Welcome to an Exciting 2016 Growing Season

Let’s get started! Spring is a busy time of year outside. In order to help you keep track of all of the services we’re running and when we’re running them, here’s a brief update on our service routes. You can also use our secure Client Care Site to review your payment history, make payments, review your program and services, add services and request more information on any of our services: Greenwise Client Care Site

Spring Clean-Up Service: Starts Early April During your Spring Clean-Up, we awaken your landscape by elegantly updating bed lines, clearing winter debris, dead-heading leftover blooms, raking the lawn, spot seeding with peak quality grass seed, and clearing debris off hard surfaces. The Spring Clean Up will also provide your lawn with the first mow of the season. You do not need to be home for us to service you. For best service, please let us know ahead of time if you have a fence or gate that you keep locked, a dog you usually have out in the yard, or if there are any potential obstructions– such as road or alley construction– that block access to your property.  We will instruct our crew to close and lock all gates before leaving your property. Please remove all pet waste, children’s toys, or any other hard-to-see objects that could be run over by a mower.  Don’t worry about larger, easy-to-spot objects such as lawn furniture, our crew will remove and replace those.  “Awaken” Organic Fertilization: Starts Early April The first step of our 5-step organic lawn care program, “Awaken” is a 100% organic, all-natural, corn gluten-based application to break lawn dormancy and suppress weed germination. This route applies to the majority of our clients and, as such, we expect to run it throughout April. No special lawn preparation is needed on your part prior to or after the Awaken application:  Corn gluten meal is a relatively heavy product and will immediately begin to work its way through lawn debris and down to the soil. Because Awaken, like all Greenwise fertilizers, is non-toxic and safe for humans & pets, you are free to use your lawn immediately after application. For more information on the benefits of corn gluten meal in an organic lawn care program, please read the research done by Iowa State University: Corn Gluten Meal Research Personal Gardener Program: Starts Early April Because our Personal Gardener Program is tailored to the client’s specific needs, the timing of these services will vary depending on the client’s property. Our personal gardener program is perfect for those clients who require more than general turf maintenance. Our professional horticultural crew will tailor a custom program for your property throughout the growing season. We will maintain your gardens in peak condition and offer valuable feedback to help you best understand the needs of your plants. Mulch: Starts Early April Spring is an excellent time for a mulch makeover for your property. Our premium shredded, hardwood, dark-chocolate-colored mulch is completely natural and chemical-free. Our pricing is based on yards of mulch installed. We thoroughly prepare the beds before properly installing the mulch. Mulch is extremely versatile and serves a crucial role in maintaining healthy lawns and gardens. Here are some of the many reasons why you should consider a mulch makeover:

• Increases the aesthetic value of your property
• Suppresses weeds
• Retains moisture
• Stabilizes the soil
• Adds organic matter to the soil

Spring Floral Container Displays: Starts Mid-April If you garden in a small space — around a patio or on a deck or balcony — growing plants in pots is a good way to add color and a little pizazz to the space. In a big garden, placing large pots on a sunny perennial border or in a shady bed can create interesting focal points. We can help you add seasonal beauty to your property with Springtime floral display custom to your property, color preferences—and budget. The deadline for ordering is 4/8 and installation begins on 4/18. Please call us at (847) 866-1930 for more information or to order.  Early Season All-Natural Weed Management Treatments: Starts Early April Our natural, non-toxic Weed Management foliar applications fight weeds by using iron-rich treatment to over-fertilize, causing a weed die-off. This ‘compost tea’ also delivers premium nutrition, absorbed quickly through the turf’s foliage, for excellent color, density, and foliage development. This treatment is a natural, liquid foliar spray, rich in micro-nutrients, consisting primarily of iron, organic sugar beet molasses, humates, and seaweed. It is non-toxic and natural, safe for humans and pets. You can use your lawn immediately after application. We recommend two applications in early spring, before planting grass seed, for optimal effectiveness.  Low-Emissions Weekly Mowing Service: Starts Late April This service includes lawn mowing, edge maintenance, and debris removal. No horticultural work is included in the mowing service, so please contact us at (847) 866-1930 to schedule a garden service. Keep in mind that the weekly low-emissions mowing service is not a substitute for a Spring Clean Up and your property may need to have a more extensive clean-up to get it into shape for the growing season. During the Spring Clean Up, we also mow the lawn, so if you feel your grass will have grown long by the time mowing service begins, we recommend signing up for Spring Clean Up service. Our goal is to mow your lawn on the same day of the week, every week. We will have the routes standardized within the first few weeks of service so there may be some variance until the schedule is set.  During the mowing season, if your mow day is rained out, we will come the next service day that weather allows and strive to have the entire route caught up by the end of the week in order to service all of our mow clients each week. We cut the grass high, at 3 inches, to avoid damaging the structure of the grass plant and putting undue stress on the lawn.  Grass Seeding: Starts May In our service area, grass grows best when the soil temperatures are between 50 and 65 degrees F. These temperatures usually occur when the daytime air temperatures are between 60 and 75 degrees, which is usually around the beginning of May. We use a blend of grass seeds designed to thrive in our unique Midwest weather conditions. When applying grass seed, we first lightly rake bare patches to ensure good seed to soil contact, add specially formulated seed starter fertilizer, then top with a protective layer of peat moss. Proper watering is crucial for successful grass germination. Here are guidelines for watering a newly seeded lawn: Seeding & Watering  Spring Core Turf Aeration with PRIME Organic Soil Builder: Starts May Core turf aeration opens the soil to provide needed oxygen for the root system to thrive: A well-developed root system creates a denser, healthier, more durable lawn. Aeration becomes significantly more effective when combined with a soil builder such as PRIME. PRIME is Greenwise’s proprietary 100% organic and natural custom blend of volcanic minerals and essential elements.  Applying PRIME to your lawn adds trace minerals and key nutrients, conserves water, and prevents nutrient leaching.  PRIME works on its own as a topical turf application to support a dense, durable, healthy lawn. Applying PRIME annually with aeration will significantly reduce compaction, allow air, water, and nutrients to penetrate the soil, and create a healthy, robust root system.  Aeration plus PRIME is the key to building healthy soil and setting your turf up for success.