Link: http://www.embarkservices.com/blog/blogs/

Risk mitigation works well for your property as well as your financial investments.

Tree care is a proven way to increase the value of your home by eliminating risks and costs.

According to the Arbor Day Foundation, a single tree over 50 years can:

• Generate $31,250 of oxygen;

• Provide $62,000 worth of air pollution control;

• Recycle $37,500 worth of water; and,

• Control $31,500 worth of soil erosion.

A tree should be seen as a multi-generational investment. If you see your property as something that will be passed on, imagine grandchildren and great grandchildren enjoying it for years to come. The type of tree, location and the care it receives will determine if you will become a beneficiary of nature.

Some of the reasons that tree care easily makes your home more marketable and valuable include:

• Removing overhanging branches improves the view from your home;

• Tree topping or thinning out branches adds light to a house or garden;

• Pruning lets in more light and air to let trees grow stronger after pruning and extends their life;

• Reducing energy costs with shade in the summer and as a partial wind barrier during the winter;

• Tree shaping can add symmetry, making the tree more visually appealing; and,

• Removing weak or diseased branches lessens the risk of getting hurt to family, friends; and neighbors.

Over a 50-year period, a homeowner may never cut down a tree but harvest its bounty. Let Embark Tree and Landscape Services nurture your trees starting with an online quote. Or call us at 713-462-3261.

Link: http://www.embarkservices.com/blog/blogs/

For Embark Tree and Landscape Service, Earth Day is every day.

The first Earth Day in 1970 enlisted 20 million Americans; it was the largest organized citizen action in United States’ history.

With coordinated events taking place across the country, it is generally credited with launching the modern environmental movement. In 1990, Earth Day Network expanded internationally and organized campaigns in 142 nations. Earth Day now boasts the participation of more than one billion people in 190 countries.

While the impact is global, local efforts are the best place to start when thinking about Earth Day.

Sometimes nature requires a tree to be cut down; but as an environmentally conservative company, Embark Tree and Landscape believes a fallen tree is not the end.

Our Certified Arborists are degreed, accredited, and certified through International Society of Arboriculture and only use state of the art equipment to repurpose removed trees.

Every tree removed from the earth is returned to a home or garden right here in Houston. Trees and branches are processed by a wood chipper at the work site. What ends up in the trucks goes to create nutritious, rich mulch which retains moisture and protects the soil surrounding a plant.

Our team is committed to excellence and our environment. We emphasize tree preservation, and conservation of our Earth’s natural resources.

Earth day is every day. Visit EmbarkServices.com and learn about our Green Club or call us at 713-462-3261 or go online to request a visit.

Everyone has a relative or a friend eager to take on a tree with a chainsaw.

Perhaps the question to ask is do they have the knowledge to do the job safely? Most property owners run through this dilemma all too often.

Hiring a tree service provider with a positive reputation, insurance, and permits beats price and concerns about liability any day.

Professional tree service providers possess enough insurance to take care of any of their employees on the job and anything else that may happen. Ask the company for their insurance company and then follow up with a phone call. Homeowners could be responsible for damages and injuries that occur.

The professionals can drop a tree on a dime because they've been trained and they do it every day. It takes more than a truck and a chainsaw to be considered a professional.

Permits and accreditations take the mystery out of hiring someone. Many local and state governments require contractors to apply for licenses to work.

Also, look for professional organizations like the International Society of Arboriculture. An Arborist is a specialist in the care of individual trees and more than a tree cutter.

Larger professional firms invest in the tools needed to do the job. Safety and customer satisfaction should go hand in hand when taking care of the trees on your property.

Besides tree removal, a good tree care company can:

• Prune to maintain or improve the health, appearance and safety of the trees;
• Perform emergency tree care after a storm by safely removing trees and limbs from homes, cars, others trees and structures; and,
• Plant trees that are appropriate for a specific location, taking into consideration factors such as limited growing space, insects, diseases or poor growth.

Ensure the heath of your trees and large shrubs with a comprehensive plant health care program and deep root fertilization.

The decision to hire a tree service is yours. At Embark, our job is to provide the best service at competitive rates.

Making your own mulch has lots of blooming benefits for your yard and your wallet.

Mulching is one of the simplest and most beneficial practices you can use in the garden. Mulch is simply a protective layer of a material that is spread on top of the soil.

