The free Solterra Landscape app launched for smart phones and tablets with the "photo send" feature.    

Solterra was a finalist for the "Sandy" award in the category of Small Business of the Year-an award given by the Sandy Springs/Perimeter Chamber of Commerce.  

We provided landscaping for the Ronald McDonald House as part of "Volunteer for a Better Sandy Springs Day."  

Dixie was a member of the 2013 graduating class of Leadership Sandy Springs.   

As the air grows crisp and the holiday season arrives, wreaths and Christmas lights appear--sometimes with a little help from Solterra Landscape.   

A few select clients contract with Dixie and crew to deck their homes and halls with holiday décor. The big crepe myrtle tree in the top left photo shimmers with over 5,000 lights!

Solterra is limited by time and manpower to expand their holiday decorating service, but keep us in mind for events you have throughout the year like a  graduation, wedding, or significant anniversary that needs added sparkle and shine with outdoor décor. Contact Dixie to discuss special events you have coming up in 2014. dixie@solterralandscape.com

Many Atlantans are familiar with Camilias -- a flowering shrub currently blooming in the Atlanta area. Add blooms to your winter landscape with two unusual options you may not know about.

The Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) is unusual among fruit trees in that the flowers appear in the autumn or early winter, and the fruits are ripe in late winter or early spring. Described as a large evergreen shrub or small tree, the Loquat can grow to 30 feet tall, but is often smaller, about 9 -13 ft. The leaves are dark green, tough and leathery in texture, with a serrated margin, and densely velvety-hairy below with thick yellow-brown pubescence.  

The flowers are 1 inch in diameter, white, with five petals, and produced in stiff panicles of three to ten flowers. The flowers have a sweet, heady aroma that can be smelled from a distance. 

Another treat for the eyes and nose is the Edgeworthia shrub, commonly know as Paper Bush. This beauty often begins blooming as early as January in Atlanta's 7a planting zone and flowering can last 4 to 6 weeks. Originating from China, this deciduous shrub grows to 6 feet tall with the same width. The leaves are large and tropical with bark that is an unusual reddish-brown. Paper bush spreads by rhizomes, but isn't invasive, and generally forms a dense, slowly expanding clump of long, pliable stems.  

The lovely scent of the blossoms makes it ideal for planting close to walkways or paths with partial shade. Added benefits are that it does not need to be pruned and it is deer resistant!