Solterra Landscape Update
February 2014
MARGINAL COLD WEATHER PLANTS
MAINTENANCE FOCUS
FEATURED PROJECT
DIXIE ELECTED PRESIDENT
CLIENT HIGHLIGHT
  
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From Our Vault!
For many years, Dixie has been a featured expert on morning shows, home improvement shows, news segments and more. We'll be featuring some of these "throwback" media appearances in the next few months. Check out Solterra's YouTube channel as we'll periodically be uploading segments of Dixie's media appearances.    

View our videos on YouTube 


In 2003, Dixie was a featured guest on Good Morning Atlanta with a segment on adding interest to your landscape using colorful foliage and texture.

GoodMorningAtlanta4 12 03 Part 1
GoodMorningAtlanta4 12 03 Part 1


 
Dixie is a featured expert on:

 

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Check out this article on "How to use your landscape to help sell your home" that Dixie wrote as a featured post on the Georgia Landscape Pro blog.

 
 

Youth Leadership Sandy Springs nominations open for rising sophomores and juniors    

  

The deadline to apply is March 1st.

  

For more information, call Polly Warren, director, at 404-252-2787, visit www.leadershipsandysprings.org/ylss or Facebook at Youth Leadership Sandy Springs.  

  

 


Solterra Landscape is a proud member of the Come Alive Outside movement.We encourage you to enjoy the great outdoors with family and friends.

Check out these Atlanta area outdoor activities:

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Throughout February

Chattahoochee Nature Center 

 

Visit the Nature Exchange in February and discover the 10 things we love most about nature in our indoor scavenger hunt. Make love bugs to take home and travel through the Tunnel-of-Love to see what Nature Exchange Fans love about nature.

 
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 FREE Friday Night Hiles

March 14 and 28
Children participating in DNC Night Hike
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Atlanta Botanical Garden
 
  

Vanilla Sunday

February 23  

 

 

Orchid Society Show

Friday - Sunday, March 7 - 9

 

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March 15

Benefits Autism Speaks  

Save $10 with promo code "AUTISMSMP"

 

 

Kid's Dash  

For children 4 - 13, in conjunction with B.A.D. Obstacle Challenge


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** We would love for you to share photos of your outdoor activities on the Solterra Facebook page.

 

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A FEW NON-PROFITS SUPPORTED BY SOLTERRA NEWSLETTER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leadership Sandy Springs  

 

 

 
 
February Chills and Thrills!
I recently heard someone say that the nice thing about living in Atlanta is that every three to four weeks you get a nice spring day. Just like the little boy in this video, I'm ready for those warmer days!

I hope all of you have been safe during our winter snow and ice.  The icy weather has been a challenge in many ways and some plants are showing some effect.  We have addressed this effect in the note just below.

The thrilling news of the month is Dixie's election as President of the Urban AG Council of Georgia (UAC). See more about that in this newsletter as well.

 

Thank you for your support and referrals to Solterra Landscape, and your confidence in us! 

 

Peter and Dixie Speck  

 



Cold Weather Concerns

    

As I am sitting here working from home while the ice and rain is coming down, I am looking out at my plants that have shown some affect from the ice storm we had the previous week. I assume that some of you out there are also concerned about some of your plants. 

While most of the plants typically installed in our Atlanta area landscapes can handle this weather, there are a few popular plants that are "marginal" in handling this type of icy weather.

The few plant types that we have seen with some affect at this point are shrubs including Gardenias, Anise, Loropetalum, Osmanthus (Tea Olive), Indian Hawthorne, and Fatsia. This does not mean that these plants will die, but they may need to be pruned back to encourage good grow-back. We will handle this pruning automatically at the appropriate time for our maintenance clients. 

Even though some may look dead, we will not know for sure until the weather gets warmer and new spring buds start to appear. If we do determine that a plant is dead on any of the properties we maintain, we will let you know and determine what to do this Spring (most likely in April). If you would like to talk to your Solterra Account Manager about the condition of your plants, send them an email or give them a call. 

 


MAINTENANCE FOCUS

Lawn Fertilization
Good for Water Quality


Many Atlanta lawns are experiencing ill effects from our recent wintry mix of weather - lots of rain, extreme cold temperatures, and overcast skies.

