Fall landscaping advantages include air and soil temperatures, rainfall rates, plant physiology, and availability of landscaping products and services.

1. Warm days and cool Autumn nights are favorable for landscaping compared to the extremes associated with Summer and Winter. Likewise, Springs’ volatile temperatures commonly result in many plantings’ tender new growth’s demise. Moderate Fall temperatures also contribute to an enjoyable landscaping experience.

2. Warm Fall soil supports microbial activity and vigorous root development that strengthen plants ahead of Winter and prepare them to push out a healthy flush of Spring foliage. The frigid soil temperatures are typically associated with Winter shutdown microbial activity and plant growth, encourage dormancy, and prevent seed germination. Root zone temperatures are a vital component of the scientific study of plants. Still, it’s often a neglected consideration of the inexperienced gardener. “Fall planting means strong roots. 80% of a plant’s root growth occurs in the late summer and fall months,” according to High Country Gardens. “While you won’t see as much stem and leaf growth in the fall, the plants are busy growing new roots.”

3. Adequate amounts of rainfall for plant health without the harm associated with the rainy season is a crucial Fall landscaping advantage. The torrential downpours, thunderstorms, and landscape-damaging winds of the July through September rainy season pass with the onset of Fall. Rainy season’s high winds snap limbs and topple trees while flooding rains deprive the soil of oxygen and offer an invitation to root fungus and soil pathogens. And less heat equates to lower watering requirements to maintain your landscape plantings.

4. The plants we associate with landscaping, including trees, shrubs, annuals, and perennials, develop in association with environmental conditions that serve as part of the basis of our recognition of the seasons. “Seasonality refers to both a regularly changing environment and the biological responses conditioned by that environment,” according to the Journal of Experimental Botany. “Knowing how plants respond to the sequence of environmental changes through the year is therefore an important topic, not just for the plant sciences, but also because of the role of plants in daily life: this aspect of seasonality forms a bridge for public understanding.”

5. Garden Centers and landscapers are typically their busiest in Spring creating shortages of landscaping materials and longer wait times for landscape design installations. During the Fall, families focus increasingly on back-to-school activities and upcoming holidays. Less demand pressure in Fall increases the availability of landscaping and hardscaping materials, such as pavers that your contracted landscape company can install with decreased wait times.

Take advantage of Fall Landscaping weather by booking your Landscape Design Consultation today by contacting us at 904-996-0712. Earth Works operates a retail Garden Center/Plant Nursery in Jacksonville and provides landscaping, hardscaping, water features, lawn care service, lawn spraying, and drainage solutions.

Earth Works proudly serves clients in Northeast Florida, including Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Nocatee, St. Johns, Fleming Island, Orange Park, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Amelia Island, Fernandina, and St. Augustine.

Pond owners using simple pond leak test procedures can assess the leak’s source and make repairs without having to call in a professional. Pond leaks can be expensive but are undoubtedly stressful for pond owners. Calm yourself, though, and consider the following:

Note: Before doing a pond leak test, realize that regular water loss is associated with evaporation. Expect evaporation to increase during the warmer months. And realize that the most common cause for concern over pond water loss is evaporation. Evaporation increases due to various factors, including temperature, wind, and elements of water feature design, including the volume of water pumped across the pond stream (due to shallow water exposure effects of temperature & wind). 

So you’ve ruled out evaporation and want to do a Pond Leak Test. Here are a few steps to follow.

Step 1: Do a visual inspection for any signs of water escaping the liner from debris piled up in your stream. Look for unusual wet spots, soft soil, and erosion that can signify a leaking underground connection or hose. Some pond owners include spitters for additional aeration that, when clogged, can cause water to leak outside the liner around where it’s positioned at the pond edge. Where appropriate, clean out debris from the stream and adjust rocks if it appears there is a blockage backing up water that is escaping over the liner edge. If you find low areas where water is running over the liner, raise the liner edge by backfilling with additional dirt under the liner. Water escaping along the stream is the most common source of leaks and is typically fixable by the pond owner. 

Step 2: Fill the pond to its normal full level and then turn off the pump for at least 24 hours to determine at what level the leakage stops. 

Note: If your pond is home to fish, you can keep them in the pond without the pump running if the fish load is small. However, you’ll need to provide them with supplemental aeration and monitor the water quality closely with a test kit. If you decide to keep your fish in the pond during the pond leak test, consider adding Aquascape’s Maintain product to further assist in keeping the water parameters safe. Otherwise, move your koi, goldfish, and other fish to a holding area such as a quarantine tank.

Step 3: Did the pond leak during the 24 hours with the pond pump turned off? If there was no further leakage with the pump off, skip to Step 4. Allow the leak-down to complete as the leak source will be at or below where it stopped leaking. Once the leak down is complete, inspect the liner at the water level edge for holes. Also, if the skimmer faceplate is in the zone where the leak stopped, check it as a possible leak source that may require resealing. Earth Works sells liner patches and sealant. If you found the leak and patched or resealed it, congratulations, you are done and can disregard additional steps.

Step 4: If turning the pump off stops the leak, then turn the pump on again and reinspect the stream and edge work and the seals where the liner is attached to the skimmer face plate and biofall filter spillway. If the leak is identified as one of the component seals, turn off the pump and reseal the leaking components with silicone and re-foam rocks if necessary. Then turn the pump back on and let it run for 24 hours to verify there is no leak. If the leak continues, move to the next step.

