Of all the world-wide environmental issues we can get involved in, probably the most personal and closest to home involves the patch of lawn and the trees and shrubs growing in our own backyards.

Plants contribute to our health and comfort as well as to a better environment. They produce oxygen, filter impurities from the air, reduce the demand for cooling in the summer, act as windbreaks and insulators in the winter, and even filter pollutants from surface water.

Our plants also help reduce global warming and reduce noise pollution.

Taking good care of your property improves the quality of life for your family, your neighbors, and the whole community.

Using professional lawn and landscape care can make you a good citizen of Earth by contributing to everyone’s environmental well-being, while allowing you the leisure to enjoy your home and property more.

Proper Pruning is All About Proper Timing

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, which may be about to blossom.

When is the proper time to prune flowering trees and shrubs? Part of the answer depends on whether the time of flowering is in the early spring or later in the season.

As a general rule of thumb, prune flowering trees and shrubs immediately after flowering. Early spring bloomers such as dogwood, forsythia, flowering crabapple and cherry, magnolia and azalea should be pruned immediately after flowering in late spring or early summer.

In general, trees and shrubs such as crape myrtle, Bradford pear, knock out roses, spirea, and some varieties of hydrangea that flower after the end of June should be pruned in late winter to early spring when they are dormant. If you’re not sure about pruning or have trees on your property bigger than you can handle, call in an expert.