Merry Christmas from Heritage!

To our customers and friends,

Front, left to right: Levi, Robert, Parker, Debbie, Tyler & Mason. Back, left to right: Mallory, Weston & Ryan. 

We’re thankful this Christmas season for your business. We are able to celebrate our company’s 26th year because we are blessed to work with good people like you.

We’re also thankful for our family. This year’s picture features Robert & Debbie with their seven grandchildren.

Our newest addition is Ashley & Anna’s third son: Tyler Ryan McLeod, born August 1, 2012.

Tyler is named in memory of 1st Lt. Ryan Rawl, who was killed June 20th by a suicide bomber as he worked at a check point in Afghanistan. Ryan’s family are good friends of our’s and Ryan’s older brother, Stan, grew up with Ashley.

Ryan Rawl, pictured with daughter Callie and son Caleb, in Summer 2011

Please keep the Rawl family in your prayers during this holiday season and give thanks for the sacrifices some families make for our freedom.

From the staff at Heritage Landscape Services and our family, we wish you all the joys of a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Sincerely,

Robert and Ashley McLeod

Kleck Harman

Finishing Up: USC's New Football Parking at the Old Farmer's Market

We're finalizing the installation for the new 50 acre USC football parking facility at the Old SC Farmer's Market. It's been a big project we've been working on since February.

All of the old buildings and asphalt were removed get the land ready for our irrigation, tree, and plant installation. 

Trees lining what will be Garnet Way, a green space in the middle of the parking area. You can view the concept map here: http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/scar/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2011-12/misc_non_event/2012-frmrs-mkt-concept-map.pdf

Seeded grass greening up. 

Flowers being installed at the entrance off of Bluff Road. 

Ian took this picture from the top of the stadium, looking over the parking area. It's an impressive space! You can read more about USC's game day parking here. 

The Newest McLeod Arrives

This past Wednesday, August 1, Ashley and Anna's third son arrived. 

Tyler Ryan McLeod was born at 11:43 p.m., weighed 7 lbs 8 oz. and was 20 inches long.

Ashley, Anna, Levi and Mason are all excited to have Tyler join their family. 

Tyler is settled at home and is doing well. 

It won't be long before he'll want to join the mowing crew for a ride around on a John Deere lawnmower like his big brothers. 

Heritage's New Mulch Blowing Truck

This week Heritage purchased a used mulch blowing truck. Mulch provides an alternative to pinestraw. Some benefits of using mulch are it stays in place during high winds and it's a natural bi-product of the tree industry. This Finn truck also has the ability to blow topsoil to washed out areas.  

A dedicated crew is trained to operate this equipment. In the picture below, our guys are applying a fresh layer of mulch to this bed. 

Please contact Robert or Ashley if you are interested in this option for your property. We continue to seek out ways to best serve our customers. 

Readying the fields for the annual dove hunt

Each fall, Heritage offers a dove hunt on Robert's family's farm in McBee, SC, on the Saturday after Labor Day. While we (Ashley and Anna and the boys) were in McBee today, we checked out the field that has been prepped for the dove hunt. Corn and millet are growing well!

The boys loved running down rows of corn. 

What a beautiful day. We're looking forward to sharing the hunt with you in a couple of months!

Ultimate Landscaping Machines

In an effort to save on fuel and personnel costs, Ashley and Anna recommend that Heritage take a truly green approach to landscaping. 

Please see the picture below, which offers a glimpse at the new prototypes for the ultimate landscaping machines. We'll have to determine what to do with our current equipment and our managers' job tasks may change, but we know this will be better for the environment ultimately.

Ha ha!

Meet Waylon and Ziggy, Ashley and Anna's new Dwarf Nigerian Goats. They had fun the other evening checking out one of the Heritage trucks while Ashley mowed the grass.  They will eventually be used to help keep the brush "mowed" down around the house. You can read more about their farm life on Anna's blog, Okra Hill Farm. 

