As a property owner, you know the importance of attractive, maintained, and healthy landscaping.
If you are a homeowner, gorgeous landscaping gives you increased curb appeal, higher retail value for your home, compliments from friends and neighbors, and a beautiful environment for spending time outside.
Business owners benefit from great landscaping, too. You can either attract or repel customers by the way your property looks, and landscaping is a big part of creating an attractive, welcoming environment for your business.
At Ware Landscaping, we help property owners in Naperville and the surrounding areas create and maintain the landscapes that they dream of!
As professional landscapers with decades of experience, we get a lot of questions from our clients (and potential clients!). Let’s take a look at some of the most frequently asked questions about landscaping we hear from people in Naperville and the areas surrounding DuPage County.
Landscaping FAQs
What are the differences between landscaping and hardscaping?
Landscaping involves lawns, gardens, flowers, and plants, and areas with mulch or landscaping gravel. Your property’s hardscapes are its driveways, walkways, patios, and other exterior structures.
Many landscaping companies are happy to work with both landscaping and hardscaping plans. In fact, at Ware Landscaping, we are proud of our hardscaping installation projects including decks, patios, gazebos, pergolas, fire pits, outdoor kitchens, and more.
How often do I need to re-mulch my landscaping beds?
The answer to this question will vary from property owner to property. Often, you can get 3-4 years out of a really well-done mulching from a landscaping pro. However, sometimes you may need to mulch more frequently.
It is unusual for anyone to need to mulch more than once a year. If you have been losing mulch to run-off or extensive exposure to the elements, Ware Landscaping can take a look and come up with a better landscaping solution.
Sometimes, as a strategy for saving money, property owners may not spread enough mulch–or the landscaping team they hire may try to avoid putting enough mulch in their flower beds. We know that mulching once every few years with plenty of mulch is cheaper than mulching every year with too little mulch!
For property owners who want an annual “spruce up” of their mulch, we are happy to do that, too. There is nothing like newly mulched landscaping to give your property a fresh and attractive appearance.
What is the best time of year for landscaping?
It is important to take care of your landscaping year-round. That said, the things you do in each season will vary.
Spring is a great time to install hardscaping or repair damaged hardscaping elements, test and nourish your soil, clean up your landscaping beds, pre-treat your property for weeds, take care of any necessary pruning, plant early-spring plants, fix drainage issues, and add fresh mulch as needed.
Summer is the time for planting, growing, and pruning new plants and flowers, mowing the yard, preventing and pulling weeds, tackling new hardscaping and landscaping projects, and adding planters full of bright annuals to your property.
Fall is when you want to cut back your perennials, clean up your yard before the winter, mulch or remove leaves from your yard, do a final weeding before winter, mow for the last time, aerate the lawn, feed your lawn and landscaping beds,
Even winter has some landscaping tasks, although most property owners in Illinois shift to managing snow and ice during the winter. Additionally, you can use the winter to clean or replace your gutters, fertilize trees and shrubs, prune plants that need winter pruning, install landscape lighting,
Note that some of these projects can be done at any time of the year, but others are best at a specific time. Reach out to us at Ware Landscaping to come up with a landscaping plan that works for your property.
How much does it cost to landscape an entire yard?
We understand why this is such an important question to property owners. The problem with this question is that the answer is dependent upon so many different factors!
At Ware Landscaping, for example, we avoid taking a “one-size-fits-all” approach to your landscaping because we know that every situation is completely different from the ones before and the ones we’ll see next!
These are some questions we will ask to help determine the budget for your property:
What is the current condition of your landscaping, and what do you want it to look like when we’re done?
Do you want one-time services, seasonal services, monthly maintenance, or even weekly lawn care?
Do you want to focus exclusively on landscaping, or are you also looking to improve the hardscaping at your property?
Some landscaping services may only cost a few thousand dollars, while others may have a higher demand on your budget. The important thing to know is that we can work together to ensure that your landscaping needs are met at the budget you have available.
How can landscaping solve the drainage problems on my property?
Poor drainage is one of the biggest complaints of property owners in Naperville and the surrounding areas. When you have standing water in your yard, soggy grass, bare spots, or even flooding in your basement or crawlspace, you need drainage help!
There are several landscaping solutions for drainage issues, including installing a French drain or re-grading your yard.
What is a landscape architect?
