Cindy Poore

Since 1972, I have been designing , building and maintaining the scenery of people's lives all over Southern California. I love helping people live more comfortable lives through their landscapes and surrounding environment.

Hey, Its soooo nice out. I’m enjoying the sun. It’s been so wet lately. We had 5 inches of rain in just 5 days last week here in Phelan. I KNOW that all that rain  here in the high desert is going to stimulate all the weed seeds lurking under the soil just waiting for the opportunity to pop up and ruin your weekends this spring. It’ll be really nice and warm and all those weeds will be calling your name.

 

Get rid of them before they start. Put down a weed preventer, called pre-emergent. It works amazingly. We put down a lot of it this time of year for our clients. Some of our clients are smart and do it every year, sometimes twice a year before the weeds show up. Others, just wait it out hoping the weeds won’t show and they won’t have to spend the money. Dry years the gamblers sometimes win. Wet years, not so much.

 

I think Benjamin Franklin said “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” I think this applies here.

Well, the relatives are on the way home from a hearty and fun Thanksgiving weekend and the "Holiday Season" has officially arrived. I like to think of the Fall and Winter months as a kick back time. As a landscaper, we get so busy from March through October, we barely have time to think. I LOVE the fall! The landscapes we install this time of year get a kick start next spring and look fabulous wayyyyy early. And this time of year, we actually have time to plan, organize and make improvements that will carry us through the next year and beyond.

 

Ask anyone who is responsible for the Thanksgiving or the Christmas dinner… fail to plan and you plan to fail! And just try to tackle the Black Friday sales without a plan and come up empty handed or worse, with something you have to wait in line to return. In holidays past, it sometimes took several women several hours to plan the attack on the various store sales to get just the right thing. I dont know how we did it without cell phones!

 

We have become an instant society and we are paying the price. In our parents day, they planned for every major purchase and most of the minor ones too. Now we are paying the price with our current economy for our desire for instant gratification to buy the biggest, best, car, house, boat, ….fill in the blank.

 

I get people all the time wanting to landscape their back yard right away for a big landmark birthday or anniversary party or wedding reception. Two weeks to the party they call you and want the landscaping in the next week, I mean really…you knew last year you were gonna be 40 this year didn't you?

 

With landscaping it is no different. Hey with a plan, there are very few surprises and things come off as expected and on budget and on time. I always say no, you dont need a landscape design to landscape unless……. you dont care if you spend too much and take too long and have to re-do something. Dont get me started on the landscape plans, bidding, scheduling and legal notices and wait times we have to do.

 

Here's to your Christmas list! Oh, and your New Year's Resolutions. Happy Planning!