Patio Design and Install

Fall is a great time to move forward with a new patio. This one is ready for a fire pit and some new furniture.

Some Work from the Summer

This summer has been busy season for outsiders.  We apologize for not getting some new images up here sooner, but better late than never!


Boulders are a great way to accent your landscaping and make a statement.  We love the way this project turned out.

 All plants become overgrown at some point.  Freshen up the look of your house with some new plantings and fresh edges.

Stonehenge?

 Walkways and Installation work.

 Grass flourished this year with the beautiful weather. If you are tired of pushing your own mower, don't hesitate to call a professional!

This is how we handle business...

Walkway Design

New Walkway for some clients in Montgomery.  Started as a DIY and ended with an Outsiders intervention.

Need some help with a DIY that turned out to be too much? give us a call!

Newest project

Sneak peak of a current project. This space was not usable and the steep incline made for some dangerous terrain. So we created a design using hardscaping and plantings to transform the once unusable yard into a beautiful and functional space. 

Easter Lilies

Choosing an Easter Lily

We’re all tempted to buy plants that are already in full bloom, but immediate gratification won’t translate into long term enjoyment. Here are some tips for choosing lily plants that will last through the holiday season and beyond:

• Choose a plant with flowers and buds in various stages of development, preferably from tight bud to partially opened flower.
• Make sure the foliage is dense, extends all the way down the stem to the soil line and has a uniform rich, healthy, green color.
• Check the plant for signs of insects (eggs, webbing, actual bugs, chewed leaves) and disease (dark spots, crinkling, wilting).
• Select a plant that is about two-times as tall as the pot. A plant that has outgrown its pot will be stressed.

   

Easter Lily Care in the House

Keep your Easter Lilies blooming by taking a few easy precautions.

• All lilies are extremely toxic to cats and can cause kidney failure. Don't bring lilies into a home with cats.
• Display your plant in bright, but indirect sunlight.
• Protect your Easter Lily from drafts and heat sources, such as fireplaces, heaters and appliances.
• Remove the yellow anthers from the flower centers. This helps prolong the life of the blossoms and prevents the pollen on the anthers from staining the flowers, your hands, clothing, tablecloths, rugs and anything else it can find its way to.
• Cool daytime temperatures in the 60 - 65 degree F. range will prolong the life of the blooms. The temperature can be even cooler at night. 
• Water the your Easter Lily only when the soil becomes dry to the touch and don’t leave it dry for an extended period of time.
• If the lily's pot is in a decorative foil wrapper, be sure water is not accumulating under the pot. More plants die from over watering than under watering. 
• Remove flowers has they fade and wither.

Transplanting and Re-Blooming Easter Lilies

It may be possible to plant your Easter Lily outdoors and have it bloom again for you, next season. The success rate will vary, as with all florist plants that have been forced into bloom. But it is possible and what have you got to loose?

• Wait until all the flowers have withered and been removed from the plant. Keep the plant watered and in indirect sunlight until it is ready to go outside. 
• Wait until all danger of frost has passed and find a sunny, well draining spot in your garden.
• Amend the soil with some organic matter, if needed. Soil pH should be a neutral 6.5 to 7.0. 
• Plant the Easter Lily bulb to the same depth it was in the pot.
• Add an additional 2-inch layer of organic mulch. Lilies like sunshine, but cool soil. 
• The original leaves and stem will start to brown. When this begins to happen, cut the plant down to a healthy, green leaf. New growth should soon emerge from the base of the plant. Let the plant grow foliage the first year. 
• The new growth will turn yellow in the fall and the lily plant can then be cut back to soil level. 
• Top dress the soil with bulb fertilizer or blood meal. Work into surrounding soil, making sure not to disturb the lilies roots. 
• Apply a few more inches of mulch to insulate the plant through the winter.
• Remove the mulch as the weather warms in the spring.
• Begin applying a balanced fertilizer as soon as new growth appears and monthly until the lily blooms.
• Be patient. It may take a couple of year's for your plant to build up enough resources to set flower buds. Easter Lilies naturally bloom in June/July, so don't look for flowers next Easter. 
• If you've come this far successfully, keep your lily well watered the first year as it establishes itself and then treat it as you would any other lily.

