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Brighten Up Your Landscape with Autumnal Foliage

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Inspired by the stunning fall colors surrounding us? Discover how you can brighten up your landscape with autumnal foliage. From bright perennials, such as Rudbeckias, to bushes bursting with color, we have the details on all your Autumn-inspired plants below.
BRIGHTEN UP YOUR LANDSCAPE WITH AUTUMNAL FOLIAGE

Perennials With Bright Fall Color

Your landscape can encapsulate the magic of autumn with bursts of red, purple, orange and more with these perennials.

  • Rudbeckias (blackeyed susan’s) are hardy, easy to grow and offer 25 different varieties. Rudbeckias respond well to propagating in the fall. Be sure to maintain plenty of space between plants and water at soil level rather than from above.
  • Autumn Fire Sedum is an improved form of ‘Autumn Joy Sedum’ that grows larger and longer. It grows bright rose-pink flowers. Autumn Fire, if left standing, can last into the winter and compliment your landscape after fall has come and gone. Come springtime, be sure to trim the plant back to the soil before new growth begins.
  • Asters are daisy-like perennials with starry-shaped flower heads that range in color from white to deep purple. They bring a burst of color to the garden in late summer and well into autumn, when the rest of the garden may be fading. Asters prefer cooler climates with moist summers, especially cool nights, making them the perfect plant for a Maine autumn. Asters prefer sites with full sunlight and moist but well-drained soil.
  • Eupatorium is a beautiful perennial blooming with deep pink blossoms in the late summer and early fall. Eupatorium is sturdy, tall and adored by butterflies.
  • Cortaderia Selloana (Pampas grass) is a no brainer for your fall garden. Notoriously tough and self-sufficient, this showy perennial requires minimal attention while giving you stunning results. Pampas grass has silky, creamy-white plumes and grows well into winter.

Red Shrubs

  • Euonymus alatus (Burning Bush) is a crowd favorite known for its bursting red color. Burning Bush will be the highlight of your landscape in the fall when its leaves turn a vibrant dark pink and birds will flock to a Burning Bush in the winter months.
  • Red Majestic Corkscrew Hazelnut is a stunning shrub that will bring color to your garden year round. Red Majestic Corkscrew Hazelnut requires minimal maintenance making it the perfect addition to your home landscape.
  • Rubus Odoratus (Purple Flowering Raspberry) is an ornamental shrub with bright purple flowers that bloom profusely in early summer and continue throughout the season, until they turn yellow in the late fall. This plant will require plenty of space away from other shrubs to grow to its fullest potential.

Yellow Shrubs

  • Fothergilla (bottle brush) produces orange fall foliage and grows particularly well in Maine. This stunning shrub will be an aromatic and beautiful addition to your fall garden.
  • Arnold Promise is a shrub that produces bright yellow, orange and red foliage in the fall as well as yellow blossoms in the springtime long before other plants have leaves. Be sure to plant in a full-sun location.
  • Northern Gold Forsythia is a hardy shrub that produces foliage throughout the season and especially in the spring. Forsythia is a low-maintenance shrub and is naturally deer-resistant. Be sure to plant in a full-sunlight condition.

Autumn with AC Yard Services

Enjoy the magic of autumn in Maine with these colorful additions to your landscape! For questions about planting these additions to your lawn, feel free to reach out at acyardservices.com/contact. We’d be happy to help.

Enjoy Your Yard with Autumn Activities

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Are you looking for fun activities to do in your yard this fall? Look no further! With the changing of the seasons comes new opportunities to celebrate, along with a whole host of fall outdoor activities to keep your friends and family entertained.

Continue reading below for the ultimate fall bucket list this season. We have rounded up the best must-dos right here – including a ton of fun fall activities that you can easily carry out in your yard.

Decorate Your Yard For Halloween

Decorating your yard for the holidays is a long standing tradition which is also a very fun activity, especially if you get your family involved to plan and make your decorations.

You can find colored lights to string around the porch, carve pumpkins to display by the front door and more. The possibilities for exterior Halloween decorations are endless!

Have a Backyard Campout

If your kids have never been camping, it’s the perfect season for pitching a tent in your yard to have a great camping experience. Setting up a tent in your own yard means you can control the environment and keep it safe for your children. Do it before it gets too chilly!

