Darlington Designs' Maintenance
Why Darlington Designs?
Properly maintaining the landscape is just as important as the design and installation of the landscape. A high quality maintenance program will keep the landscape as pristine and beautiful as the day it was installed. Darlington Designs provides a full service maintenance program that will allow your landscape to grow to its full potential. When Darlington Designs maintains your landscape you can rest easy knowing that your investment will grow to its potential.
Darlington Designs provides a full array of Maintenance Services. Click on the links below for a printable version for each of the maintenance services provided by Darlington Designs.
Weekly Mowing
The Darlington Designs Weekly Mowing is designed to keep your lawn looking its best. Let Darlington Designs maintain your lawn while you spend the weekends with the family. The following is included with the Weekly Mowing schedule:
- Lawn cutting to approx. 2 ½” in height
- Power edging all walks, patios, and curb
- Power trimming all landscape bed perimeters
- Blowing off of all surfaces
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Weeding of all landscape beds (Optional upon request for an additional charge)
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Bagging & Disposal of lawn clippings (Optional upon request for an additional charge)
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6 Step Landscape Maintenance
The Darlington Designs Landscape Maintenance Program consists of 6 steps to keep your landscape beautiful. The program consists of services to keep your plants healthy and beautiful, services to keep your beds clean and pristine, and services to add color to the beds with annuals and bulbs. Let Darlington Designs maintain your beautiful landscape while you spend the weekends with the family. The following is the Landscape Maintenance schedule:
1. Spring Clean-up (March – April)
Spring is a great time to be outside and enjoying your outdoor retreat. Allow Darlington Designs to provide a Spring Clean-up to bring your landscape back from the harsh winter. Our Spring Clean-up service provides the following:
- Clean out any debris in the beds and lawn areas
- Light pruning of any winter injuries on trees and shrubs
- Prune shrubs as needed
- Weed all landscape beds
- Edge the perimeters of all landscape beds
- Fertilize all Ornamental Trees and Shrubs (Granular)
- Install Pre-Emergent Weed Control (Granular)
- Install a Black Dyed Mulch (Other colors upon request)
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Remove the old mulch in the beds (Optional upon request for an additional charge)
2. Spring Annuals (May)
The spring is a great time to add annuals to your beds to give a very nice splash of color to the landscape in focal areas. Our spring annual service provides the following:
- Install the desired flats of annuals
- Weed all landscape beds on the property
3. Summer Pruning (August)
Summer is the time to go away with the family and have barbeques with your friends. Allow Darlington Designs to provide a summer pruning service while you lounge at the pool. Our summer pruning service provides the following:
- Prune any necessary plant material for proper growth and health
- Weed all landscape beds
- Top dress and rake mulch beds
- Sharpen bed lines
4. Fall Annuals (Early October)
Fall is the perfect time to go to a festival with the family or enjoy the games on the weekend. Allow Darlington Designs to add some fall color to the landscape. Our Fall Annuals service provides the following:
- Plant annuals for a splash of fall color (Mums &
- Weed all landscape beds
5. Fall Clean-up (November – December)
Enjoy time with your family on the weekends instead of cleaning up the leaves. Allow Darlington Designs to provide a fall clean-up service and leave the hassle of leaves to us. Our fall clean-up service provides the following:
- Clean – up all of the fallen leaves on your property and place at curbside
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Clean and remove debris from gutters and pop-up drains (Optional upon request for an additional charge)
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Remove leaves off site (Optional upon request for an additional charge)
6. Fall Pruning (November – December)
Spend your valuable free time getting prepared for the upcoming holiday season instead of working in the yard. Let Darlington Designs add a splash of color to your landscape and clean up the perennials. Our Fall Pruning service provides the following.
- Cut back Perennials and Ornamental Grasses
- Prune shrubs as needed
- Weed all landscape beds
- Plant Annuals for winter color (cabbage) (Optional upon request for an additional charge)
- Plant Annual Bulbs for next spring color (Optional upon request for an additional charge)
- Top dress landscape beds with a touch of fresh mulch (Optional upon request for an additional charge)
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Turf Program
Darlington Designs Turf Care program consists of six treatments that will be applied through out the season. The treatments will be applied by a licensed professional. There are some additional services offered that can be done on an as needed basis.
The following is the Fertilization Schedule:
1. Early Spring (March – April)
- Application of fertilizer to jump start the lawn
- Apply a pre emergent to control annual grasses and some broadleaf weeds
2. Late Spring (April – June)
- A second application of pre emergent to maximize the control of annual grasses and some broadleaf weeds
3. Early summer – (May – June)
- A slow release fertilizer is applied to help your lawn get through the stressful summer months
- A broad leaf weed control is applied
- Grub control is applied at this time if requested (Optional upon request for an additional charge)
4. Late Summer (July - August)
- A slow release fertilizer is applied to help your lawn get through the late summer heat
- An insecticide is applied to battle against turf damaging insects that emerge in the summer
- The lawn is spot treated for any broad leaf weeds
- The lawn is inspected by the applicator for any diseases that may be starting to form on the lawn
5. Fall (September – October)
- A broad leaf weed control is applied
- Fertilizer is applied to help bring the lawn back from a stressful summer
- Core Aeration (Optional upon request for an additional charge)
- Thatching (Optional upon request for an additional charge)
- Topdressing of topsoil and lawn over seeding (Optional upon request for an additional charge)
6. Early Winter (November – December)
- A winter fertilizer blend is applied to help jumpstart the lawn in the early spring
- Lime broadcast (Optional upon request for an additional charge)
7. Soil Analysis (November – December)
- Soil testing is used to provide an accurate report of the available nutrients in the soil for the lawn. Periodic soil analysis helps develop a good fertilization program for your lawn. It will help us to correct nutrient deficiencies and avoid over fertilizing. It is recommended to have a soil analysis completed every 3 years.
