Many property owners install a fresh layer of mulch every spring seeking a more polished look for outdoor planting areas. A fresh layer of mulch improves the aesthetics of any property, but why is mulch installation important?

1. Soil temperature maintenance
   Michigan’s extreme temperature variations challenge many common garden and landscape plants. Mulch helps soil maintain a consistent temperature. This can prevent frost as spring temperatures rise and plants begin to grow by trapping the earth’s heat. Michigan State University offers some other advice for covering plants when temperatures drop below freezing, but mulch installation definitely helps.
2. Maintains moisture levels
   Mulch helps soil maintain moisture levels meaning yard and garden plantings require less maintenance.
3. Provides nutrients
   As organic mulch breaks down it provides nutrients and organic matter necessary for maintaining healthy soil.
4. Weed prevention
   Mulch installation aides in weed prevention by depriving weeds of the sunlight they need to grow. This can make mowing around trees and other objects in a yard much simpler.

Sassy Grass is now offering mulch delivery and installation services.  We can help you select the best mulch for your residential or commercial property.

Save time and money by having our crew bring mulch to your home or business and install it quickly and professionally. Call today for a free estimate. Prices for installation begin at $45 per yard.

Available colors: 

Probark – $23.96 per yard

Cedar – $35.96 per yard

Walnut Brown – $32.96 per yard

Red – $32.96 per yard

Hardwood – $20.96 per yard

Misty Black – $32.96 per yard

Goldentone – $32.96 per yard

Forest Brown – $32.96 per yard

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1. Wave goodbye to the impatien.

To those of you who can’t wait to get started with your annual flower planting, we’ve got some bad news. Michigan’s long time staple, the impatien, will be hard to come by this year.

Many Michigan nurseries have decided not to carry the long time annual flowerbed staple. The impatien has been hit hard by an epidemic of downy mildew. This isn’t a new problem for the annual flower, but it is a new problem in Michigan.

2. If you had downy mildew on your impatiens last year, you’ll have it this year.

Impatien downy mildew is a fungus that impacts only this annual flower and it overwinters in the soil. It began showing up in greenhouses in the United States in 2004, and in 2011 it made it’s way to the annual flower plantings of homeowners in the Michigan. According to Michigan State University, if gardeners had it last year, they will have it this year.

3. There are alternatives to the impatien.

Fortunately, there are alternative shade loving annual flowers that can be planted where impatiens used to reside. A few options include the hardier and easy to come by New Guinea Impatien, the Begonia, salvia and Coleus.

4. Keep them in a container and watch plants closely.

For gardeners who decide to ignore the advice of nurseries and plant the impatien anyway, the American Floral Endowment has a few words of advice. Buy plants from a reputable grower that is aware of this problem. Try planting in containers instead of in the ground. Remove plants showing early signs of the problem immediately. If the spores are seen in annual flower beds, remove all plants within three feet of those affected.

5. Sassy Grass will help!

Sassy Grass has added annual flower planting to our list of services and we are happy to help homeowners make the best decisions to ensure a beautiful flowerbed.

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Everyone wants a beautiful lush lawn and one key to this is providing adequate water – a lawn sprinkler system can get you there. Sassy Grass is here for your irrigation needs and now installs, maintains and services sprinklers for your lawn or garden. 

Our prices are reasonable and our service is excellent. We’ll help you create a plan that provides great results. Lawn sprinkler spring startups begin at $60 for systems with 10 zones or less.

Say goodbye to hundreds of feet of hose and your old oscillating sprinkler, and call today for a free estimate on your irrigation system!

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In spite of the lingering cold, our mowers are tuned and blades are sharpened! We are ready to go for the 2013 lawn care season. This year we’re offering something new. To those who sign up early for seasonal lawn mowing, the 12th mow is on Sassy Grass! We offer excellent service to commercial and residential customers at reasonable rates. Prices start at $30 per mow. Call for a free estimate.

Sassy Grass is also offering lawn sprinkler installation, service and maintenance. We can help with your irrigation needs. You’ll have the nicest lawn in the neighborhood without having to think about it.

And while we all wait for spring to really spring, check out these fantastic lawn care tips on HGTV’s website. It’s never to early to start thinking about how you’ll handle lawn care this summer! And if you have questions, feel free to call or e-mail. We’ll be happy to respond.

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It’s been a long winter and we’re all thankful for spring! Let Sassy Grass help with your spring clean up, and if you have landscaping ideas or need lawn care this summer, we’re here.

We can help you envision your next landscaping project. In the mean time, check out the latest on the Home and Garden Channel website. We love the peaceful backyards! Many beautiful landscaping projects that we can help make reality at your home!

Sassy Grass offers annual flower planting at very reasonable rates. Let us make it easy for you. Call today for a free estimate. And if you want to learn more, check out Michigan State University’s garden trials. They evaluate the best flowers and plants to grow in Michigan.

We also provide reasonably priced lawn sprinkler installation, service and maintenance. If you want the healthiest lawn in the neighborhood, check out our lawn care services page and call today!

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While our trucks and staff are snow plowing and shoveling during Michigan’s biggest storm this winter, we decided to explain where the Sassy Grass love of snow began.

Josh Pryzgocki’s passion for snow began in 1993 when he was a young boy shoveling driveways in the neighborhood. Josh wanted to make snow his business – and he did! Today Sassy Grass is serving commercial and residential customers with 14 trucks and 25 Sassy Grass employees working across mid Michigan to remove snow and ice during this storm. Sassy Grass staff will work 24-7 as long as the snow flies to ensure their customers have no worries when it comes to ice and snow.

We hope you had a wonderful holiday and are staying warm inside today! If you have to travel, check here for current travel conditions.

