Gardening services from Your Personal Gardener
Our Personal Gardeners Ô
are experienced and educated in all aspects of gardening. They'll treat
your garden as if it was their own. You can truly think of them as your
'Personal Gardeners.' Ô So relax and call
One Garden at a Time at 724-519-2126. We
have gardeners in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
including Murrysville, Shadyside, Oakmont and Fox Chapel.
Please note: We are gardeners, not landscapers.
What's the difference? We don't apply pesticides or install hardscaping.
We shudder when we see landscape fabric (or worse - black plastic!) One
visit from our Personal Gardeners Ô, and you'll
know the difference.
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Pruning
- One day my husband, John, and I were driving down the
street when suddenly I screamed. "What's wrong?" John asked in alarm.
"Did you see how badly pruned that tree was?" I asked. John rolled his
eyes in resignation. "Only you would scream about a badly pruned tree."
Click on 'pruning' to learn more about my thoughts on the subject.
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Maintenance
- We hand-weed and never use chemical applications. We
also divide perennials in the spring or fall, add fertilizer according to
soil test recommendations, and cut back fading flower heads to keep your
garden looking its best.

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Garden Coach
- Whether you're planning a new garden or renovating an
old one, we can advise you on the best way to proceed. We specialize in
English Garden Design.
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Bulb Plantings
- The biggest mistake people make is not planting enough
bulbs. (photo, right, shows the gorgeous effect achieved by planting
hundreds of English bluebells at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, London)
We'll advise you on the type and quantity of bulbs to order. Did you know
the reason deer don't eat daffodils is that they are poisonous? So if you
have a deer problem, daffodils are the perfect bulb. Allium, also, is
usually deer resistant.
FEES: $40 per
hour for pruning and other garden maintenance. We offer a discount if
you require us to do regular maintenance once a month or more frequently.
Here are our best garden tips:
Garden Tip #1. Protect your plants from
winter damage
Winter storms can really wreak havoc on your
garden - especially trees and shrubs.
Follow these winter garden tips so your
garden will look beautiful in the spring.
* Survey your trees and shrubs. Are branches
snapped off, leaving a jagged edge? Are they partly broken, but still
hanging on? Or is there no actual damage but they are bent over because the
ends are covered in heavy snow?
* Take action. If the branches are
completely snapped off, leaving a jagged edge OR if they are partly broken,
but still hanging on: Make a clean cut back to a branching point. Use the
broken branches for kindling, or pile them up in an unobtrusive area of your
property to provide shelter for small animals.
If there's no actual damage but the ends
are bending over due to heavy snow: Take a broom and sweep UPWARDS from the
bottom of the branch, knocking snow off as you go. Most branches should
spring back up into their original position. Never sweep downwards, as this
will put extra pressure on the branch and may cause it to snap.
* Once the snow's gone, look around for
plants that might be heaved out of the ground. Gently step on them with
your foot and push them back into place.
Garden Tip# 2. How can I control weeds?
This is one of the questions we get most often. The
Personal Gardeners at One Garden at a Time offer the following advice:
* When you only have a short time in the
garden, focus on just those weeds that are going to seed.
Why? Removing these weeds will keep them from
spreading, so you'll have fewer weeds in the future.
* When you're overwhelmed by weeds that
are taking over, pull just the tallest weeds.
Why? Removing the tallest weeds will make a fast
improvement in the overall look of your garden.
* When creating a new bed, save your
money and don't lay weed fabric or black plastic. Instead, use newspaper or
cardboard under mulch to keep new weeds from forming.
Why? Newspaper or cardboard will keep weeds from
coming up under the mulch for up to a year. They'll naturally decompose.
Weed fabric and plastic will never decompose, and in the long run, they
don't really work. Weed seeds germinate on top of them, and so you
still have weeds.
* When cutting grass, make sure your lawn
mower's chute sprays AWAY from your garden beds.
Why? Weed and grass seeds
will not spray into the beds and germinate, creating more weeds.
GardenTip #3. When it all gets too much for you - call
us!
We hand-weed your garden so you don't need to use
chemicals. We'll dig your weeds out by the roots -- and you can be sure we
know the difference between weeds and your prized perennials.
Our expert gardeners will prune your overgrown
shrubs. We specialize in hand-pruning unusual shrubs like weeping Japanese
maples.
We can provide a garden evaluation and give you a list
of what to plant in each area. . . or take you to the nursery and show you
which plants to buy and which to avoid.
Selling your house? We can give you tips on improving
curb appeal.
