WELCOME TO THE LIVE OAK BLOG

Discover expert tips, industry trends, and best practices for maintaining beautiful, sustainable landscapes. From seasonal care advice to project highlights, our blog is here to inspire and guide you to elevate your outdoor spaces year-round.

Mike Sidlowski Mike Sidlowski

Pruning Tips for Nellie Stevens Holly: A Guide to a Resilient Evergreen

At Live Oak, we take pride in spotlighting resilient plants that can thrive in various conditions, enhancing your landscape year-round. One such plant is the Nellie Stevens Holly. In today’s blog post, we delve deeper into the pruning techniques that can keep this exceptional plant looking its best.

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Mike Sidlowski Mike Sidlowski

Maximizing Efficiency: Outsourcing Grounds Maintenance for Educational Institutions

In today's educational landscape, Facilities Managers face increasing pressure to optimize operational efficiency while managing limited resources effectively. Many face challenges with budget limitations when maintaining onsite landscaping and grounds maintenance teams, hindering their ability to achieve desired outcomes effectively.

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Mike Sidlowski Mike Sidlowski

Catmint: A Resilient and Enchanting Garden Favorite

As we journey further into our series on resilient plants, we come across a beloved perennial that not only possesses exceptional durability but also captivates with its enchanting allure – Catmint. From intense heat to cold winters, this perennial has shown time and again that it can hold its own against Mother Nature's whims.

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Mike Sidlowski Mike Sidlowski

The Resilient Charm of Purple Coneflowers

In our pursuit of discovering resilient plants that thrive in challenging conditions, we turn our attention to the Purple Coneflower. Thriving in challenging conditions, the Purple Coneflower is a garden gem. It endures extreme heat, drought, and cold temperatures, making it a top choice for resilient landscapes.

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Mike Sidlowski Mike Sidlowski

Resilient Shasta Daisies: Nature's Cheerful Survivors

In our ongoing series on resilient plants, we have explored various evergreens that can withstand harsh environmental conditions and still thrive in the landscape. Today, we shift our focus to a perennial flowering plant known for its cheerfulness and robustness – the Shasta Daisy.

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Mike Sidlowski Mike Sidlowski

Landscape Maintenance Tips: Pruning Flowering Shrubs

Pruning flowering shrubs is a crucial aspect of maintaining their health and enhancing their aesthetic appeal. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the dos and don'ts of pruning flowering shrubs and provide you with tips to ensure your shrubs remain healthy and vibrant.

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Mike Sidlowski Mike Sidlowski

Landscaping is a Skilled Trade

Most of us don’t think of Landscapers as skilled workers. To be honest, most of us don’t think about Landscapers at all. While their work is essential to the aesthetic of our homes, businesses, and our campuses, they are often seen as mere laborers, not the skilled tradespeople they truly are.

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Mike Sidlowski Mike Sidlowski

Landscape Maintenance Tips: Tree Mulching

Proper tree mulching is an important part of maintaining healthy trees, but there are many misconceptions about how to do it correctly. In this blog post, we will discuss some of the things you should avoid when mulching your trees and provide you with tips on how to do it properly. 

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Mike Sidlowski Mike Sidlowski

Resilient Plants at Work: Evergreens and Winter Interest

In our continued series on resilient plants, we have featured three evergreens that are proven winners. These evergreens are not only aesthetically pleasing, but they can withstand winter injury, drought stress, salt damage and a myriad of disease and insect problems.

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Mike Sidlowski Mike Sidlowski

Live Oak’s Education Grounds Management Services

At Live Oak, we understand that the appearance of your educational institution's grounds is of utmost importance. For this reason, our team has developed a grounds management program that is specifically designed to make a lasting impact. Read on to learn more about our comprehensive services, uniquely created for educational institutions.

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Mike Sidlowski Mike Sidlowski

Why Choose Live Oak Landscape Contractors

When you’re selecting a landscaping partner, it’s important to choose a company that’s built on values and commitments that you can trust. Read on to learn more about our foundation as we answer the question, “Why Choose Live Oak Landscape Contractors?”

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Mike Sidlowski Mike Sidlowski

Teaching an Old Landscape New Tricks

At Live Oak, we appreciate the charm and variety of each mature landscape on your property. Working with your current landscape installation, we will develop a revitalization plan to help put plants in their place, invigorate existing turf, and revitalize the feel of your environment with new elements.

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Mike Sidlowski Mike Sidlowski

Resilient Plants at Work: Winter Interest and Ornamental Grasses

The love of plant material lured me into the green industry as a young man. Later as a Landscape Architect and founder of a Landscape Maintenance company, my 30 years of experience has taught me to consider all aspects of planting design. First and foremost is resilience.

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Mike Sidlowski Mike Sidlowski

A New Look, Because Change is Natural.

Nature leaves a unique imprint on us because no two encounters with it are alike. At Live Oak, we embrace the uniqueness of each landscape and each moment, to understand how it evolves and grows over time to help shape who we are.

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Harold Made Harold Made

Take the Longview: The importance of laying roots.  

Right now you can get anything you want in less time than it takes to read this article. You want a Hawaiian Pizza on gluten free crust? Open a delivery app. You need an Air Fryer? Amazon Prime will have it for you by tomorrow at noon.

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Harold Made Harold Made

The Rework Place: Making work mean something 

3.99 million Americans quit their job last April. I repeat 3.99 million Americans quit their job last April. Anthony Klotz, a psychologist and professor at Texas A&M, called this the "Great Resignation” and attributed this mass exodus of employees to the growing existential crises brought on by the pandemic. He aptly points to the natural human instinct to reassess one’s place in the world, one’s purpose:

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