as ongoing inputs of maintenance and materials.  Consumers concerned about sustainability, whether environmental or economic, should limit lawn areas to the size necessary for play and enjoyment, rather than using turf as the default landscape element for its relatively low up-front cost.

Angie’s List Super Service Award 2010 Winner

We’re pleased to announce that A Yard & A Half Landscaping has again won the Angie’s List “Super Service Award”.  This award recognizes companies who maintain a consistently superior service rating on Angie’s List, a member-based, consumer rating website.  According to Angie’s List, winners of this award represent the top 5% of companies in the Boston market.

We value this award because we value our customers.  Angie’s List ratings come directly from customer experience — companies don’t pay to be listed, nor can they remove negative reviews — and we work hard to ensure that our customers have a great experience with us, whether we’re installing a complete landscape design or providing weekly maintenance.

6 Ways to Promote Pollinators in the Garden

Treehugger recently posted this video on beekeeping. After sitting though some excellent but long and technical NOFA workshops on pollinators, I really appreciated finding this brief, straightforward intro to share with clients and colleagues. Sonoma County beekeeper Serge Labesque discusses the composition of a hive, threats to modern bees, and the benefits of beekeeping.

In addition to providing delicious honey, bees are among the most efficient and flexible pollinators for our food crops.  Want to help bees on your own property? Here are some suggestions:

1. Bloom on. Bees need nectar sources all year, so plan to have something in bloom from March-October.  While the bloom times are off for Massachusetts, this chart from UGA will get you started.
2. Keep it simple.  Your flowers, that is.  The newest cultivars look sexy to humans, but new colors, double flowers, and sterile varieties may foil bees in their search for food.
3. Not too tidy.  Stumps, hollow logs, brush piles, and high grasses provide cover for bees and other pollinators, so leave some areas of the yard natural.
4. Just a sip.  Insects need water, too — preferably splashed onto stones or plants.  Yet another reason to consider a water feature, bird bath, or stone basin in the garden.
5. Go organic. Pesticides are accepted to be one contributor to colony collapse disorder.  Choose organic produce, lawn care, and garden products.
6. Embrace your clover. It’s a bee food source from spring until frost.  Plus, it’s green even when the grass is brown, and it adds nitrogen to the soil.

Plant List: Sensory Garden

The CSA where my family gets our veggies and dairy, Brookfield Farm, is expanding their accessible garden.  I wanted to share the starter list of plants for a sensory garden, which I compiled to spark their creativity at their first planning meeting.  Some of these plants would also be fun in a garden for children, because they appeal to senses of touch and smell, as well as having eye-catching, bright colors. Enjoy!

Unless otherwise noted, all perennials are native to North America (many to New England), hardy to zone 5, drought tolerant, and low-maintenance.  Many of the red flowers will be butterfly-attractive.

Perennials

Latin	Common	Notes
Achillea millefolium	Yarrow	Red/yellow, long bloomer
Artemesia	Wormwood	Fragrant, fuzzy leaves; *poisonous*
Ascelpias tuberosa	Butterfly-weed	Seedpods explode into soft floss
Clematis ‘Sweet Autumn’		Non-native climber, fragrant
Comptonia peregrina	Sweetfern	Fragrant, foliage plant
Echinacea hybrids ‘Tomato Soup’, ‘Sunrise’, ‘Sundown’	Coneflower	Red/yellow, fragrant, cones for texture
Meehania cordata	Mountain mint	Fragrant groundcover
Monarda ‘Jacob Cline’	Bee-balm	Red, fragrant
Rudbeckia nitida	Black-eyed Susan	Yellow, cones for texture
Sedum telephoides/ nevii/ ternatum	Stonecrop	Succulent leaves for texture; winter structure
Solidago rugosa	Goldenrod	Excellent value for pollinators
Stachys byzantina	Lambs’ Ear	Thick,fuzzy leaves; deer-resistant; non-native

Annuals

Amaranthus caudatus	Love-lies-bleeding	Velvety flower spikes
Brugmansia	Angel Trumpet	Fragrant; can be overwintered indoors if grown in a pot, *poisonous*
Pennesetum ‘Rubrum’	Purple Fountain Grass	Fluffy seedheads
Petunia	Petunia	Fragrant
Tagetes’ Inca Yellow’, ‘Safari Red’	Marigolds	Fragrant

Winter protection for home & garden

My neighborhood sign shop has a little fun with the weather.

We’ve had a few good days of thawing, but February is usually Boston’s snowiest month, so it’s not too late for a snow post.

The good news: Snow is a great insulator for plants.  We see a lot more winter kill in cold, dry winters than in heavy snow years.  Hopefully, hydrangea macrophylla, container plants, and marginally hardy perennials will give a good showing in spring.

The bad news: the weight of snow can damage and even break woody plants. Use a broom to knock heavy snow off brittle branches, particularly on upright evergreens like arborvitaes.  Trees and shrubs which have dense branching (e.g. dwarf cultivars of Japanese Maple) or have not been pruned recently may also be in danger because they hold more snow.

Also, if you have snow accumulating on a flat or shallowly-sloped roof, here are snow removal tips from the Massachusetts office of Public Safety.

Stay safe and warm, and enjoy the white stuff!

Snowshoeing last weekend in the Middlesex Fells.

