Spring Vacation? Look for Gardening Ideas

One of our clients recently came home from vacation with an idea to recreate an English garden at their Cincinnati home. If you’re headed to warmer climates this winter or spring, you’ll find plenty of world-class gardens to visit. Wherever you go, be sure to take pictures. Who knows where you’ll find unique gardening ideas to bring back for your home. 

With so many Cincinnati residents vacationing in the Southeast U.S., this list of gardens published by Mother Earth Living is a great place to start your search for gardening ideas. The list offers suggested stops from North Carolina to Florida, and several places in between. 

Looking to find yourself in a bamboo maze? If you’re near Savannah, take a short trip to the Coastal Georgia Botanical Garden. Spring is the right time to view the garden’s Rivers of Iris as well. (Sounds like a great idea to re-create here in Ohio!)

Photo courtesy of Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens

Marvel at larger than life topiaries and be dazzled by plants from around the world and flowers in every color at Epcot Center. This Disney World resort in Orlando, Florida, hosts an annual Flower and Garden Festival. In 2020, the dates are March 4 through June 1. 

The Biltmore in Asheville has world-famous gardens, but if you’d like to see something older, drive east to Manteo, North Carolina, to the Elizabethan Gardens. A live oak on the garden’s grounds is estimated to have lived since 1585. While you’re there, take in the site’s 85 varieties of Camellias and roses straight from Windsor Castle. Bookmark the month of April for the butterfly festival.  

Photo courtesy of the Elizabethan Gardens

Share Your Gardening Ideas

We hope you find lots of inspiration on your travels. If you find an idea to bring home to your yard, take plenty of photos. We’d love to see them and make your vision a reality.    

Be a Hero with Sustainable Landscaping

Maybe you’re trying to earn LEED points for your home or you just want to follow a “greener” lifestyle. Whatever your motivation, sustainable landscaping practices can help. Choosing to make your surroundings more eco-friendly is easy and you can still enjoy a beautiful yard. 

Seiler’s certified LEED landscape designers suggest taking these steps to sustainable landscaping: 

Watch the Water

Watering plants and trees is important in our area, since we often have periods of drought. A rain gauge in your yard will let  you know if Mother Nature is taking care of watering for you. If you do use a sprinkler system, make sure it doesn’t run when rain has been adequate. Take note of the spray patterns--adjust the sprinkler heads if they are watering walkways or driveways instead of plantings. Watering in the early morning is best: Later in the day, heat can cause water to evaporate more quickly. 

Another way to save water is to choose drought-tolerant plants. We follow sustainable landscaping practices by selecting plants we know will thrive in the Cincinnati area without a lot of extra watering or fertilizing. 

Limit the Lawn

Grass requires continuous maintenance, which in turn requires energy and resources. As you plan for a more environmentally friendly yard, consider cutting back on large expanses of lawn. We’re happy to show you other ideas for beautiful, low-maintenance plantings. You’ll never miss the extra grass.  

Bee a Friend

Attracting pollinators like bees, birds, beetles and butterflies is a great way to help the environment. The National Audubon Society offers a database of native plants that’s easy to search by zip code. These native plants help birds and other pollinators thrive. 

Some of Seiler’s favorite plants and trees to attract pollinators are: 

• Flowering Dogwood trees

• Black-Eyed Susan 

• Redbud trees

• Butterfly bush

Your Family’s Sustainable Landscaping

Studies show that time spent outdoors can improve mood. Your landscape can encourage your family to get out of the house. As you consider a backyard refresh, think about ways to spend time outside. An outdoor dining area, firepit for watching the stars, hammock for al fresco napping,  zone for yard games or a soothing water fountain can all lure family and friends outside. These amenities can be incorporated with sustainability. One example is a deck built with a composite material made from wood byproducts and recycled plastics. 

Providing space in your yard for compost bins is another way to cut down on waste and use landscape trimmings to create nourishment for your plants.Composting can even help kids understand nature’s life cycles. 

