Waldron Landscape

We are a full service Sonoma Valley landscape company equipped for any residential or commercial project, large or small.  Our services include consultation to full design, through construction, and regular maintenance.  We also provides one-time cleanups, garden renovations, high weed mowing, and emergency irrigation repairs.

We are fully insured and licensed in landscape architecture, construction and maintenance.
Contact us today to discuss your needs:
(707) 996-5868

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Mar312016

FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Only Gerardo (Jerry to most of you) is still working on his tan in sunny Mexico. Juvenal and family returned from La Union de Guadalupe with nothing but good news. Even the avocado tree in Juv's courtyard is loaded with fruit. Judging from the weight he gained over the vacation, his wife Luz was feeding him a lot of guacamole. OK. OK. The busy season is looming. Time to work off those extra poundTalking about the busy season, be sure to have us finish all of the rose and fruit tree pruning. Ornamental grasses and perennials should be cut back too. This is also a good time to get any of the repairs and upgrades you have been thinking about. Everything from lighting to irrigation can be handled now.  This will take a little of the burden off of us in the busy months of March and April. When the Iphones begin blasting out their musical ringtones 30 times a day, we'll be dancing to a much faster drummer.

If you're like me, you've hit the limit of patience on the unending saga of the leaf blower issue. It's more complicated (fill in the most complicated math course here) back in my UC Davis student days. I even begin to nod off writing about it again. But before I slip into a catatonic state , one last note. Since the City Council can't stop tossing the issue around like the old hot potato, it's probably time to bring it to a vote, let the people decide and move on. Jerry Marino is collecting signatures to bring the "to ban or not to ban" question up on the November ballot. If you reside in Sonoma and want to see this voted upon, Jerry can be reached at 707-996-8146 or chickenjer@comcast.net  .

After the vote, we can move in the direction the majority chooses and get back to the things that really matter around here, like perfecting Luz's guacamole recipe.

Happy gardening to everyone.

Thanks,

Dan

DECEMBER 2015 NEWSLETTER

 

 

 

 

 

Hold onto your sleigh bells, Christmas is coming. That means it’s time for me to not only wish all of you a Merry Christmas but take this opportunity to thank all of you once again for allowing us to work for you. All our ‘strong, silent type’ guys feel the same and would pass on their appreciation for opportunities you provide if they weren’t so strong and silent.

 

Whether or not we see rain this winter, California has been jolted (finally) into water conservation mode. We took out many lawns in 2015 and replaced them with landscapes of flagstone, pavers or rock walls or shrubs on drip systems. Next year will bring more of the same conversions, so get a jump on what will be a hectic year for us by planning ahead if you think you will pulling out the old lawn for something more appropriate. One benefit to hardscapes ( besides requiring zero water) is that they can be useful for outdoor activities and entertaining. They last a long time and require minimum maintenance.

 

A few lucky guys will be escaping the frost this month for the balmy breezes of central Mexico. Juvenal and Rogelio Gutierrez will be taking their families to La Union de Guadalupe. Juv needs to check out the avocado tree in his courtyard. His parents water it, but may have harvested the fruit as well. Payback Juv, don’t fuss. Rene Almejo will visit San Andres, a little town 10 miles or so down the hillside from La Union in the valley near Ciudad Guzman. Every frosty morning, the rest of the freezing gang left up north will think envious thoughts of our avocado eating compadres basking in the warm southern sun.

 

It’s not only the 40 of us landscapers who thank all of you. Don’t forget our calico yard cat who indirectly is overfed by your keeping us in business. I thought Vagabundo was a boy. Shows I am a dog person. Calicos I am told are almost always female. She’s definitely stopped wandering and now lives on our doorsteps, although during the day she may waddle backs towards our neighbor, the Montini’s dairy. She shows up immediately after the guys leave in the evening and after a substantial breakfast evaporates like magic when they arrive in the morning. You’ll be happy to know that not only is she plump and happy, but loves to be petted and handled. Fortunately for the mouse that occasionally forays into the office to check our accounting, ‘Bunda’ hasn’t the slightest interest in pretending to work for her keep and Mickey gets a free pass. I guess it’s all for the best and in the spirit of good will towards. tis the season. Merry Christmas

NOVEMBER 2015 NEWSLETTER

 

 

 

 

 

If anyone tells you 2015 is coming to a rapid conclusion; no way! Didn’t it just start a few weeks ago? Something tells me the leaves are falling and the days are getting shorter.

Just in case Fall is here, have the gardeners pay attention to cleaning out drains and rain gutters (only to 15 ft, due to liability insurance restrictions). They can also begin removing spent perennials. Roses and fruit trees are best pruned in January and February when they’ve gone into dormancy.