A Bucket of Fun

One of the perks of being a landscaping family is the kids get to ride on and in all sorts of equipment. Case in point, here are most of Robert's grandkids in the bucket of Kleck's front-end loader. What fun!

Left to right: Weston, Mallory, Ryan, Levi, and a neighbor, Kennedy. 

Almost March: A Walk Through Our Yard

After a month or two of dormant plants and little color, our home landscapes are livening up with crocus blooms, daffodils, and Carolina jasmine. When these first flowers appear, we know that spring won't be too far away. This year the first day of spring is March 20.

In many areas, crocuses pop through the snow. We've been lucky this year to avoid the wintery weather--but still appreciate seeing those yellow, purple and white blooms. These crocuses are at our house (Ashley and Anna). Levi likes to call the striped ones "zebra crocuses." Crocus is a genus in the Iris family.

Another favorite spring bloom is the daffodil. It is one of the most hardy bulbs--even the most inexperienced gardener should have no trouble growing a group of these. Squirrels and other pests leave the bulbs alone and according to the American Daffodil Society, daffodil bulbs should outlive the gardeners who planted them. Although this flower is sometimes called a "jonquil" in the South, that term really only applies to a certain species of daffodil. 

Also blooming this time of year is the native Carolina Jasmine. Our state flower, the Carolina Jasmine is a trailing/climbing vine that is recognized by its yellow blooms. Ashley and Anna have several of these vines growing on their property. 

We hope the blooms around town and in your own yards lift your spirits as we wrap up this winter!

February Lawn Maintenance Tips

We would like to share some monthly lawn maintenance tips for keeping your yard looking its best for February:



-Fertilize and mulch all trees and shrubs.
-Water pansies, trees, shrubs, etc. as needed during dry spells.
-Cut back ornamental grasses: Miscanthus, Pampas, Liriope.
-Lightly prune all crape myrtles.
-Prune 'Knock Out' Rose
-Use dormant oils to control scale or bores on maples and fruit trees.


Here is a great article about some of these and other tips...

Amy’s February Horticultural Tasks

Written by Amy Bledsoe 

Annuals
Sick of winter?  Start planning for color in your yard. Even those with physical limitations can have a garden by using colorful planting containers. Window boxes, hanging baskets, and pots placed near the entrance welcome visitors to the home. Limit use of annuals to those that can be planted easily in a small amount of time, and use perennials that return each year to provide the bulk of the color. 

Turf
Relax. Enjoy the break from the heat and mowing. Have you had a soil sample taken yet? Don’t procrastinate any longer!

Perennials
Cut back ornamental grasses now and plan for new plantings of ornamental grass in the spring.  Consider these wonderful
choices:

• Pampas grass is great for making a statement in a larger space but does have sharp blades of grass that can cut.
• Muhly grass is a smaller option that has soft leaves. Sweet grass baskets sold to Charleston tourists are made from this grass. When in bloom at the end of the summer, the pink plumes resemble floating cotton candy.
• Other great choices are all in the Miscanthus family of grasses such as ‘Adagio’, ‘Gracillimus’, ‘Yaku Jima’, and ‘Morning Light’.
• Choices for dwarf grasses include ‘Little Kitten’, ‘Hameln’, and ‘Mouldry’.

There are many more choices - you can’t beat the low maintenance and drought tolerance of these ornamental grasses.

Roses  February is a perfect time for planting roses! Instead of buying cut roses for your loved one on Valentine’s Day, buy a rose bush to be enjoyed over a lifetime.

Shrubs  One of the best winter blooming shrubs is the Flowering Quince. For a small space try ‘Texas Scarlet’. These shrubs do have barbs, so consider placement carefully. This prickly bush can prevent trespassers and provide fruit for making quince jelly!

You can see the rest of this article here: Amy's February Horticultural Tasks. These are just a few suggestions. Feel free to ask questions or add to the list in the comments section.