Maintenance Services
Native plant gardens are not the same as conventional landscapes. They require particular care during their establishment period and identifying native plants from weeds is vital. Do you need a refresher on how to ID the native plants in your garden or full service care for you native planting? Give us a call.
Please Note: Hand & Petal does not use any herbicides/pesticides and requires that client inform Hand & Petal if any are used on site.
Native Plant Garden Maintenance Initial Consult by appointment only
Walk your site with Hand &Petal and learn the secrets your landscape has to tell. The fee for this in-person consult is $75.00 and it takes approximately one hour. During initial consult we will:
Identify garden areas & assess current plant performance
Assess weed pressure
Identify disease & pest preference
Discuss personal concerns
Identify maintenance needs
Hand & Petal will identify pest and disease concerns and list options for non-toxic, natural, organic treatment. We do not provide any lawn/turf care and provide only specific shrub pruning.
What to Expect: Maintenance Items
Hand & Petal Landscapes generally follows these best practices for native plant landscapes:
Weed cut back at soil and minimal soil disturbance
Use of client located composting and or habitat pile for appropriate plant material
Cut-back of native plants later—often not until late winter or early spring in order to allow for wildlife food & habitat
Keeping/encouraging leaves to remain in garden beds to serve as mulch
Avoiding compacting soil when wet or with use of heavy equipment
Use of electric/human/quiet equipment whenever possible
We do our best not to disturb critters of all kinds, unless it is safer to encourage them to move or their presence poses some other significant potential for harm or damage (we pick off bag worm, etc.)
Healthy plants promote healthy ecosystems, which, in turn, promotes our own health!
Sharing photos of the amazing plants, critters, and scenes we encounter while caring for your garden
What to Expect: Cost of Maintenance
Maintenance costs are established after initial consultation.
Maintenance of native plant gardens and landscapes can look different than traditional landscaping. This requires skilled laborers who know native plants, can identify unwanted and problematic plants, understand best maintenance practices for each plant, and know how to keep unwanted plants and pests from spreading to other areas.
The establishment period, usually the first two growing seasons, can have the most time-consuming tasks. For several of the gardens we have installed and maintained, maintenance costs have reduced after the establishment period.
Ready to begin? Request a Consultation
We provide in-person consults for a wide swath of MD, DC, South Eastern PA, and DE. Please submit your address when you reach out so we can determine if you are located in our service area.