Plant a Fall Garden

Planting a fall garden lets you continue growing fresh and healthy food at home. Cooler weather means your fall garden would need less water, not to mention the work is much easier without the summer heat.

Make a Bird Feeder

Throughout the fall, there are bound to be at least a few hungry birds flying around your own backyard. Let’s make them feel totally at home with a handmade feeder. Not only will it feed the birds, but the bird feeder will also give your lawn a colorful look.

Playing With Your Pets

Do your pets like to run around outside? You can join them for an hour of fetch or tug-of-war in your backyard and have a wonderful experience this fall.

Set up a Bonfire in the Backyard

Building a bonfire in your own yard can be a lot of fun. You can have friends over, tell ghost stories and toast marshmallows while sitting around the bonfire. All you need to do is pile up some dry wood in a safe place and light it with a match.

Walking in the Foliage and Making Leaf Crafts

You can have the perfect fall experience by walking in the fall foliage and helping your kids in making some wonderful leaf crafts. Have a walk with your kids in the yard and have them collect a wide variety of leaves – different sizes and colors. Your kids can cut the leaves in different shapes and sizes and paint them in their favorite colors.

If you want help with your fall garden or in making your property suitable for other yard activities, give our customer service team a call at (207) 712-5554 or email us at info@acyardservices.com. The AC Yard Services team would love to help you out!

Hydroseeding for the Fall

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Hydroseeding for the Fall

Are you thinking about hydroseeding your lawn this fall? If yes, you might have a lot of questions popping in your head, and rightfully so! At AC Yard Services, our team walks you through the entire process, addresses any questions you may have and makes sure you truly get the desired results from your hydroseeding project.

So what is hydroseeding? What’s the best time to do it? And most importantly – How does your yard benefit from hydroseeding? Well, If these are some of the questions bothering you, you’re at the right place. Continue reading the blog to have all your questions answered.

What is hydroseeding?

It involves mixing together grass seed, fertilizer, mulch and water in a tank to make a slurry which is then sprayed onto a growing surface. This helps the grass to grow faster, healthier and longer lasting.

When it comes to the advantages of hydroseeding, it’s difficult to know where to begin, because there are so many of them.

Weed Prevention

Untamed weed growth tarnishes the beauty of your lawn. It also destroys the soil, making it loose and causing soil erosion. Using a mixture of hydro seeds reduces the growth of weeds as the mixture is free from weed seeds.

Hydroseeding – A cost-effective solution

It is more cost efficient as compared to hand seeding. While an average hand-sewn lawn may take half a day, the same area can be hydroseeded within an hour and a half with assistance from our professional team at AC Yard Services.

Water Conservation

Since mulch is present in significant proportion in the slurry mixture, Hydroseed grass is able to retain more moisture than grass sewn through any other conventional technique. Due to its incredible water retaining capacity, the watering needs for hydro seeds are about half as frequent as compared to other methods.

Quality and Erosion Control

Hydroseeded lawns are healthier, greener and are more resistant to foreign agents. They have deeper root establishments, with greater water content and help in erosion control.

When to Hydroseed?

When it comes to hydroseeding every season has its pros and cons, but experts suggest that the best time to hydroseed is during late summer or early fall as temperatures continue to drop and the precipitation increases which means you don’t need much water to hydroseed. The ideal temperature during the initial phase of hydroseeding is between 65 and 75 degrees which makes fall the perfect season for hydroseeding.

At AC Yard Services, our team can help you meet your hydroseeding needs. We will help determine the best ingredients suited for your lawn based on the soil type and will take care of your hydroseeding project from start to finish.

If you want to know more about hydroseeding or if it’s right for your lawn, give our customer service team a call at (207) 712-5554 or email us at info@acyardservices.com. Let us help you make this season be one of growth!

End of Summer Yard Maintenance

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End of Summer Yard Maintenance

Have you started thinking about packing your patio furniture and doing some end-of-summer yard maintenance? With fall on the horizon, this is the best time to rejuvenate your yard and have it prepared for the season to follow.

