Webster Ingersoll

Happy Holidays!

tom — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 20:23:01 +0000

Thank you for a great 2011. Happy Hanukkah, Solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year!!!

We will be out of the office from 12/24 to 1/2. We are changing our phone system and during the break you may hear a generic outgoing message. Leave a message and we will be checking in.

You may always Send us an Email. We’re always checking. Peace!

A rare site these days…

tom — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 01:50:31 +0000

…is a woodland free of exotic, invasive plant species. This client’s Hillsdale, NY property is highlighted by an understory of native Vaccinium corymbosum (Highbush Blueberry) and Vaccinium angustifolium (Lowbush Blueberry). Both are edible, give great fall color, and are essentially maintenance free if planted in the proper location (these particular plants do prefer acidic soils).

Check us out on Facebook

tom — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 21:51:48 +0000

Please visit our comments page!

While you’re there, please feel free to “Like” Webster Ingersoll!

Accolades

tom — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 21:53:51 +0000

We are proud to announce that one of our recent projects has been the recipient of an ASLA Honor Award for Residential Design. The Landscape Architect was Reed Hilderbrand and we were the contractors. This distinctive project was done with an intense focus on sensitivity and protection of the habitat. We used untreated, naturally rot-resistant Black Locust timber and native, rough-sawn Eastern Hemlock to deck the boardwalk. Not your everyday project. Congratulations to Reed Hilderbrand and kudos to the owners, who have done something very unique!

Ouch!

tom — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 13:28:38 +0000

A growth anomaly that has become more common over recent decades is the Stem Girdling Root (SGR)

Here a large SGR has grown to a point where it is inoperable and a mature Norway Spruce must now be removed..
With development comes disturbance, and changes in grade resulting from excavation for septic systems, trenching for utilities, or simply grading for a lawn can have severe long-term effects on proper root development and overall tree health. The Girdling Root effectively strangles the tree by compressing the vascular tissues of the tree. Translocation of water and nutrients becomes difficult in the affected section of the tree, and can result in decay, dieback, and eventual failure.

If you recognize this issue on any of your trees, please consult one of our Certified Arborists for advice. You may have a potential hazard on your hands.

If this issue piques your interest, take a few minutes to read this terrific report from Gary Johnson at the University of Minnesota.

Sure enough…

tom — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:14:11 +0000

The West Nile virus has arrived in the Southern Berkshires. A massive mosquito hatch came on the heels of the recent heavy rains and flooding, and the young skeeters are HUNGRY. Keep yourself covered, stay behind screens, in the sun, in a breeze, and use repellents.

Please consult the
National Library of Medicine.

You can also download this Fact Sheet (PDF) from the Massachusetts Department of Health.

Webster Ingersoll offers family- and kid-friendly spray programs for your consideration. Please call with any questions!

As much as we prefer Natural Stone…

tom — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 13:46:12 +0000

…sometimes you have to think about the bigger picture. In this case a client approached us with an idea: She wanted an apron on the end of her driveway and liked the look of Belgian Blocks that her neighbor had. We discussed at length the different factors: Labor, material cost, and maintenance (especially plowing). In the end we chose a pre-cast concrete product that offered ease of installation, cost-effectiveness, terrific strength and consistency without sacrificing that country estate look!

The client loves it, the job went quickly, and somewhere…a wall of granite remains intact.

Low mow is the way to go…

tom — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 12:10:50 +0000

Sustainability is not a new concept. Using native plants, low-maintenance plants, and creating landscapes that require little in the way of fertilization and irrigation has worked for thousands of years. As a culture we drifted away from that with the commercialization of fertilizers…but that is a whole ‘nuther story.

Today, we need to focus again on finding ways to decrease the inputs into our gardens, lawns, and fields. Translation: Save time, save money, and have a lower impact on the environment.

Organizations like NOFA have expanded their influence into the commercial landscape world with support, education, and accreditation in the area of Land Care.

Among the “tools” we now have in our kit are several seed blends for low-input, low-maintenance lawns. Here you can see an established section of a lawn installed just one year ago. Cool season fescues (Hard fescue, Sheep’s fescue, Red fescue, etc) make for this drought-tolerant, shade-tolerant, soft and beautiful lawn. It stays about 5 inches tall and gets mowed twice a year!

Climate Change Update…

tom — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 14:24:39 +0000

The warming temp has caused the top of the troposphere to rise. The tropopause is the glass ceiling for thunderheads and as thunderstorms go higher, they can develop larger hailstones, dump more hard rain, give stronger damaging winds (even tornadoes) such as we have had in New England this summer.

This is the signal to avoid soil compaction, erosion and carbon loss, use cover crops and mulch to protect the soil year-round, plant windbreaks and buffer zones, try permaculture, have trees pruned for strength, plant diverse species to weather the extremes…. Reduce CO2 emissions every way we can.

Heat and high humidity leading to severe storms may become the norm for New England in coming years. But we have to prepare for drought and erratic temperatures also. The trend is toward the extremes world-wide.

Check out this site from OSU for more information.

Here Come the Weeds!

tom — Mon, 16 May 2011 12:08:58 +0000

Unlike most exotic invasives, Alliaria petiolata (Garlic Mustard) actually has edible leaves, flowers, and seeds. You can chop the young foliage and petals into salads as a tangy, nutritious flavoring, or you can steam the greens. But please PULL OUT this nasty plant slowly by the roots while you’re harvesting.

Garlic Mustard presents a serious threat to native by stealing nutrients and light from native plants, including from its own cousins (!) the dentaria species (Toothworts) – the primary food for the West Virginia White Butterfly.