When you walk or drive through a neighborhood, what catches your eye? Beautiful blooms in complementary colors, gorgeous greenery, a water fountain or pond, a welcoming walkway, a balance of shade trees and shrubs? Certainly, that type of landscaping is attractive and appears to be skillfully created to enhance the home and its style of architecture.

Contrast that with a house where plants are haphazardly placed with­ out any pattern or plan. Or the one that appears to lack care with flowers that are fading, colors that clash or trees that are gasping for water. The first home is like a painting done by a professional artist. Every detail is picture­ perfect. The latter is like an unfinished or unframed canvas.

It takes more than just picking up a few plants at the pharmacy or discount store to create a landscaping masterpiece. It takes planning, the skill of a professional landscape artist and the right plants for your yard.

“We are unusual in that we are landscapers who have our own nursery,” said Julie DeVorss of Green Valley Nursery & Landscape, which helps homeowners with all phases of outdoor projects, from planning and planting to patios and ponds. “We are a Landscape Contractor, but depending on what our customers’ needs are, we also work with other  specialty contractors to help our customers’ fill those needs. We have built a fantastic group of professionals (our “Green Valley Group”), and we all work together to meet our customers’ various needs.”

That “Group” consists of experts in their various “media,” so to speak. While Green Valley offers a large selection of plants that thrive in this area as well as landscape design, Green Valley along with the other companies in their Group, such as Richardsons Concrete Effects and Erik Johnson Tile, are skilled in concrete coatings and over­ lays, lighting, water features, exterior fireplaces and fire­ pits, outdoor kitchens and more – all the materials and craftsmanship that go into creating beautiful exterior landscapes. For those who want a pool, Green Valley refers homeowners to licensed contractors with expertise in swimming pool design and installation.  Green Valley works with these pool professionals in order to provide the proper irrigation and drainage (not to mention the final – finishing touches of a beautiful landscape around the pool). Networking with other landscape­related professionals is a win­ win situation for homeowners and the companies who do the work. The latter are proficient in coordinating projects, a skill that few homeowners have experience in doing. In addition, homeowners who are at work all day and involved with outside activities just don’t have the time to call on various businesses for estimates and then coordinate the work and timetables.
Many homeowners may lack the time to follow up on every aspect of a project, including making sure the work is done properly and that plants and trees are thriving.

When working with a landscape designer at our nursery, homeowners can view plants that will grow well in their yard and select those that will be set aside for planting when the ground­ work is finished. “People can do a walk­through the nursery and “tag” that specific Japanese Maple that will go in their yard,” said DeVorss. That way, they are “part of the process,” and get to pick and choose exactly what is going to be planted in their yards. “Our landscaping customers love the nursery tour – it makes them feel more involved with their yard,” said DeVorss.

Follow-­up or on-­site visits are helpful to busy homeowners and necessary to insure that plants and trees are doing well. The plants at Green Valley are under warranty if installed by  Green Valley and properly cared for by the homeowner.

When selecting plants, a walk or drive through nearby neighborhoods is a good way to see what grows well in this area. Clipping photos of trees, shrubs and flowers is another way to gather ideas of what you’d like in your garden. However, plants that thrive best in the area are those that are from local suppliers to local nurseries. Plants that fail to grow well, fade or die are often those that are trucked in from across the country or even elsewhere in California. “It’s important to use plants that are grown here and acclimated to this area,” said Don DeVorss, co­-owner of Green Valley.

As an example, many stores offered tomatoes and other vegetable plants in March, but those early seedlings may not develop into a bounty of summer­time vegetables. The time to plant veggies is this month, April.

Eat Your Veggies

And, speaking of vegetables, Green Valley is hoping to get youngsters excited about gardening by offering schools and fami­lies the opportunity to learn about plants and materials. Kids can visit the nursery on specific dates and select a vegetable – at no charge – and plant it in a terracotta pot. They’ll learn how to care for it, and then take it home to plant it in the garden at the right time. It’s said that youngsters who grow their own veggies will eat them. However, little ones who really, really hate veggies can take home a pumpkin or gourd to plant and then decorate in the fall.

Happy Mother’s Day

Youngsters also can create a plant gift for mom, grandma, teacher or neighbor. For under $10, they can attend a session where they’ll be able to decorate a pot and plant it with their choice of flowers and greenery. It promises to be a fun project for youngsters who also will learn about plants and gardening.

With the promise of warmer weather, you, like many homeowners may be planning to redo all or part of the landscape. The advantage of working with a designer/consultant in a nursery who carefully plans your yard and coordinates the work with other skilled professionals is that the results are pretty and pleasing to the eye. Just watch the passersby in your neighborhood and notice the number that pause to view your landscape. They may be saying, “This is a real work of art.”

As shown in the pictures, one of our customer’s in El Dorado Hills had an “all grass” front yard.  She loved plants and trees, and the grass was boring. Not only did the grass have no appeal but, her friends could not get down her very steep driveway.  Her friends would have to park up at the top of the street and attempt to walk down her very steep driveway.

Don had the idea to cut through her grass by forming (from the street) a meandering walk­ way down to her front entry­ way.  Along the path he planted an array of beautifully colored and hearty plants.  Our customer wanted a large Old Growth Olive to be planted in her front yard to represent her husband who had passed away.  She wanted an Olive because it has a biblical reference to it.  Don went down to the Olive orchard in Southern California and hand­picked a beautiful Old Growth Olive Tree for her.  We had it shipped on a big semi, and planted it in her front yard.  Her friends can now park at the top of the street, and walk down the pathway (safely), to her front door – while visiting the Olive Tree that represents her husband’s life. The pictures show the before, during and after process (including the final touches of overlay).  The overlay tied her walkway into the stone in her entryway of her house.  It looks great! The customer was thrilled, and is now a “friend for life.”

For updated information regarding the Kids’ Programs mentioned above, along with other great landscape information, go to Green Valley’s web-site at: www.greenvalleynursery.biz For expert help in planning and planting your yard, contact Green Valley Nursery & Landscape, which provides full-service landscape consultation and installation and a wide selection of quality flowers, plants, shrubs, trees, pottery, fountains, trellises and structures. Visit the new Design Center to view samples of concrete overlays and other decorative work suitable for any size yard. Green Valley Nursery & Landscape, 334-D Green Valley Road,  El Dorado Hills, is open from 9am-5pm Monday-Saturday and  10am-4pm Sunday. Call the retail nursery at (916) 941-0401; or the Landscape and Design Center, (916) 941-8660.