Frank D. Porter, owner and operator of Almost Perfect Landscaping, began his early education at Hackensack High School. Next he attained his BA degree in Marketing at Saint Peters College of Jersey City. Following St. Peters, he attained certificates at Rutgers Cook College for Landscape Architecture. While running his company, his passion to help people drove him to further seek higher education in the School of Social Work, also at Rutgers.
Almost PERFECT Landscaping would like to welcome our newest member of the team. Porter James Lagala. Porter brings to APLNJ a wealth of information regarding organic composting and organic waste removal. He has a lot to teach Frank D. Porter about recycling and organic materials and/or product themselves.
Porter James will be on call in the office, but due to the nature of his strenuous activities, he does tend to take numerous feeding and napping breaks. However his input, or shall we say “OUTPUT” is very organic in nature and thereby noteworthy of immediate attention.
We’ve been pretty busy lately with many of our clientele adding to their beds with shrubs, spring bulbs and even perennial beds. Fall is the IDEAL time to plant with the soil and air temperatures perfect for root growth. One thing to consider if you are tired of staring at the bland foliage trees with a few scraggly leaves hanging on and patches of snow in your yard each winter? Here’s a short list of some fantastic winter garden plants that add greenery and cool shapes, and will even blossom outside your window in the heart of winter. Give your yard a dose of winter color by including plants that steal the spotlight during cooler weather.
For most residential property owners, Halloween landscaping and decorating is about having spooky and scary elements. For some though, a couple of gravestones and annoying witches just doesn’t make it. If you’d like to give the front of your home a more elegant touch this year, there are many ways to accomplish this look.
If you’re like me then you have some geraniums,, either potted or planted in your beds. Geraniums are one of the most popular container and garden plants. You just can’t beat their bright colors and sturdy, well-shaped foliage. At the garden center, geraniums tend to come in larger sizes, which make them more expensive than other summer annuals.
Geranium is a diverse group containing types that grow in a range of conditions, from full sun to shade. Flower colors include pink, blue, white, and purple. Most geraniums blooms in midsummer, although some species will bloom in spring and fall.
My one crew was at a client’s property doing selective pruning and I knew there were a few varieties of “ilex” (holly) there along with an elderberry and bayberry. I have some also at home and during the winter months enjoy watchin the flurry of activity from all the birds feeding. So i wanted to make sure that these plants were very carefully pruned, if at all right now. They enjoy them too so I wanted to retain as much of these shrubs as possible. “just give those few a slight trim”
Two years ago I planted the herb sage in my herb garden area. I did not harvest any the first year, well maybe a leaf or two, because it is best to establish the plant the first year so it produces robust, green, oil laden leaf. And it did this year. Sage leaves are grayish green in color with a silvery bloom covering. They are lance-shaped and feature prominent veins running throughout. Sage has been held in high regard throughout history both for it culinary and medicinal properties.
I often wonder; what does GOD think of our gardens and landscapes? On our website at the top of each page we have “if you seek GOD, look in a garden. You can dig for him there.” And we instill that thought into each and every garden and landscape bed we do.
Each and every one of our employees is in essence an “artist”, painting a landscape with GOD’s paint brushes. Instead of paint we use plants.
We create bold and colorful stunning beds that just explode with color, and then over there we will come up with a subdued, shady restful respite with browns, greens and purples. Each a statement in its own right.
So what does the MAN up above think of what we do with his palette? Well I stated to search online for some sort of answer or direction and I found this.
Most of strive for lush, green fertile lawn that feels oh so good between your toes walking out for the paper Saturday morning through the fresh dew. Well with some tender loving care to your lawn’s subsoil you can have it. And now is the time to do it!!!
Fall is considered by many to be the best time for aeration of cool season turf, as the plants are busy enhancing their root zones in preparation for winter.
With the end of August just two weeks away, this is the time to start thinking and planning what you will need to do over the next few months to prepare your garden and landscaped beds for next year. But enough of that, summer is still upon us and we do have a couple of months to go of good weather in which to enjoy our gardens. The following are a few tips and tasks that should be completed over the next few weeks to enhance and prolong your gardens.
What a wonderful experience I was blessed with today at work. A client’s daughter walked up to me while i was looking over one of their perennial beds, tugged my pant leg and when i glanced down she said with a big smile.
“How do plants grow Mr. Porter”
It was break time then and there.