Walkway installation

Recently we were able to add a new walkway to the front do a customers house. Great hardscaping can add both beauty and function to your space. 

Daffodils are in bloom

Sunny, yellow daffodils are a wonderful sign that spring has arrived! Plant the bulbs in the fall and they will bloom in late winter or early spring. Daffodils are hardy and easy perennials to grow in most areas in North America, except Southern Florida.

Their attractive flowers usually bear showy yellow or white flowers with six petals and a trumpet-shape central corona. Leafless stems bear between 1 and 20 flowers; sometimes the flowers need to be staked so that they don't weigh down the stems.

Daffodils are suitable for planting between shrubs or in a border, or for forcing blooms indoors. They also look wonderful in a woodland garden and in large groves. You'll find that many gardeners plant the bulbs not just by the dozens but by the hundreds! Their flowers are excellent for cutting.

Red Maple in spring

The Red Maple is blooming with beautiful red buds. Spring is here!

Lawn Renovation Before & After

Spring is coming.

If you're interested in getting off on the right foot this spring...Call to schedule a Spring Clean-Up assessment.   It's probably the most important visit for the year!  We take everything into consideration to keep your property looking great well into the season including:

 - Cleaning out all beds from fall and winter debris
 - Removing all weeds and spraying all remaining weed growth
 - Applying a healthy amount of Treflan (pre-emergent weed control) to all beds
 - Freshly edging all beds to a neat and professional appearance
 - Applying 14-14-14 all purpose fertilizer to all beds
 - Pruning ornamental grasses and deadwood and cutting back perennials to encourage new growth
 - Hand spreading a triple processed hardwood mulch to a smooth appearance

 

Limelight Hydrangea on Standard

We recently planted one of these for a customer and it is getting ready to bloom.  Its a beautiful way to add some blooms to your yard all summer.  Plus the option to have this beauty on standard can create visual interest for your yard.

Spring is right around the corner!  When you can't wait to get started in the spring garden, a good task to undertake is pruning. Most trees and shrubs benefit from annual pruning. It keeps them in shape, gets rid of dead and diseased wood and encourages new growth. But not all trees and shrubs should be pruned early, especially some of the flowering ones. Early spring bloomers set their flower buds the fall before. Pruning them early in the spring would mean losing some blossoms

Here is a list of trees and shrubs to leave alone this spring to full enjoy their spring blooms.

• Azalea (Rhododendron species) 
• Beautybush (Kolkwitzia amabilis)
• Bridal Wreath Spirea (Spirea x vanhouttei)
• Flowering Crabapple (Malus species and cultivars)
• Forsythia (forsythia x intermedia)
• Hawthorn (Crataegus species and cultivars)
• Hydrangea, Bigleaf (Hydrangea macrophylla)
• Lilac (Syringa vulgaris)
• Magnolia (Magnolia species and cultivars)
• Mockorange (Philadelphus coronarius)
• Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia)
• Rhododendron (Rhododendron species)
• Serviceberry (Amelanchier x grandiflora)
• Slender Deutzia (deutzia gracilis)
• Weigela (Weigela florida)

Fothergilla 'Blue Shadow'

Here is a great little shrub to try out in your shade garden.  What great FALL COLOR!!

100 Year Old Compton Oak Move Successful in League City

You don't have to be in the industry to appreciate this amazing video. 

Hard to believe another Holiday Season has come and gone!  On behalf of the entire team at  Outsiders Landscape Group, I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year!

 

Each time I see this plant I like it even more.  Caryopteris Hint of Gold is a great late summer bloomer that can brighten any garden.  Lime green/yellow foliage and intense purple flowers play so well together they make you stop to take notice as they draw your eye in.