 

All those leaves, etc. will be hauled to the transfer station, as in the past. One BIG difference is that since the county shut down Sonoma Compost over at the main waste facility in Cotati, all the 100,000 tons of yard waste is now hauled out of Sonoma County for composting and eventual sale as mulch. No big surprise that our dumping cost is now $77.10 (.10?) per ton at the Stage Gulch facility, a jump of more than double of a year ago when our cost was $35.00 per ton. We’ve decided to wait until next summer to deal with this because we want to see how this will all settle out. In the mean time, there are ways you can help us and yourself mitigate this increase. For those who have garbage service in the city of Sonoma, Sonoma Garbage Collectors (996-7555) will provide you a 96 gallon yard waste can for $1 per month. Or you can put out up to 3-32 gallon cans of your own as long as they don’t have a top and contain no plastic bags.   If you have garbage service in the county, Waste Management (800-243-0291) will provide you 2-96 gallon yard waste cans for no additional charge.

 

Like water and other essentials that are becoming more expensive, it’s time to do some creative work to bring down the costs. You can begin thinking about mulching your own green waste. It’s a bit of work, but can be done and provides one big benefit: excellent soil amendments. If you’re lucky enough to have a little acreage, spreading the leaves around to mulch on the ground is an option. It’s time to begin planning anyway. We’ll see where this is going by next summer.

 

I guarantee my Chihuahua Coco, the smallest dog on the block, with the attitude of a Great Dane, isn’t worried about the cost of mulch. Neither is our corporation yard cat Vagabundo who eats enough food before dawn to actually create quite a bit of mulch himself, though he does a good job of hiding it. I saw my brother’s cat Slimfast the other day. He’s pretty stiff and gets a big dose of subcutaneous water injected into his 20 year old body each week to counter the effects of kidney failure. As long as he can meow for food like a hungry lion, he’ll be good to go until the next visit to Dr. Palmero. Have a pleasant November and enjoy Thanksgiving

AUGUST 2015 NEWSLETTER

 

 

 

Most of you may have already followed the “ban the blower” debate that has unfolded for the last couple of years at the Sonoma City Council. The debate by now may seem beaten to death. You’ve heard both sides and probably realize there are good arguments to ban the blowers and cogent ones to keep using them. The purpose of this newsletter is not to try to sway your opinion on this issue, but to specifically let you know how a ban on blowers would affect your monthly service and the price you pay for it.

 

If the city council bans the blowers at their September 9th meeting (currently they’re leaning 3-2 for a ban), your service will be influenced in one of two ways. If you want your landscape maintained with brooms to the same standard as it was by the blower, your costs will go up. It takes longer to broom hardscaped areas and you are basically buying time. If you keep your monthly rate exactly where it is now, your landscape will simply be a little less tidy. We will put in our usual time and even work a little harder because a push broom takes more elbow grease to use. The result won’t be as perfect, especially if you have a lot of paths, asphalt areas, heavy tree cover or decks.

 

I am giving you the email addresses and phone numbers for the 5 city council members in case you want to contact them. You can also access their contact information from the City of Sonoma website. In a preliminary vote Gary Edwards and David Cook have been pro-blower and Laurie Gallian, Madolyn Agrimonti, and Rachel Hundley have leaned toward a ban. It is notable that the previous council voted 3-2 not to ban the blower, but did put restrictions on noise levels and times of use. The ban would also prevent homeowners using a blower on their own property.

 

   David Cook, Mayor
David@cvmgrapes.com 
707-490-8921
Office Hours: Every Wednesday 11:00 - Noon @ City Hall

 

Laurie Gallian, Mayor Pro Tem
lauriegallian@comcast.net
(707) 738-9847

 

Madolyn Agrimonti, Councilmember
magrimonti@comcast.net 
650-740-2540

 

Gary Edwards, Councilmember
gary@sagekase.com 
707-695-0329

 

Rachel Hundley, Councilmember
rachelhundleyesq@gmail.com 
707-999-8394

 

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Nacho Navarro arrived from Llano, Michoacan the other day. That only means one thing: Spring is here and we’re ready to put the machinery in high gear. The rains have given us a feeling of hope that a dent may have been put in our drought. It has caused an upsurge in our business. Jose and Rafa are lining up jobs that have come in lately. Since Nacho goes to Mexico every winter, he thinks it’s busy all year. At least he’s well rested. Juvenal  is ready to trouble shoot any problems with irrigations system. He’s turning a few timers to “auto-run” mode too. Shallow root plants and those in containers are already drying out. Be sure to call early for this service. Juv will appreciate it. He’ll still grumble, but he grumbles no matter what!

Last week the Sonoma City Council banned gas-powered leaf blowers in the City of Sonoma starting July 1ST. If you would like to see this issue put to the vote of people in November, you can sign a petition to do so. Talk to Jerry Marino at 996-8146, go to Patt’s Copy World at 677 1ST ST W (see Patt) or to Sonoma Chevrolet at 687 W. Napa St (see Dan).

For some unknown reason, Waldron Landscape seems to be under the umbrella of some kind of “cat karma”. Now that our long lived mascot Slimfast passed away on December 31ST at 20 years of age, a new cat has taken up the furry mantle. Vagabunda lives under the office and appears like clockwork for regular meals and grooming. She’s shy but loves to be brushed and cuddled. She’s a somewhat chubby calico. We don’t know where she came from but karma’s karma. What more can I say? Just don’t breathe a word to my two dogs Coco and Annie or I’m toast.

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