And in case you haven’t seen these, below are a few Sassy Grass tips to help you enjoy the snow in Michigan!

- If you’d like a glance at snowfall records kept by Michigan Tech, click here.

- Michigan has a great web of snowmobile trails across the state. For more information, click here.

- To find maps of Michigan snowshoe trails, click here.

- For Michigan skiing conditions, click here.

- For Michigan sled hills, click here.

- For winter driving tips, click here.

- For snow cams that will help you predict travel conditions, click here.

- And for tips on making the BEST SNOWMAN EVER, click here.

And remember, call Sassy Grass for your commercial or residential snow plowing and removal. We are one stop for all of your outdoor needs!

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We know Michigan residents have strong opinions about snow, but at Sassy Grass we love it for more reasons than snow plowing (although we do love plowing snow!).

Whether you love to watch the falling snow, snowmobile, snowshoe, snow ski, sledding or just like to make a good snowman, Michigan is the place to be. Although last year was a little light in the snow area, our state usually has a strong snow season with many activities available for all to enjoy.

The key to enjoying the winter wonderland that is Michigan is to leave the shoveling and snow plowing to the pros, drive safely, dress properly when spending time outdoors (water resistant, layers) and go in for a warm up now and again.

Below are tips to help you enjoy the snow in Michigan!

- If you’d like a glance at snowfall records kept by Michigan Tech, click here.

- Michigan has a great web of snowmobile trails across the state. For more information, click here.

- To find maps of Michigan snowshoe trails, click here.

- For Michigan skiing conditions, click here.

- For Michigan sled hills, click here.

- For winter driving tips, click here.

- For snow cams that will help you predict travel conditions, click here.

- And for tips on making the BEST SNOWMAN EVER, click here.

And remember, call Sassy Grass for your commercial or residential snow plowing and removal. We are one stop for all of your outdoor needs!

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The temperatures are dropping and so are the leaves! Michigan is getting its’ first taste of chilly fall temperatures and the trees and plants are feeling it. Many Michigan residents had frost on their plants when they woke up this weekend and northern Michigan received a bit of snow already!

Why bother with fall clean up? A clean lawn and garden now will lead to healthy plants and fewer weeds this spring. And now is the time when you can see what needs to stay and go. Many tree trimming projects are also appropriate for mid to late fall. For tips on tree trimming and the best times to prune trees, shrubs and plants check out these suggestions from Better Homes and Gardens.

Leaf removal gives homeowners a leg up on disease, pests and weeds in the spring. A garden writer for AnnArbor.com recommends setting a goal of being done with garden cleanup before the heaviest leaf fall.

Call Sassy Grass today for a free estimate on your commercial or residential fall cleanup project. Check out our fall cleanup services here. And for more on what you can do to ensure a healthy lawn and garden this spring check out these fall cleanup tips.

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Frost? Snow? Who could mention these things before summer is even officially over or fall cleanup projects are finished? Well Accuweather did it first, so we’re going to follow. Michigan’s odd 2012 weather trend continues with forecasts for some Michigan cities set to potentially receive frost and snow this week.

There is hope for the warm weather loving folks among us as a warming trend is expected to follow these unseasonably warm temperatures. Michigan State University Extension specialists say the NOAA is predicting cooler than normal temperatures in the next two weeks and then an upswing that will bring higher than normal average temperatures. But there is plenty of debate in the weather prediction world with Farmer’s Almanac predicting “real winter weather will return to areas from the Great Lakes into the Northeast.”

No worries either way. Sassy Grass is ready on the snow plowing front. If you don’t believe us check out our 2011-2012 video. We’re proudly providing services to medical establishments in mid-Michigan to ensure the safety of their visitors.

So what does this mean for your fall cleanup and tree trimming projects? Your garden, lawn and landscaping may be fooled into dormancy earlier than normal. Fall is an excellent time to fertilize and over seed to fill in bare spots. This may need to earlier lawn dormancy, falling leaves and dying plants on your property. Fall is an excellent time to fertilize and over seed to fill in bare spots.

If you have any of these needs, talk to us about a lawn maintenance, fall cleanup or tree trimming estimate. We are happy to help. We pride ourselves on providing excellent service at an affordable price. Just ask our satisfied clients. Sassy Grass is one stop for all your outdoor needs.

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Fall is the perfect time to tackle tree trimming projects as lawns, gardens and landscapes are put to rest for the winter. And the time is right to address any issues you may have with trees on your commercial or residential property.

Michigan’s extremely dry summer of 2012 left many trees stressed and susceptible to a number of issues. This weather took a particular toll on shade trees and conifers, according to the experts at Michigan State University. They offer many recommendations for combating the stressful conditions experienced by most trees this summer.

Tree stress is one of many reasons for proper maintenance. Others include tree health and appearance, and the safety of people and building structures that may be near the tree. Tree trimming is one of the home maintenance situations where method and timing matters. Trimming the wrong way or at the wrong time of year can cause damage that can not be reversed and sometimes results in the loss of the tree. The United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service recommends the trimming of most trees when they are dormant. Fall cleanup time is perfect for this endeavor.

Many home and business owners face tree damage issues following seasonal storms. According to Michigan State University experts, safe cleanup following a storm requires the right equipment, experience and knowledge. A lack of experience can be dangerous and can put the property owner at risk.

According to Better Homes and Gardens, there is not much better for a home than healthy trees and branches growing too close to a home or business can be dangerous.

If tackling the complexities of tree trimming is more than you are interested in doing, kick back and watch a football game and let Sassy Grass take care of it. We strive to be one stop for all of your outdoor needs.

Image courtesy of FreeImages.co.uk.

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