Professional Help

It’s important for all of us to do our part for the planet. Take simple steps on your own to “green” your yard, and if you’re ready to make a bigger impact, contact us. We’d be happy to point you in a new, eco-conscious direction.  

Outdoor Living and Landscaping News from Builders Show

Every year, the colossal International Builders Show features the latest in all things home-related. Here are some outdoor living and landscaping highlights from IBS 2020.

Hidden Treasure

Phantom Screens paired up with two other companies, Struxure and Somfy, to create outdoor rooms at the show. The rooms showed off the hidden screen products from Phantom that can enclose or shade an outdoor space. Struxure offers pergolas with slats that can slide out of the way for direct sunlight, or be maneuvered for shade or to create a watertight roof. Somfy adds remote control ability to the louvers, as well.

Photo courtesy of Phantom Screens

Photo courtesy of Struxure

It’s Not Wood

The look of wood with zero maintenance? For some who want easy-care outdoor living and landscaping, it’s a dream. Knotwood showed off its aluminum fencing and decking at this year’s show. The product is powder-coated and textured to look like and have the feel of wood. It comes in a wide variety of wood shades.

Photo courtesy of Knotwood

Smokin’ Hot

Napoleon rolled out a new grill with all the bells and whistles. The Premium PRO grill has powerful burners, a smoker tube and a range of other options. It also offers an LED spectrum night light function that allows users to set control knobs to a custom color to match their outdoor décor. The grill has proximity lighting with motion-detection that projects a Napoleon logo on the ground when you are ready to grill.

Photo courtesy of Napoleon

Fire, Water, Food

Going beyond their composite wood decking products, Trex brought to the show a line of fire vessels that includes a few that are paired with water features.

Photo courtesy of Trex

Trex also promoted a full line of outdoor kitchen cabinetry. Available in a wide range of styles, finishes and colors, these durable outdoor cabinets make meal prep, serving and clean-up much easier.

Photo courtesy of Trex

Ready for More?

New products and ideas for outdoor living and landscaping keep popping up. It’s exciting to imagine what you could do with your backyard. Call us today to talk about your options. We’d love to help you make your dream outdoor space a reality.

5 Things Every Backyard Refresh Should Include

You’ve seen all the gorgeous photos of drool-worthy backyards, maybe even watched your neighbors or friends create beautiful outdoor living spaces. Are you ready to make your own backyard retreat? 

Here are five things you’ll want to include: 

1. Space to entertain. You can magically add square footage to your home by planning for the right outdoor space. We can help you create a design that provides shade where you want it and plenty of sun where it would feel pleasant. Your backyard can offer amenities that everyone (including your pets) can enjoy. Hosting friends and family outside can be fun and relaxing if you have the right spaces and furnishings. 

2. A drainage plan. As certified drainage contractors, we understand that a wet backyard can cause a variety of problems. Ponding water makes it difficult to maintain your lawn and plants and can even be a breeding ground for mosquitoes. If you’re having issues with drainage, contact us so we can talk about a good solution.  

3. The right plants and trees. As you refresh your backyard, you want to include plants and trees that will grow and thrive in our Cincinnati climate. Proper placement of plant life is critical, too: Trees and shrubs that overtake your home mean trouble down the line. A good landscape plan takes growth patterns into account and calls for the right plants in the right locations. 

4. A paver patio. Is a deck in your plans for a backyard refresh? Try considering a paver patio instead. Unlike wood decks, a paver patio is maintenance-free and will last for years without re-staining or wood treatments. Many of our clients love the way pavers can be tied into the look of their home’s exterior as well. Patios surrounded by low walls can also provide casual seating, too. 

5. A firepit or fireplace. Spring and fall in Cincinnati are wonderful times to sit outside at night enjoying a fire. By creating a built-in fireplace or firepit, you don’t need to worry about buying or replacing temporary firepits or rings. Want to combine a fireplace with a wood-burning oven? It’s easy. And, your fire area can offer built-in seating for a crowd. 

What does your dream backyard look like? We’d love to hear about your vision, so contact us today for a free consultation.  

