Our Newsletters
The newsletters you see before you are a key factor in making our Water Management Program work. Our clients receive them on a monthly basis and it tells them why, when, and how long to water their yards. This helps take the guess work out of managing the lawn and landscape. When it comes to education, our philosophy is "If you give a man a fish, you have given him one meal. If you give that man a pole and a line, and teach him how to fish, you have provided him with the means to feed himself." Therefore, offering an education is more important than just offering a short term solution. The goal of our newsletters is to educate our clients and address their concerns. Our newsletters are an effective source of information for anyone trying to improve their yard. It is a simple, pleasant way to get answers after just a few minutes of reading. People just don't have time to spend worrying about water management.
The Format
We are a Residential Integrated Pest Management business. This means that we use a varied approach to pest and disease control. The Happy Gardener serves Residential Farmers in Contra Costa County. We refer to our clients as "residential farmers " because we feel that each individual home is just like a small farm that needs to be managed inside and out. Homeowners need to be on top of their pest control, plant maintenance, and water management. Underneath our logo is the volume and number. We are happy to say that our April '94 newsletter was 1OOTH newsletter. The front page lead story pertains to a gardening aspect in our county, or when a natural disaster strikes, such as an earthquake, flood or fire, that will be our front page news.
During 1986-1992, many of the lead stories were drought related and designed to keep our clients informed and at ease.
Irrigation
This section keeps our clients informed about their irrigation system and the changes that go along with it each month. For example, in December, we tell our clients to shut off their automatic irrigation clock. During the summer, this section often takes up a full page because we deal with the full range of irrigation trouble spots and problems, and sprinkler types and their care.
Each month we offer an irrigation schedule to follow. In December, January, and February we tell our clients to shut their water off. The length of the watering times are determined by the type of sprinkler each client has. Our Water Management Program divides each watering time by three in order to simulate a long slow rain. For example, if the watering time is for 24 minutes, then you would water three times for 8 minutes each. Each interval is spaced at least 2 hrs. apart. Sometimes offer two schedules. One is for clients who want to water less and the other one is for clients who need to water more.
Lawn Talk
Another regular topic of concern that we talk about is lawn care. Clients are more concerned with keeping their lawns green than they are with anything else in the yard. They spend a great deal of money putting in their lawns and their sprinkler systems and they want to make sure to keep it alive as well. They are willing to do this regardless of the cost. This section helps clients to better understand the dynamics involved with proper lawn care.
We also cover aspects such as mowing lawns to the correct height according to season, changing mowing patterns each time you mow and reminders to sharpen your mower's blade. Did you know that a sharp lawn mower blade actually SAVES water? That's because the lawn needs more water to recover from a dull cut.
Services
There is also a section on page two that describes what our monthly services are going to be. It allows clients to be informed about services that they may not have been aware of or have forgotten about. This section has been known to spark some of our clients' curiosity, especially if we mention a product or service they did not know we offered. Then they get a better idea of what is available to them. We also keep clients informed about when the best times are to perform specific services.
Tips to Remember
This section is filled with little reminders about water management and landscape care. For example, we'll tell you when it's the proper time to mulch as well as when to pick up fallen debris around your shrubberies. For all sense and purposes, we refer to the landscape as all the shrubs, plants and trees that are in the yard except for the lawn.