Mulches can either be organic -- such as grass clippings, straw, bark chips, and similar materials -- or inorganic -- such as stones, brick chips, and plastic. Both organic and inorganic mulches have numerous benefits.

Also, think of how many trips to the store you’ll save.

Mulches also improve the condition of the soil. As these mulches slowly decompose, they provide organic matter which helps keep the soil loose.

This improves root growth, increases the infiltration of water, and also improves the water-holding capacity of the soil. Organic matter is a source of plant nutrients and provides an ideal environment for earthworms and other beneficial soil organisms.

While inorganic mulches have their place in certain landscapes, they lack the soil improving properties of organic mulches. Inorganic mulches, because of their permanence, may be difficult to remove if you decide to change your garden plans at a later date.

You can find mulch materials in your own yard. Lawn clippings make excellent mulch. While not particularly attractive for a flower bed, they work wonderfully in the vegetable garden.

The fine texture allows them to be spread easily even around small plants. However, grass clippings are becoming scarce because of the increased popularity of mulching lawnmowers that provide many of the same benefits of mulching to lawns.

Newspaper, as a mulch, works especially well to control weeds. Leaves are another readily available material to use as mulch. Leaf mold, or the decomposed remains of leaves, gives the forest floor its absorbent spongy structure.

Compost makes a wonderful mulch if you have a large supply. Compost not only improves the soil structure but provides an excellent source of plant nutrients.

Bark chips and composted bark mulch are available at garden centers. These make a neat finish to the garden bed and will eventually improve the condition of the soil.

These may last for one to three years or more depending on the size of the chips or how well composed the bark mulch is. Smaller chips tend to be easier to spread, especially around small plants.

Depending on where you live, numerous other materials make excellent mulches. Hay and straw work well in the vegetable garden, although they may harbor weed seeds.

Seaweed mulch, ground corn cobs, and pine needles can also be used. Pine needles tend to increase the acidity of the soil so they work best around acid-loving plants such as rhododendrons and blueberries.

Be sure to call Embark Tree and Landscape Services for all your landscape needs.

Link: http://www.embarkfloral.com

While Easter has passed and the baskets have been put away, the Easter Lilies can continue to live on in your garden as a symbol of the season.

Once the lilies have finished flowering, place the potted plants in a sunny location. Continue to water thoroughly as needed, and add one teaspoon of slow-release Osmocote fertilizer every six weeks. The pots can be moved to a sunny location outdoors after the danger of frost has passed.

To plant your Easter Lilies outside, prepare a well-drained garden bed in a sunny location with rich, organic matter. Use a well-drained planting mix, or a mix of one part soil, one part peat moss and one part perlite.

Good drainage is the key for success with lilies. To ensure adequate drainage, raise the garden bed by adding good soil to the top of the bed, thus obtaining a deeper topsoil and a rise to the planting area.

Plant the Easter Lily bulbs three inches below ground level, and mound up an additional three inches of topsoil over the bulb. Plant bulbs at least 12 to 18 inches apart in a hole sufficiently deep so that the bulbs can be placed in it with the roots spread out and down, as they naturally grow.

Spread the roots and work the prepared soil in around the bulbs and the roots, leaving no air pockets. Water in immediately and thoroughly after planting. Try not to allow the soil to heave or shift after planting.

As the original plants begin to die back, cut the stems back to the soil surface. New growth will soon emerge.

The Easter Lilies, which were forced to bloom under controlled greenhouse conditions in March, bloom naturally in the summer. You may be rewarded with a second bloom later this summer, but most likely you will have to wait until next June or July to see your Easter Lilies bloom again.

Another planting tip to consider is that lilies like their roots in shade and their heads in the sun. Mulching helps conserve moisture in between waterings, keeps the soil cool and loose, and provides a fluffy, nutritious medium for the stem roots.

Or, a more attractive alternative would be to plant a "living mulch," or a low ground cover of shallow-rooted, complementary annuals or perennials. The stately Easter Lilies rising above lacy violas or primulas is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also sound gardening.

The Easter Lily bulbs are surprisingly hardy even in cold climates. Just be sure to provide winter protection by mulching the ground with a thick, generous layer of straw, pine needles, leaves, ground corncob, pieces of boxes or bags.

Carefully remove the mulch in the spring to allow new shoots to come up, as your Easter Lilies will keep on giving beauty, grace and fragrance in years to come.