As lawn care professionals, we wanted to give you some insights on how you can prepare your yard for the colder months ahead:

Mowing Your Lawn

It is important to keep mowing your lawn towards the end of the summer, even if the grass is no longer growing at a rapid pace. With temperatures dropping, do not forget to adjust your watering schedule.

Prepare with Care

Before fall begins, trim branches and bushes that look unhealthy. It helps them grow back stronger next year and you would have less leaves to take care of as the weather turns colder.

Add a Good Layer of Mulch

Adding a fresh layer of mulch makes your yard look neat and it helps suppress the growth of weeds. Mulching also keeps water and nutrients close to plant roots providing the roots with the essentials they need to thrive throughout fall.

Aeration is Important

The summer sun makes the soil hard and compact making it difficult for grass roots to absorb water, air and other nutrients. With aeration loosening the soil, the roots have access to all the nutrients they need to survive and thrive. The best time to have your lawn aerated is either late summer or early fall.

From barbeques to summer parties, your lawn has endured a lot of activity this summer. Now is the time for your lawn to receive the care it needs to make it through the upcoming fall season.

At AC Yard Services, we provide comprehensive yard maintenance services. From mulching and mowing to aeration and fall clean-ups, we truly do it all to have your yard ready for the colder months ahead. Get in touch to discuss your end of summer yard maintenance needs!

 

Save Time by Hiring Us for Yard Work

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Save Time by Hiring Us

A well-maintained yard requires a lot of time and energy. You might think that a few lawnmower rounds are enough to make your lawn look sharp. But that is rarely the case. It can take long, tedious hours before your yard starts looking remotely like what you want, in some cases. However, with a landscaping company, you can pass on this responsibility to the professionals. Hiring people to fix up your yard will free up your summer, and will make your property look incredible.

Here is how working with AC Yard Services will help you save time and will get you desired results this summer!

HIRING PROFESSIONALS WILL FREE UP YOUR SUMMER TIME

The average homeowner often has to dedicate several hours a week to yard maintenance. From cleaning up lawn clippings to mulching the garden beds, a long list of tasks needs to be completed for the upkeep of your lawn. This can take up a significant amount of time, which you could be spending with your family and enjoying the wonderful Maine summer weather instead.

Let us save you the precious time and effort. Imagine how much backbreaking work and time spent shopping for products and equipment this can save you! And your yard will look professionally maintained to boot.

YOUR PROPERTY WILL BE PROFESSIONALLY MAINTAINED

Our team can certainly meet your yard maintenance needs! With our vast property services, we offer a one-stop solution to all our clients. Our professional crew will make sure your lawn is lush and green. From mulching to pruning, from grading to landscaping, we truly do it all.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Now is the perfect time to work with a professional and experienced yard service for your residential or commercial property. You can save your valuable summer time with our services. Our expert team will keep your outdoor space looking sharp and well-kept these upcoming months, when everyone is spending time outside.

Whether you want a monthly service or a one-time yard clean up, remember we are here for you. Just give us a call at (207) 712-5554 to get a customized plan, and we will make sure your yard servicing needs are taken care of.

Upgrade Your Home with a Professional Hardscape

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AC Yard Services and Hardscape Construction

When spring and summer arrive, we all find ourselves spending more time outside. Whether you’re sitting on the deck having coffee in the morning, or inviting friends and family over for an outdoor gathering, you want your property to look and feel like a comfortable, inviting place to be. Incorporating hardscape elements into your overall landscape design can help create the outdoor environment you want for your property.

What Is Hardscaping?

Hardscaping is, in essence, the parts of your landscape that are constructed. A patio, a walkway, a stone wall and rock edging along your gardens are all examples of hardscaping. These elements serve a functional purpose as well as a decorative purpose. Your patio gives you a place to gather, but it also gives you an opportunity to improve the overall aesthetic of your yard. With the right color and style of stones, a patio can give you an outdoor living area – not just a yard.

Also consider the stone edging along a flower garden; it serves the practical purpose of containing the soil but it also helps neaten the look of your garden. Plus, brightly colored rocks or stones used for the edging or for a pathway can add a vibrant accent to your yard.

Hardscaping is an excellent way to increase your property’s value. A home with an attractive patio or the clean aesthetic of a beautiful walkway to the front door will certainly catch a buyer’s eye.

Does AC Yard Services Provide Hardscaping Services?