Why January Is a Great Time to Start a Landscape Design Project

When it’s cold and gray, who wants to think about their landscape? Actually, winter is the perfect time to gear up for a yard makeover. Here’s why: 

You Need a Plan 

The best landscape renovations rely on a carefully considered plan. Spending time this winter defining your vision of the perfect backyard, front yard or outdoor living space will put you ahead of the game. 

Start by thinking about who will use the outdoor spaces, along with when and how. Would you like to eat outside, entertain, prepare meals or have a fireplace or firepit? Do you enjoy gardening? How do you want your home to look from the street? How much yard work do you like to do? Think about exterior lighting, too, and if it could extend the time you can spend in your outdoor spaces. 

Now’s the time to draft a budget, too. If you’ll need to finance the project, talk to a lender about your options now. Remember, unlike interior renovation projects, it’s easy to tackle a landscape makeover in phases. Start with the backyard this spring and put the front yard off until next year, or vice versa. 

 It’s the Off Season

Like most landscape design companies, we tend to have more open schedules in the winter. We’d be happy to talk about your vision now and start sketching out a plan. We’ll go over your ideas, look at photos that you like and discuss your budget. Then, we’ll visit your home to look at the site and take measurements.

Next, we’ll provide you with an initial plan and cost estimate. During this winter season, we’ll have plenty of time to revise as necessary until the plan fits your needs exactly. If your plans include building a deck, pool or other structure, we can arrange meetings with contractors so they are on board and prepared.   

Be Ready to Roll 

Another good reason to get started on your landscape design now is that you’ll be ready to go when good weather comes around. In the spring, we can start removing any unwanted plant life or existing structures.Then, we’ll do preliminary site grading to get ready for hardscaping like patios, walkways or walls. Once those are in place, we’ll be ready to bring in your plants and you can start enjoying your beautiful new landscape. 

Are you thinking of a landscape facelift or complete makeover? We’d love to hear about your ideas. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.

A Formal Garden Vision Takes Shape

Most people bring knick knacks or t-shirts home from vacation. Debe and Lou Terhar brought home a garden. 

Of course they didn’t stuff plants, pathways and a fountain into their suitcases, but they were so enchanted with a formal English garden they saw while vacationing in Australia, they vowed to recreate it in their Cincinnati backyard. 

From Down Under to the West Side

Inspiration hit while the Terhars were staying at Lillianfels Resort and Spa in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. “It was listed as one of the thousand places to see before you die,” Debe says. “When we were walking from the resort down to the restaurant, there was this English garden on the grounds of the restaurant. I was so taken by it.” 

Debe lived in England for several years, and a formal garden like those she’d seen there and throughout Europe had always been a dream. 

Lou began pacing off the size of the Lillianfels garden, back to front and side to side. From his rough measurement, it seemed like they could make it work behind their house on Cincinnati’s West Side.  

Dream to Reality

When they returned home, Debe pulled out the email address she had used to make reservations for the restaurant, crossed her fingers and sent a request for more information on the garden. “I got an email from the chief engineer of Lillianfels, with answers to all my questions, plus the design for the original garden,” Debe recalls. 

The Terhars took the information to local landscape designer Martha Wasserman to adapt the plans for their space. Then they contacted Seiler’s Landscaping to begin construction. 

“When I met Will Seiler, I thought it was a perfect fit,” Debe says. She knew he understood the vision she had for the garden. “Everyone with Seiler’s has just been phenomenal,” she says. 

As the garden is taking shape, Debe is getting more and more excited. She can’t wait to see the Korean lilacs, white hydrangea and coral bells blooming. “We originally wanted to have white climbing roses over the trellises, but it seemed more practical to have clematis.”  

Until that first blooming season, Debe is enjoying walking the garden paths and relishing their elegant and unique souvenir from a trip across the world.

Tell Us Your Vision

Do you have a dream garden in mind or want to give your landscaping a facelift? Contact us: We’d love to talk about your options in a free consultation.

Top Evergreens for Cincinnati

We all love seeing sparkling Christmas trees in homes at this time of year—but evergreens are a welcome sight outdoors, too. Our top evergreens for Cincinnati can provide shade, protection from wind and privacy in your landscape.