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Night Lighting Maintenance
A well designed and installed Night Lighting System adds a lot of value to the landscape. The Darlington Designs Night Lighting Maintenance program insures that the system is operating at the highest level. Darlington Designs will come out to your home once every two years and complete the following maintenance.
- Test the voltage of each homerun to insure that the correct voltage is being sent out to the fixtures.
- Make sure the photocell and timer are working properly.
- Visually inspect the transformer for any damage.
- Replace the bulbs in all of the fixtures on the system.
- Visually inspect each fixture for any damage and repair if necessary.
- Adjust any fixtures that need to be moved as the landscape grows.
- Wire brush and apply WD-40 to fixtures. (Optional upon request for an additional charge)
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Irrigation Maintenance
Properly maintaining an Irrigation system is just as important as the installation itself. By allowing Darlington Designs to Winterize, Start-up, and Service your irrigation system will insure your warranty stays intact. The following Irrigation maintenance is offered by Darlington Designs.
- Winterization (November)
- Clear all the water out of the system with compressed air
- Visually inspect the system for any leaks or damage to the system
- Take notes of any issues to be repaired during spring start-up (repairs are billed as Time & Material and are not a part of the start-up fee)
- Spring Start Up (March)
- Recharge the system and run each zone to make sure they are working properly
- Check each zone for proper head to head coverage and adjust as necessary
- Set the controller for proper watering times
- Complete any repairs that were discovered during the winterization
- System Upgrades (Anytime)
- Add zones to your existing system
- Upgrade your system to a Smart Watering System
- Install drip irrigation to your landscape beds
- Install Backflows & Rain Sensors
- Call for any Service work that needs to be done to your system
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Water Feature Maintenance
Enjoy the sounds and tranquility of your water feature while Darlington Designs maintains your investment. By properly maintaining the water feature it will help sustain the micro environment of your water feature. The following are the services provided by Darlington Designs for water features.
- Water Feature Start-Up (March – April)
- Drain pond 2/3 of the way down and power wash rocks (Ponds only)
- Clean out any filters in the system
- Install and turn on the pump
- Adjust any rocks if necessary for the proper flow of the water fall
- Add any chemicals to the pond (Optional upon request for an additional charge)
- Water Feature Winterization (November – December)
- Remove the pump from the system and leave for customer to store away
- Drain the water from the pipe going to the weir (where applicable)
- Install pond heater for oxygen for fish (Optional upon request for an additional charge)
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Paver Resoration/Sealing
Paver Restoration Services
Despite the common misconception, Pavers do need some maintenance every 3-5 Years. Whether a Poly Sand was installed in the joints or you had a sealer product installed, either only lasts for 3-5 years before it needs to be replaced. Depending on care, Poly Sands can last up to 6 years. If you have a Poly Sand you will know it is time to perform a restoration when weeds and/or moss start to become a common occurrence. If you have a Sealed Paver surface, you will notice that water no longer beads up and/or the appearance will become less enhanced. Both Poly Sand and Seal N Lock will eliminate weeds and stabilize the joints effectively. A sealer can enhance the look of the pavers and can be applied to all vertical wall surfaces as well greatly enhancing their appearance. Pick from one of the following methods of Paver Restoration to bring back the beauty of your Hardscape!
- Paver Restoration with a Poly Sand
- Power wash all paver and wall surfaces with Power Wash Head and Rotary Turbo Nozzle
- Remove all existing joint sand using Power Wash Head
- Clean pavers with a Paver Cleaner or Efflorescence Cleaner (Optional upon request for an additional charge)
- Re-level settled and uneven pavers
- Leave for a 2-3 day drying time
- Install premium Techni-Seal Polymeric Joint Sand using a 3000 PSI Plate Compactor with protective Neoprene Matt
- Water Activate paver surfaces prior to leaving
- Choose from the colors Gray or Tan
- Paver Restoration with a Seal N Lock System
- Power wash all paver and wall surfaces with Power Wash Head and Rotary Turbo Nozzle
- Remove all existing joint sand using Power Wash Head
- Clean pavers with a Paver Cleaner or Efflorescence Cleaner (Optional upon request for an additional charge)
- Re-level settled and uneven pavers
- Immediately wet wash a Masonry Sand into all joints
- Immediately install initial Flood Coat to damp paver surfaces and vertical wall/step surfaces and blow for dispersion
- Install second Top Coat of Sealer and blow for uniform dispersion
- Natural Luster is the standard choice, but Super Wet is also available for an additional charge
- Click Here for a printable PDF of the complete Seal N Lock Application Process
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Optional Services
- Power washing is a great way to keep your flat concrete and paver surfaces as pristine as the day they were installed. Darlington Designs can provide a power washing service to remove dirt and stains from your impervious surfaces. We can also power wash and re poly sand your paver patio, walkways, and driveway. Power washing can be completed as part of the spring clean-up or at any other time of the year.
- A home’s gutters should be cleaned of all debris once a year to keep them in proper working order. Allow Darlington Designs to take on the task of keeping your gutters in top working order for you. If your property has pop-up drains installed they may also be cleaned with the gutters. This service may be completed with the Fall Pruning or at any other time of the year.
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