We can certainly take care of your hardscaping projects! In Maine, spring and summer are great times to tackle upgrades to your yard. Start planning in early spring, and get the project done before or during the summer. With our landscaping expertise, we know just how to integrate hardscaping elements with your existing gardens and outdoor space. If you have hardscaping elements already in place that you’d like removed or replaced, we can also help with that.

Whether you’re looking for a full yard upgrade or some simple improvements to existing hardscape elements, the AC Yard Services team can help you out. Get in touch with us today to discuss your hardscaping needs for summer 2021.

Meet Mike!

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AC Yard Services’ Newest Team Member

In early 2021, we welcomed Mike Combes to the AC Yard Services team. He has taken on the position of Vice President of Communications and Sales, working directly under founder Justin Hayden.

Mike will be the first point of contact for all landscaping projects moving forward, for customers and employees alike. The official company phone number (207-712-5554) will be a direct line to him. With over 20 years of experience in sales and customer service, we’re looking forward to everything he can bring to the operations side of the company!

Outside of work, Mike enjoys spending time in the outdoors with friends and family. He remains active in everything from camping to hiking, skiing and even coaching youth sports. After growing up in Scarborough, he now lives with his wife, son and daughter in Windham.

Contact Mike today with any questions about this change in operations (or just say hello)!

The Value Of An AC Yard Services Annual Plan

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Landscaping & Property Maintenance You Can Count On

One of things we like to say at AC Yard Services is that we treat your property like our own. For us, this is more than a tagline or slogan, it’s truly how we operate our business and how we approach each and every job.

By offering annual plans, we offer our clients the opportunity to know their property is being taken care of, and taken care of well, year-round. In Maine, this is especially important. Every season brings with it a distinct set of chores that are important for keeping your property in the best shape possible all year.

Whether we’re keeping your flowers looking their best, your yard free of leaves or your driveway free of snow, with an annual plan from AC Yard Services you know the work will get done and it will get done right.

The Plans We Offer

We offer different annual plans to meet the unique needs of both our residential and commercial clients. We understand that there are some property chores or landscaping work people enjoy doing themselves, and not every property needs every chore tackled every season.

Our plans range from the basic maintenance needed each season, such as clean-up, mowing and plowing to comprehensive maintenance and landscaping projects. We can do everything from mulching to weeding to planting to pruning, and everything in between throughout the seasons to keep your property ready for the warmer months.

Every season brings with it an opportunity to help maintain and often improve the appearance of your property. Our plans are designed to meet the needs of Maine properties, which can get beaten up in the winter, need extra care in the spring, are beautiful in summer and need a good clean-up in the fall.

Whether you’re a homeowner, a business owner or a landlord/property owner, AC Yard Services has a plan that can fit your year-round property needs.

Our Difference

When we talk about treating your property like our own, that extends beyond the work itself to the timely way we get the work done. When you need your driveway plowed, you need it done promptly. When fall hits, you need your leaves raked up and removed promptly. When spring comes, you need debris cleared quickly so you can start prepping for summer planting.

Our prompt, reliable service in every season and with every job is what sets the AC Yard Services team apart. When you have an annual plan with us, you can count on us. We show up when we say we will, and always leave your property looking better than we found it.

No matter the season, no matter the property, you can rely on AC Yard Services to get the job done right. If you’d like to discuss which annual plan might be right for your southern Maine property, please contact us today. We make every effort to respond promptly to inquiries, so you will hear back from us soon.

AC Yard Services to Operate in Bethel and Newry, ME

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Annual Service Plans Available For Homes and Businesses in Bethel and Newry, ME.

We are excited to announce that we are now offering our annual service plans to homeowners and businesses in the Bethel and Newry, ME areas! We have a team operating in the area and we are happy to help keep the properties in these beautiful mountain towns picture-perfect.

Same Trusted Service As We Offer In Greater Portland

From mowing the lawn to fall clean ups and removing snow, our team is able to keep homes and businesses looking their best. We pride ourselves on being the one of the most professional, reliable and responsive landscaping companies in the Greater Portland area and we can’t wait to help maintain Bethel and Newry’s unique beauty.

Looking For Help With Your Yard in Bethel or Newry?