Step 5: With the pump running, begin digging to expose flex hose plumbing connections to the back of the biofall and skimmer. If you find no leaks at the plumbing connections, more digging out of the flex hose for inspection or running new lines will be required, which might be the point at which you will want to contact Earth Works for repair or a rebuild upgrade.

Book your Landscape Design Consultation today by contacting us at 904-996-0712. 

Earth Works operates a retail Garden Center/Plant Nursery in Jacksonville and provides landscaping, hardscaping, water features, lawn care service, lawn spraying, and drainage solutions.

Earth Works proudly serves clients in Northeast Florida, including Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Nocatee, St. Johns, Fleming Island, Orange Park, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Amelia Island, Fernandina, and St. Augustine.

Meet Pam Poe, Earth Works Landscape Designer. Pam is an avid gardener with a passion for art and design. As a lifelong learner, her related educational background includes an A.A.S. degree in Horticulture & Landscape Design. Plus, Pam is certified in Florida-Friendly Landscaping with the University of Florida IFAS Extension, and is certified with the Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association,
For nearly a decade Pam has worked in perennial gardens, garden centers, container design, garden maintenance, and landscape design.  “I love learning about new plants and trends in design so I pursue continuing education classes whenever possible. I enjoy the challenge of helping my clients turn their landscape vision into an  outdoor space they enjoy coming home to.”

The following are samples of Earth Works videos of landscape designer Pam Poe.

Booking your Landscape Design Consultation with Pam today by contacting us at 904-996-0712. Earth Works operates a retail Garden Center/Plant Nursery in Jacksonville and provides landscaping, hardscaping, water features, lawn care service, lawn spraying, and drainage solutions.

Earth Works proudly serves clients in Northeast Florida, including Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Nocatee, St. Johns, Fleming Island, Orange Park, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Amelia Island, Fernandina, and St. Augustine.

Earth Works Landscape Designer Jeff Melear’s passion for plants and turf has spanned his entire life, which led to his operation of not one, but two landscape companies in both St. Simon Island and Savannah, Georgia.
Jeff’s thirty-plus years of professional landscape credentials include A.A.S Degrees in both Golf Turf Management and Landscape Design and Grounds Management from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC).

Outside of his landscape design career focus, Jeff’s life revolves around his two amazing children of 8 and 10 years old and his love of woodworking, serving in church, and Georgia Bulldog football. Know that Jeff Melear will see your project through and keep you informed throughout the consultation, design, and implementation process. Contact Landscape Designer Jeff Melear by phone at 904-996-0712 or email [email protected].

The following are samples of Earth Works videos of landscape designs by Jeff Melear.

Book your Landscape Design Consultation with Jeff today by contacting us at 904-996-0712. Earth Works operates a retail Garden Center/Plant Nursery in Jacksonville and provides landscaping, hardscaping, water features, lawn care service, lawn spraying, and drainage solutions.

Earth Works proudly serves clients in Northeast Florida, including Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Nocatee, St. Johns, Fleming Island, Orange Park, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Amelia Island, Fernandina, and St. Augustine.

Earth Works, Jason Duffney provides information in the following videos answering our pond equipment and supplies FAQs (frequently asked questions).

Aquascape Pond Equipment Accessories: Jason Duffney explains Aquascape Inc pond equipment accessories that can be included in your installation or that you can add yourself at a later date. These accessories include the Aquascape Dosing System, IonGen, Smart Control Receiver, and Lighting System.

Aquascape Bacteria and Water Clarity Products: Jason Duffney explains Aquascape Inc products that improve the health and water clarity in your pond. These products include Aquascape Beneficial Bacterial, Maintain, Clear, and the Aquascape QuickFix Pond Gummy.

Water lily Transplanting & Care in Northeast Florida: Jason Duffney explains the basics of water lily transplanting and care here in Northeast Florida whether you prefer to grow in a container or directly in the pond substrate. Earth Works provides high-quality water lilies year round along with specialty pots for growing them and fertilizer.

Our Five Key Pond Components: Jason Duffney explains our five key pond components to building and maintaining a healthy ecosystem pond. We pride ourselves on providing clients with healthy pond systems that require minimal maintenance.

Pond Filtration & Maintenance: Jason Duffney explains pond filtration and maintenance in this video focused on the skimmer, which is the mechanical aspect of filtration.

Pond Pump Troubleshooting: Jason Duffney explains the basics of pond pump troubleshooting focusing on the most common problems that a pond owner can check prior to calling us for a service call.

Operating the Aquascape SMART Control Receiver: Jason Duffney explains the operation of the Aquascape SMART Control Receiver used in adjusting the flow rates of variable speed Aquascape pumps.

Check back regularly as Jason provides more pond equipment and supplies FAQs here and on youtube.

Take advantage of Fall Landscaping weather by booking your Landscape Design Consultation today by contacting us at 904-996-0712. Earth Works operates a retail Garden Center/Plant Nursery in Jacksonville and provides landscaping, hardscaping, water features, lawn care service, lawn spraying, and drainage solutions.

Earth Works proudly serves clients in Northeast Florida, including Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Nocatee, St. Johns, Fleming Island, Orange Park, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Amelia Island, Fernandina, and St. Augustine.