In bleak Ohio winters, the green of these trees stands out and they provide food and shelter for birds and wildlife. What’s not to like?

Norway Spruce

The gorgeous Norway spruce is a Seiler’s Landscaping favorite. It can grow to 50 or 60 feet tall, making it perfect for use as a screen or windbreak in a large landscape. When we plant these trees, we make sure they have plenty of space: A full-grown Norway spruce can measure 25 feet in diameter. Here are some of Norway spruce’s advantages:

• Long cylindrical cones

• Drought tolerance, which is a selling point in the Cincinnati area

• Cold hardiness and adaptability to a range of soils

• Disease resistance

• Dense branches that offer privacy, especially when planted in rows

Spring Grove Arborvitae

Another one of our top evergreens for Cincinnati is this species of arborvitae. If you have deer, this tree could be the solution. Fast-growing and coldhardy, the Spring Grove arborvitae is unappealing to hungry deer.

If you’re looking for privacy, this species can quickly create a living screen in your yard. With this tree, you get:

• Superior dark green glossy color

• Winter hardiness (it easily survives sub-zero temperatures)

• 20- to 30-foot height

• Thick foliage on a tight, pyramid shape

Emerald Green Arborvitae

This sun-loving specimen grows tall, but not big. Use this narrow tree in borders, containers, hedges and even small gardens. Fancy something a bit more fanciful? Trim this arborvitae into whimsical topiary shapes.

When you choose this cultivar for your landscaping, you’ll be rewarded with:

• A tall, narrow shape

• Dense, dark green winter foliage

• Capacity to thrive in Cincinnati’s heat and humidity

• Drought tolerance

• Ability to create a privacy screen

• Suitability for topiary shaping

Free Resource

We love choosing the best trees for our landscaping clients. If you’re ready to refresh your yard, now’s a great time to start planning. You can begin by downloading our free guide to trees. If you have questions, we’d love to answer them! Just contact us anytime.

Pro Spotlight: Unilock Leads in Hardscaping

Every landscape plan has two parts: plant life and hardscaping. Hardscaping includes paver patios, sidewalks, pool decks and walls. At Seiler’s, we depend on one of our partners, Unilock, to supply us with the literal building blocks of great hardscaping.

We asked David Roscoe of Unilock to talk about hardscaping.  

What are the latest trends in hardscaping and outdoor living? 

David Roscoe: The industry seems to be trending towards a more contemporary range of products. Most recently we have developed our U-Cara Wall.  

Photo courtesy of Unilock

The U-Cara wall system offers both smooth and textured vertical wall blocks. How can they be used? 

David Roscoe: U-Cara has endless design possibilities and it has our Enduracolor finish, which prevents fading over time. It can be used for retaining walls, seat walls, fire features, grills and more. Year after year, we have led the hardscape industry in innovation.

Photo courtesy of Unilock

What makes Unilock unique?  

David Roscoe: Our founder Ed Bryant was the first to manufacture concrete pavers in North America in 1972. We are still a privately owned company by the Bryant family. We are extremely focused on producing a high-quality product that will last for years. We even provide a lifetime transferable warranty on all our pavers and walls.

Photo courtesy of Unilock

How long have you been in this industry?

David Roscoe: Landscaping and hardscaping have always been a passion of mine because I love the creative aspect, plus I enjoy working outdoors! I graduated from Eastern Kentucky University in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in ornamental horticulture. I spent 14 years designing and selling residential landscape projects. Then I started my career with Unilock in 2016. It’s been an excellent opportunity to focus I my favorite part of landscape: the hardscape!

Photo courtesy of Unilock

We love Unilock products. Hopefully the feeling is mutual! 

David Roscoe: I like working with Will and the team at Seiler’s Landscaping because they are a very creative and professional company; which pairs perfectly with Unilock.

If you would like to see more of Unilock’s products, visit their website.

New Home Landscaping Makes Space for Family Fun

Creating room for family fun was the goal for Amy Lang and Eric Hessell’s outdoor living spaces and new home landscaping. An unexpected bonus helped them do just that. 