Don’t settle for less when having your flower beds mulched or your driveway plowed; let our team help you by calling our owner Justin at (207) 314-5554 or emailing him at info@acyardservices.com.

Five Tips For Spring Property Preparation

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Spring is coming! Is your property ready?

When spring arrives in Maine, it is time to celebrate. We made it through another winter! As spring arrives, though, so does a new list of chores to tackle for keeping your yard and property looking their best. At least it’s a little bit warmer out as you tackle these chores than when you’re shoveling.

Winter takes its toll on a yard, and if your yard looks messy and unkempt your entire property will too. If you’re on an annual plan with AC Yard Services, you know that we are committed to keeping your property looking its best year-round, and part of that is doing several tasks in each and every season. For spring, we recommend starting with these five landscaping and yard-work chores to get your property ready:

  • Pick Up Sticks (And Other Debris)
  • Take Care of Overgrown Shrubs
  • Neaten Up Your Gardens and Yard by Edging
  • Clean Out and Freshen Up Your Flowerbeds
  • Put Down Mulch

Family cleaning up lawn with rakes and plastic bags

Pick Up Sticks (and leaves, and acorns, and everything else)

By the time the snow melts it can seem like your yard has turned into a gathering place for all the stray branches, acorns, and litter in your neighborhood. Getting rid of all of this debris can make a big difference in your property’s overall appearance, and it’s a chore that you can start relatively early, even before the snow is all melted. If you get ahead on this chore, your property will look much neater than those around you, and you will have a head start on your overall spring raking, weeding, and planting work.

Take Care of Overgrown Shrubs

Even if you thought you took care of all the trimming in the fall, you might notice some overgrowth in your shrubbery as spring arrives. The shrubbery that is particularly important to take care of in the spring is that closest to your house, especially if it sits right up against it. If shrubbery is overgrown, messy and tight up to your house, it not only looks unsightly but can also trap moisture – something no homeowner wants to deal with as an ongoing problem.

Shrubbery, when neat and healthy, can be an excellent accent to your yard. It creates borders, can help provide privacy, and offers attractive greenery with fairly little maintenance required. But, we’ve all seen what can happen when shrubbery gets out of control. Taking just a little time this spring to tame the shrubs in your yard can be a long-term investment in the health and attractiveness of your property.

Create Borders With Edging

Edging with a flat-edged spade can help you create a neat appearance throughout your yard. Tackle the areas next to sidewalks, along the driveway, your front walk, or around your patio. Edge the side of the lawn so it is a straight line against these property elements, and not overgrown and ragged. You might not even notice how much this project can help your lawn look neater until it’s done, but edging really does make a big difference in the overall appearance of your property. If the snow is gone earlier from some parts of your property than others, you can start with those and get a jump on this project.

Clean Out And Freshen Up Your Flowerbeds

As part of the overall debris cleanup discussed in Tip #1, you probably started getting sticks, branches, and leaves out of your flowerbeds. As we get later into spring, though, you should make a second pass through your flowerbeds to start pulling out weeds and getting rid of debris that may have found its way back there since you did your initial cleanup. Prepping the flowerbeds gets you ready for one of the best parts of spring – getting flowers in the ground!

When spring actually arrives, one of the most important things you can do for your property is to get rid of weeds and put in bright, cheery plants. Consider planting spring annuals, like petunias, to add vibrance to your yard.

Put Down Mulch

If your yard looks good, but you can tell it isn’t quite there yet – consider adding mulch. If the snow is gone, adding a layer of mulch is both a way to add a ‘pop’ to your property while also serving the practical purpose of discouraging weed growth. For weed prevention, apply a 3”-4” layer of mulch.

While mulch is available in several hues, black mulch is an excellent choice for improving a property’s look. Of course, some houses may have a paint color for which a brown or red mulch is a better choice, or some flower choices may do better with a different hue. Overall, though, if you’re not sure – black mulch is most often a good choice.

If you’re starting to tackle your spring chores and think it would be nice to be hand some of them off to professionals, give AC Yard Services a call at (207) 712-5554. Our team is here for you in every season, and we’re always ready to rake, mow, mulch, plant – and more.

(207) 712-5554 info@acyardservices.com

Address

13 Gambo Road

Windham, ME 04062