Local Christmas Trees

If you’re planning on purchasing a Christmas tree this year, you might be wondering about its environmental impact.  Betsy Franz’ recent blog post addresses some of the benefits of live, and particularly locally grown trees.  Here are some Boston-area cut-your-own tree farms, courtesy of PickYourOwn.org.  Call first to check hours & availability!

• D.J. Hussey Farm – Choose and cut Christmas Trees, Wreaths, Roping, Christmas shop.
  20 Burgess Road, Townsend, MA 01469. Email: djhussey@comcast.net. Open: 12/25 to 12/24: weekends 9 am to 5 pm; weekdays, 3 to 6pm.
  Christmas tree varieties: Blue Spruce, White Spruce, Balsam Fir, Fraser Fir, Douglas Fir, White Pine.
• Durkee Tree Farm – Christmas trees-you choose and you cut, Christmas trees- you choose and we cut,
  260 Foster Street, Littleton, MA 01460. Phone: 978-486-4580. Open: from 11/27-12/13, Monday to Friday from 12 pm to 4 pm and Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 am to 4 pm. Payment: Cash, Check.
  Christmas tree varieties: Canaan Fir, Fraser Fir, White Fir (Concolor Fir).
• Greenwood Tree Farm – Christmas trees- you choose and we cut, Precut Christmas trees, Christmas wreaths, Christmas boughs, garlands, mistletoe, Christmas decorations, trees tied, trees baled, free tree trimmings, saws provided, Honey from hives on the farm, gift shop, snacks and refreshment stand, restrooms
  96 Dudley Road, Billerica, MA 01821. Phone: 978-667-5380. Fax: 978-663-4712. Email: Cardbee@aol.com. Open: 11/27-12/23, Thursday and Friday 12 pm to 4 pm Saturday and Sunday 9 am to 4 pm. Click here for current open hours, days and dates. Payment: Cash, Check.
  Christmas tree varieties:
  You Choose and We cut varieties: Balsam Fir, Fraser Fir.
  PreCut varieties: Balsam Fir, Fraser Fir, Grand Fir, White Fir (Concolor Fir).
• Hazen Tree Farm – Minimizes chemical and pesticide use, Christmas trees-you choose and you cut, Christmas trees- you choose and we cut, trees tied, trees baled, saws provided, restrooms
  166 Lake Drive, East Hampton, MA 06424. Phone: (860) 267-4159. Email: Hazentreefarm@hotmail.com. Open: 11/27-12/24 (call for days & hours).
  Christmas tree varieties:  Blue Spruce, White Fir (Concolor Fir), Douglas Fir, Fraser Fir, White Fir (Concolor Fir).
• Hopestill Farm – Certified organic. Christmas trees-you choose and you cut, saws provided,
  117 Mill Street, Sherborn, MA 01770. Phone: (508) 653-5421. Email: farm@hopestill.com. Open: 10am-4pm on Saturdays and Sundays after Thanksgiving, or weekdays by appointment. Click here for current open hours, days and dates. Payment: Cash, only.
  Christmas tree varieties: White Spruce.
• Houdes Tree Farm - Christmas trees-you choose and you cut, Christmas trees- you choose and we cut, Precut Christmas trees, Living Christmas trees (to plant later), Christmas wreaths, Christmas boughs, garlands, trees bagged, trees tied, trees baled, free tree trimmings, saws provided, Santa & carolers.
  169 Berlin Rd, Marlboro, MA 01752. Phone: 508-485-1609. Email: info@houdetreefarm.com. Open:  Hours,  special events, & coupons.  Payment: Cash, Check.
  Christmas tree varieties: Balsam Fir, Blue Spruce, Canaan Fir, Colorado Blue Spruce, Douglas Fir, White Fir (Concolor Fir), Fraser Fir, Scotch Pine, White Pine.
  Living, rooted tree varieties: Balsam Fir, Douglas Fir, Fraser Fir.
• The Tree Farm – Minimizes chemical and pesticide use, Christmas trees-you choose and you cut, Precut Christmas trees, Christmas wreaths, Christmas boughs, trees baled, saws provided,
  421 Bolton Street (Route 85), Marlborough, MA 01752. Phone: 508-485-0683. Email: JillsTreeFarm@gmail.com. Open: 11/27-12/24, Friday-Sunday from 12pm to 4pm. Payment: Cash, Check.
  Christmas tree varieties: Balsam Fir, Canaan Fir, Douglas Fir, Fraser Fir, White Fir (Concolor Fir).
  PreCut varieties: White Fir (Concolor Fir), Douglas Fir, Fraser Fir.

Maple Syrup Brunch!

Groundworks Somerville is hosting their second annual Maple Syrup Project Brunch Fundraiser this Saturday, Dec. 4th at the Independent in Union Square, Somerville. They say it better than I can:

Brunch will be served from 10am-4pm on Saturday and 20% of proceeds will be donated to the Somerville Maple Syrup Project! The seasonal menu will feature maple-inspired offerings such as Maple sausage Belgian waffle, Maple pancake breakfast wrap with scrambled eggs and bacon, French toast with honey crisp apple compote, and much more.  Seating is limited so reservations are highly recommended! Call 617-628-9988 and identify yourself as a supporter of Groundwork Somerville and The Maple Syrup Project.

To learn more about the Maple Syrup Project, please click here.

To view a flier for this fundraiser event, please click MSP Brunch Flyer 2011.  Thank you in advance for helping to spread the word!

To RSVP and invite friends, please visit the facebook event here.