When Amy and Eric were looking for a building lot in the Long Cove community of Mason, they were excited to find one that backed up to ball fields. They knew the fields, which sit on top of a ridge behind their home site, wouldn’t be developed so their backyard would have privacy. 

As they designed their custom home, they called on us for a master plan for the landscaping. The plan called for a series of retaining walls to push the slope behind the house back. With that move, their future backyard was flatter and larger than they expected, allowing visions of a pool to pop into their heads. 

Outdoor Living Amenities

The new home landscaping plan also called for a paver patio, built-in firepit and a hot tub. “We wanted space for everyone to come over,” Eric explains. Amy, Eric and their three children often host large gatherings of their extended family. Plenty of outdoor amenities keep the whole crowd happy. 

New England in the Midwest 

The family’s home, built by Hensley Custom Building Group, features a New England coastal style. To make the landscape complement the home, we spent time researching classic New England style. While some plants popular in the Northeast don’t do well in our region, we were able to choose cultivars that give the home that authentic coastal feel. 

The front yard carries the coastal theme and creates a striking first impression.

We were thrilled to work on this distinctive new home landscaping and provide spaces for the whole family to enjoy for years to come. 

If you’re planning to build a new home, we’d love to hear about your vision for the landscaping. Contact us today for a free consultation.

Pro Spotlight: Neal's Remodeling for Your Home and Garden

Landscaping a newly remodeled home or adding custom-built structures to our clients’ landscaping is exciting. And, it has allowed us to partner with outstanding local companies like Neal’s Design Remodel. 

We asked Mike Hendy of Neal’s about today’s remodeling trends. 

Photo courtesy of Neal’s Design Remodel

What’s new in design and remodeling?  

Mike Hendy: For outdoor living, the biggest trend we are seeing is “outdoor family room” type spaces. Many of our projects have large stone fireplaces with TVs and comfy seating. Families want multiple locations outside for different types of entertaining. Destination firepits, pool houses, outdoor bars or family room seating around a fireplace are the most common.

For interior spaces, we are seeing a lot of natural wood and simple clean designs. Our best advice on trends is to design what you like. It is very common for us to put a custom spin on our designs that are unique to the homeowner’s lifestyle.

What makes Neal’s Design Remodel different? 

Mike Hendy: We are a design-build firm which makes us unique in our ability to tackle all aspects of a project from start to finish. Our mission is to provide exceptional design producing the finest home remodeling experience while building outstanding relationships with our clients. 

Photo courtesy of Neal’s Design Remodel

How does that approach influence the way you work? 

Mike Hendy: Once we begin a project we are camping out together in the homeowners’ “sacred space” and it is our job to make sure this is as enjoyable and painless as possible. Detailed schedules, daily clean ups and constant communication are extremely important. 

We work every day to make sure our clients have an amazing remodeling experience. 

Do you have advice about integrating landscaping with a remodeling project?  

 Mike Hendy: Landscaping on the exterior (as with painting on the interior) can make or break a project. Picking the right landscape design can really finish off a project, or if done incorrectly or insufficiently, can detract from the overall aesthetics.  

As with any of our exterior projects, it is paramount to have a great plan while discussing all of the details, and how they interact with each other prior to beginning the construction process.  Neal’s operates as the quarterback of the project to make sure that all items of the project are completed in the right sequence, on time and on budget.

 What do you enjoy most about your work and partnering with Seiler’s Landscaping?    

 Mike Hendy: My grandfather started Neal’s in 1972, and I have worked within the business since high school. Remodeling presents different challenges on every single project. It is very fulfilling to work with clients and transform their home into what they have always envisioned.  Often times our clients have been thinking about their remodeling projects for many years prior to reaching out to us. 

 We have worked with Seiler’s for years. Will Seiler is punctual, communicates well, and has great foresight into possible issues that can arise during a project. Seiler’s landscaping and construction knowledge makes them a great partner on any outdoor living project.

 To see more of the company’s work, visit Neal’s Design Remodel website.