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I want to redo the landscape of our new home, the previous owners didn't do much with it.

We want to do a border around the front of the house with big rocks as the border and plant some pretty plants and flowers, anything with color and some greens too. Also, what should we use inside the border? rocks, or just the soil as it is, or bark?? We don't have any big trees in our yard so it would be exposed to the hot sun most of the day. Also, Houston gets quite humid, so what plants/flowers would survive the heat and humidity the best? Any suggestions?? Thanks!

First of all plant a tree to get some shade going. You will aprreciate the energy savings. A shade tree or an ornamental tree that will cast some shade on the area. This will help cut down on watering also. While waiting for the shade plant sun loving drought resistant plants like vinca and knock out roses. Bark mulch is best because it enriches the soil as it breaks down.
Home Depot has a book called "Landscaping 1-2-3 for zones 7-10" that I have found very helpful. Houston is zone 8 or 9 depending on your location. Randy Lemmons book "Gulf coast Gardening" is great also.

2007-02-24 08:22:26 by Me

"Houston Landscaping", "Houston Landscape Design", "Houston Landscape Design Artist", "Houston Landscape Design ...

I have a New Landscaping Biz In houston TX
i need to quote 50 15 Gallon Trees Installed with stakes and Mulch
I have the Price of trees is there a Formula on how to charge for Tree Planting.
Ex) when i lay Mulch I get it for 20 dls a Cubic Yard, I sell it for 40 to 45 dls installed to a customer.
HELP !
i feel that i might be under charging

Hope you still need help, if not this will be helpful anyhow.

You have to run the business just as it reads, BUSINESS. So step one is to take all of the business overhead, or residual bills that you will incur whether you are working or not (phone, truck lease, ect) Take that number add together for annual cost then break down into monthly cost, and or weekly, this is the cost of running your business. Do not leave anything out everything must be included that it will cost you to do business not related to jobs. Add marketing projections ect, be realistic, we have often time over estimated this and you do not want to do this either. Keep in mind this will be set aside monthly to pay your bills, add 5% for overage.

Then you figure out about what you the owners/company want to make in a year realistically. These numbers will need some adjusting but you need to do this step. Break this down into what you need roughly to make that goal. Example 100 day times 300 days is 30,000. 200=60,000 ......... Figure in taxes into this equation. take 20-25% or so from you total number.

Now you have 2 costs, one is expenses and the other is profit.

At this point you can bid a job, take total cost of everything stakes trees (get discount for 50 trees!!) mulch rentals ect, whatever it is that you need for the job. Now add labor to this do realistic figures for how many days it will take add in total labor costs.

Add everything together based on how many days it will take, expenses per day, profit per day, job costs, and labor this will insure that you make the profit goal you set out in the first place. This will give you total price, this way you can change each part of the equation, if you can lower your initial labor cost thats more profit, lower the job cost more profit.

To see if you are on track you can take all of your expenses including for the job only (tree, stakes, rentals ect)and multiply by 2.4- 2.6 this will guide you in seeing if your at market. You take the total job costs and multiply by difficulty of either 2.4 for easier project and 2.6 for harder or in between then thats what market usually is.

2007-11-20 18:48:15 by Mr Answer

Price: $22.19

Enamel
Assorted Colors
Watering can

I recently moved to my nicely landscaped property located in Houston, TX, but the number of plants has grown, creating a fuller look including weeds. I like to keep it simple for better aeration and control of termites and roaches. So, I'd like to start removing plants to create air flow, but want to do it without altering the aesthetics of the lawn.

Thanks for your help.

http://www.backyardgardener.com/
http://www.bhg.com/home/Landscaping-Idea s.html
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gardening

2008-08-29 20:41:55 by ahe03

Price: $19.30 $13.66

Enamel
7-Inch by 12-Inch
French vase

I recently move to Houston and would like to resume designing landscapes, and landscape consultation. Can anyone tell me with any authority which licenses I need to satisfy both state and local government requirements? Thank you.

CALL 713.247.2982. This is the City of Houston 1-Stop Business Information Center. This is an excerpt from their website:

"One quick call or visit provides you with information on city, county, state and federal regulations affecting your current or proposed business. Our database ensures fast service, and our "GETTING STARTED PACKETS" - your roadmap to operating a business in Houston- are available by mail, in person, or via the above web page to anyone opening or expanding a small business. Via mail, the packets take approximately 7-10 days to receive."

On another note, I would talk to a local SCORE counselor. This is a program that is affiliated with the SBA. SCORE stands for Service Corps of Retired Executives and they are a nonprofit organization managed by volunteers who own or managed businesses before. They do free 1:1 consultations, have a great library of business start-up books, and offer low-cost workshops on how to start a small business. They can advise you about other parts of your business plan so you think about everything before you jump in.

Good luck!

2007-04-14 00:25:59 by Jeanne B

I am planning my yard and would like to do my own landscaping. What kind of vegetables, herbs, flowers and fruits are good for Houston climate hot, humid summer and mild winter. I want the fruit trees to serve both as fruit bearing as well as for shade to my house. The flowers should be a melangé of color. The vegetables should be able to supply seasonal veggies to my dining table. I know it is a tall order but any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Tomatoes, strawberries, asparagus, squash, zuccini, watermelons (certain varieties will do much better than others), corn, okra (loves that climate), all types of peppers, carrots, onions, beats, radish, potatoes, pumpkins, cilantro, basil, canteloupe... hell, just about anything. Here's a link to our veg group... join it for better info....

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OkVegGarde ns/

2007-08-23 13:40:27 by gardennovice