 

One way to proactively approach these adverse conditions is by creating a healthy balanced soil profile by increasing the nutrients applied to the lawn. Healthy soils with a balanced pH will allow greater nutrient availability to the grasses for faster recovery from stress, and increased development during the green up process.

 

A common belief is that fertilizing and adjusting the PH of your soil is damaging to the water supply. That has been proven to be untrue. A recent study by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Chesapeake Bay area revealed that the healthier a lawn, the better it is at controlling pollution that can affect water quality in streams and rivers.  The biggest issue is silt run-off from poorly maintained lawns.  

 

The report recommends that fertilizer be applied in three to four applications over the season. Many do-it-yourselfers only fertilize an average of 1.7 times per season while professional lawn care companies like Solterra meet the EPA recommendation for a typical lawn. Read the article recapping the EPA results or download the full report.

 

Nailling_Backyard

This time of year is the perfect time to analyze your soil conditions! If you are a maintenance client of Solterra, you received an email earlier this month about our crew collecting a soil sample so that we can know the exact conditions of your lawn and determine a customized treatment program.  If you are not a maintenance client and would like your soil conditions to be analyzed, make a request to your lawn treatment company or contact the office of The Other Side Lawn Service (770-582-0763) and let them know we referred  you.

 


FEATURED PROJECT
A Work in Progress

    

We love to work with clients who have a vision of a beautiful outdoor space. Many of our clients work with Solterra to develop a plan for their landscape and then we install over a period of months or even years.

For the next three newsletters, we'll be featuring this courtyard installation to show a progression of:

1. The original courtyard, the design for the new courtyard, and start of installation. [This newsletter]

2.  The newly installed courtyard with the "winter look". [March]

3.  The completed new courtyard with perennials added in the Spring. [April]
The original courtyard had become overgrown and unattractive.
The new courtyard design.
The first stage included pulling out old, overgrown plants and installing a beautiful bluestone patio area and walkway.
More photos to come in the March newsletter!


A FEBRUARY THRILL!

Dixie elected as new President for the Urban AG Council of Georgia 

l-r: Mary Kay Woodworth, Executive Director of the Urban Ag Council; Dixie Speck, the newly elected President; and Walter Reeves, The Georgia Gardener.
Solterra CEO Dixie Speck has been elected as the new President for the Urban AG Council of Georgia. She has served on the Board of Directors of the organization since March 2012.

 

The Urban AG Council (UAC) is Georgia's premier green industry association for professionals involved in all sectors of the urban agriculture industry. UAC represents one of the largest and most successful industries in Georgia, with more than $8 billion in sales, 7,000 companies and more than 80,000 employees. As an industry leader, we advocate for the environmental and economic benefits of urban agriculture. We work closely with the Georgia Center for Urban Agriculture at the University of Georgia to educate our members with best management practices for environmental and economic sustainability, and the Georgia Agribusiness Council (GAC) which interfaces with and educates Georgia lawmakers on all matters that affect the Georgia Agribusiness industry (an industry that generates upwards of $76 billion in economic activity each year).
Find out more about the organization.

 


CLIENT HIGHLIGHT

Debi Akers, Wardrobe Stylist and Personal Shopper

Debi Akers, 404-556-2970
[email protected]
Solterra client Debi Akers has an "eye" for helping people look their best. She says, "Looking pulled together isn't gender specific and it doesn't have an age minimum or maximum."

While Debi has often worked with women, especially those married to executives or in their own corporate careers, she also loves working with men and teenagers. She says the best part of her business is "seeing how a person's look can evolve with a few simple changes and can cause them to live their life with more confidence."

Debi has recently starting working with Dixie to provide advice in "Dressing for Success." A unique challenge for Dixie is choosing everyday attire that is appropriate for her daily Solterra responsibilities--which includes being outside in all types of weather and being greeted by excited pets --and then looking polished for business-related meetings.

Whether you need assistance with updating your wardrobe, right sizing your closet, packing for a trip, or finding just the right outfit for a special occasion, call Debi to assist you. She can be contacted by email at [email protected] or by phone at 404-556-2970.

Debi and her husband switched to Solterra after working with another lawn maintenance company for 17 years. Debi says her landscape looks ten times better than it did before contracting with Solterra. She commented on Solterra's attention to detail and their recommendations for improving the health and beauty of the Akers' outdoor space. Debi says, "It was a difficult decision to change landscapers, but we are very glad we did!"



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