A landscape architect is an experienced landscape professional who does more than just mowing, planting, mowing, weeding, and other landscaping tasks. Rather, a landscape architect plans, designs, manages, and cares for outdoor environments, including yards, lawns, outdoor living areas, gardens, and more.
Is landscaping a good DIY project?
Landscaping can be a fun DIY project, but not all landscaping tasks are a good match for inexperienced property owners.
If your main reason for choosing to tackle your own landscaping is your budget, keep in mind that many property owners end up spending more on their landscaping after they try to do it on their own. That’s because of costly mistakes, work that needs to be redone too early, and projects that need a professional to come in and fix problems.
Many of our landscaping clients choose Ware Landscaping because they know that we can take care of their yard, garden, hardscaping, and even snow removal in a way that saves them a ton of time–and often, money.
For business owners, this allows them to spend their time on making money, rather than trying to maintain their business’s curb appeal.
When a professional landscaper takes care of big projects, you don’t have to worry about costly mistakes or inexperienced workmanship. When we take care of weekly and monthly tasks, you don’t have to worry about spending all your time working on your yard. Instead, you get to enjoy it fully!
What questions should you ask when hiring a new landscaper?
Want to get to know your professional landscaper quickly? Ask questions like these:
Do you prioritize native plants and shrubs in your landscape designs?
What kind of maintenance will I need to do after you are finished building my new landscaping and hardscaping? Is any of the maintenance included in the price?
How long do you expect the project will last? What happens if it takes longer?
Is there anything we can do to bring the cost down?
When will your crew work on my landscaping? (How many days a week, how many hours a day, what hours, etc.)
FAQs About Ware Landscaping
What makes Ware Landscaping different from other landscapers in the area?
Ware Landscaping may have gotten its official start more than 2 decades ago in 2020, but you can find satisfied customers of Mike Ware going back all the way to his lawnmowing days as a teenager!
Mike Ware started his company with a guiding mission to take the burden of lawn care off of your hands, and to make a positive impact on your life–and your family’s life. Family is at the center of Mike’s story, and he makes sure that it’s at the center of the Ware Landscaping story, too!
We believe that a beautiful, functional yard or lawn, together with outdoor features like kitchens, patios, decks, and gardens, can give you the space to make lasting memories with your loved ones.
It’s true that we offer exceptional services from a friendly and professional crew, but we always keep your family at the heart of what we do.
“I contacted Mike at Ware Landscaping for help with fixing my flooded backyard and garage. Mike gave me an honest assessment of my situation and recommended the right system to fix my problems (a lot of issues). Ware Landscaping installed drainage, underground downspouts, underground sump pump lines, driveway drains and surface drains in the yard to fix all my problems.. The team was very professional and always asked for my approval on work being done before it was completed. They did a great job and we are very pleased!”
Jim Kristof
I recommend him without any hesitation.
“We had a water problem in our basement that Mike Ware completely eliminated by removing both our sump pump water and downspout water away from the home. He was professional and highly motivated to solve the problem and do it the right way. I always felt like a priority and that my project mattered. I recommend him without any hesitation.”
Michael Swider
FANTASTIC JOB!!!
Ware Landscaping did a FANTASTIC JOB!!! I needed my entire backyard regraded and they filled it in with more than 2 truck loads, installed a French drain and put new beautiful green sod on top. They also power washed and reset my front retaining wall. Communication from the beginning was always very good. We always knew when they were coming out. The project was completed on time as well. They also called on their own a month after the project to check on the sod and were willing to replace some spots due to the June heat wave. Would recommend Ware Landscaping to all!!!”
Dan Malloy
The entire crew were incredible, so friendly, knowledgeable, and paid attention to every detail.
“Mike, Greg and the rest of the crew made our back yard dream a reality with a drainage system to remove the stream that flowed through the middle of the yard, which flooded every rainstorm and stuck around for weeks. To complete the look in came a perfectly designed beautiful hardscape patio that we can’t wait to use this summer. The entire crew were incredible, so friendly, knowledgeable, and paid attention to every detail. Highly recommend!”
Katie Jankowski
The crew was fast, friendly, and tidy.
“We had a wooden deck for a front porch that was starting to age. When we removed it we saw that there was a concrete slab underneath it that was pitched toward our house, creating an issue with standing water up against our foundation. We had Mike come by to advise us on the best solution, and he suggested permeable pavers. We were able to come up with a custom design with him that day. The crew was fast, friendly, and tidy. I’m sure they do much bigger jobs than our little patio, but this project made a huge difference for our home.
