Spring is here! We are now scheduling spring cleanups. A spring cleanup is essential for the health of your landscape and surroundings. The GroundMasters spring cleanup is the best way to get your yard back in shape from the rough winter. There are many aspects to a proper spring cleanup, they include; General Cleanup – removal of all debris from parking areas, mulch beds, lawn areas, etc. De-thatching – thatch (power rake with machinery) all lawn areas, blow down, and removal of all thatch and debris. Aeration - The practice of improving the movement of air, water, and nutrients into the soil by making holes or slits in it. Specialized machines are commonly used to remove plugs of soil or cut slices in the soil. Shrub/Tree Trimming – professionally trim/prune. Spring is also a great time to plant trees and shrubs!

New excavator arrives! We are proud to announce the purchase of our new Mini Excavator. This compact machine can handle digging jobs in congested areas, squeeze through narrow yard gate openings or between buildings — giving you access to areas where digging by hand was the only option. High digging forces and a compact footprint ensure that our new Mini Excavator will deliver the productivity and value that our customers demand.

Magic 106.7 visits GroundMasters Mike Addams “Mr. Excitement” and the morning crew from Magic 106 recently stopped by GroundMasters headquarters for their very popular Magic Coffee Break. Mike and crew delivered loads of delicious breakfast goodies from Dunkin’ Donuts. A good time was had by all!

Gift certificates are available. Please call 781-279-0818 to order.

GroundMasters to offer “For Sale Special” Got a house that you are trying to sell? How about a little added curb appeal! Call today and ask about our real estate one day makeover.

Gift Certificates — The GroundMasters Gift Certificate is the perfect gift for; Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Weddings, even the neighbor “that really needs it.” They can be used for all of the GroundMasters services.

Bocce Courts — Bocce can be played on a variety of surfaces: a smooth lawn, rough grass, a dirt road or a grassy meadow. Typically a smooth clay surface with a layer of limestone underneath (for water drainage) is used for tournaments. The general length of the field is 76 feet long and 10 to 13 feet wide but can be adapted to fit any playing surface. The court should have a center line with rectangular outer boundaries. In official courts there will be backboards and sideboards constructed of treated lumber that rise above the ground 6-12 inches. Vertical foul lines should be painted on the sideboards.

Rain Barrels — These rain barrels are the ultimate in recycling. Not only are you collecting rain water to reduce using expensive treated drinking water on your lawn and garden, but you are also helping recycle barrels that were originally brought into this country filled with olives and pickles. These are food grade barrels, which are safe for use as rain barrels. The 58 gallon rain barrel is approx. 39 inches tall, with a 23 inch diameter. The top of the rain barrel has a threaded lid that’s slightly over 1 foot in diameter. The lid is pierced with 3 holes for taking in water. This rain barrel includes a ball valve for easy watering control.

GroundMasters “For Sale Special” — Got a house that you are trying to sell? How about a little added curb appeal! Call today and ask about our real estate one day makeover.

These temperatures are referred to as “average annual minimum temperatures” and are based on the lowest temperatures recorded for each of the years 1974 to 1986 in the United States. The map shows 4 different zones, each of which represents an area of winter hardiness for the plants of agriculture and our natural landscape.

How to use the map The map has been subdivided into light and dark-colored sections (a and b) that represent 5 °F (2.8 C) differences within the 10 °F (5.6 C) zone. The light color of each zone represents the colder section; the dark color, the warmer section. Areas above an arbitrary elevation are traditionally considered unsuitable for plant cropping and do not bear appropriate zone designations. There are also island zones that, because of elevation differences, are warmer or cooler than the surrounding areas and are given a different zone designation. Note that many large urban areas carry a warmer zone designation than the surrounding countryside. The map-contains as much detail as possible, considering the vast amount of data on which it is based and its size.

In using the map to select a suitable environment for a landscape plant, you should keep in mind:

Stress Factors We became aware of additional stresses to plants during the 1970’s. Acid rain, gaseous and particulate pollution, security lighting, and toxic wastes, among many other stress factors, have significantly increased the potential for unsatisfactory performance of landscape plants. We need to document the tolerances of plants to these factors.

New Plant Management Systems New techniques of planting, transplanting, watering, fertilizing, and providing pest control measures have done much to increase the vigor of landscape plants. But used unwisely, these same measures can reduce plant hardiness.

Artificial Environments We have pushed the use of plants into totally artificial environments such as expressways, malls, elevated decks, and buildings where plant roots are totally removed from the ground and its warming influence. The assortment of plants that can adapt to such environments is proving to be very restricted.  Hardiness ratings alone are inadequate to guide landscapers in selecting the most successful plants.