Category: Brendan Wetzel

Signs of Poor Yard Drainage

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A Pennsylvania-based business owner, Brendan Wetzel leads Yardley Landscaping and Paving Company as president. Under the guidance of Brendan Wetzel, the company provides a range of services to clients around Bucks County, including lawn beautification and yard drainage.

Regardless of how meticulously you maintain your yard, you may still experience drainage issues at some point. Below are several signs of poor yard drainage to look out for:

Soil erosion
When there is excess water in your yard, it can cause the soil to drop away, thus creating pitted areas or, in extreme cases, sinkholes. Soil erosion in your yard threatens the stability of your raised garden beds and decorative features.

Pooled water under your gutters
As you walk around your home after it rains, look for small ponds underneath the downspouts and gutters. These suggest that water is leaking under your home and threatening the foundation. Ignoring this issue will result in steady damage to the foundation and the concrete in your basement.

Movement of the topsoil
Water that cannot properly drain from your yard will move over the mulch and topsoil as best as it can. This will push the material into your drain covers, onto walkways, or into any dips in your yard. As a result, you’ll have to deal with issues caused by clogged drains.

Wet crawlspace
Even if your yard looks fine after it rains, you may find that your crawlspace is always wet or soggy. Such issues increase the risk of mildew and mold, along with a poor-quality foundation. Moisture in this area also draws in rodents and other pests.

Caring for and Maintaining a Flower Bed

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As the president of Yardley Landscaping and Paving Company, Brendan Wetzel leverages more than a decade of experience to assist residential and commercial clients throughout Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Dedicated to keeping clients’ yards looking impeccable, Brendan Wetzel and his company offer numerous services, including flower bed maintenance.

Compared to lawns and shrub areas, flower beds usually require more routine maintenance. First, you must pay close attention to how you water your flowers. It may seem like a straightforward task, but overhead watering promotes the spread of disease, and overwatering increases the risk that the flowers will die. To prevent such problems, you should instead set up an irrigation system for the flower bed. Further, good flower fertilizer, with a mix of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorous, is necessary for the health of flower beds.

Aside from feeding the flowers, you must examine your flower beds on a regular basis for signs of pests or weeds. The process includes checking the leaves for discoloration, stickiness, or holes. In addition, you should look for weeds on a daily or weekly basis. Once any issues are identified, you must act immediately, pulling up the weeds or getting pest treatment for your flower beds. It’s also important that you set about either treating diseased plants or removing them to keep the rest of the bed healthy.

Finally, you should remove damaged leaves and flower petals that have fallen and other ground debris from your flower beds. Leaving this debris in place can strangle the flowers. Flower stems must also be removed as soon as they are finished blooming in order to prevent seeding and encourage new growth.

Three Things to Do During Fall Cleanup

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Brendan Wetzel, the president and owner of Yardley Landscaping and Paving Company in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, offers different landscaping services to clients. Brendan Wetzel and his team provide water drainage services, such as installing lawn drainage systems as well as seasonal clean-up services to keep landscapes looking nice throughout the year.

To maintain the appearance and overall health of the lawn, you must conduct seasonal cleanup and proper maintenance. While many people worry about summer and spring, fall is actually one of the best seasons to prepare the lawn for winter. Below are several things that must be done as part of a fall cleanup:

1. Remove debris – During the year, trees and some other plants shed their foliage. This debris not only smothers grass and plant growth, it also provides pests a safe place to hide. Because of this, debris should regularly be removed from a landscape using a tarp or rake. It’s also possible to run the lawn mower over fallen leaves to shred them and make them suitable for fertilizer.

2. Trim away the dead – Once winter hits, dead branches and plants are much more susceptible to damage from the cold winds. This increases the risk of the branches cracking or breaking, thus posing a damage to you or your home when the plant is large enough. Rather than risk this, trim away any dead branches, or pull out plants that have died completely.

3. Protect plants – Not every plant is capable of withstanding extreme temperatures, so it’s important that these sensitive plants are protected for the cold winter temperatures. This is accomplished by either moving the plants indoors or installing a frost guard. At the same time, you can’t forget about the plants that can withstand the temperature drop by mulching them with leaves and organic waste.

Tips for Cleaning Your Newly Paved Driveway

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A cum laude graduate of Rider University, Brendan Wetzel has spent 10 years as the owner and president of Yardley Landscaping and Paving Company in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. As such, Brendan Wetzel manages not only a multitude of landscaping services, but also driveway work that includes seal coating, paving, power washing, and black top work.

A newly paved and sealed driveway can provide homeowners with peace of mind for years to come. There are a few tips individuals can take to maintain a clean driveway in between sealant applications, which should occur, on average, every three to five years.

When it comes to dirt or mud that has been brought in on car tires or by weather, homeowners can make use of a standard power washer. Those without a power washer can remove dirt and mud from their driveway with a hard-bristled broom and garden hose. To remove dirt and mud from the asphalt completely, individuals should be liberal with water throughout the cleaning process.

As for leaves, mulch, and other organic matter that may spill onto a driveway, homeowners are advised to act quickly and clear the debris before brown tannin stains set in. If stains do form, they will dissolve on their own, though individuals can expedite the process with an application of liquid dish detergent and hot water.

Lastly, if latex paint spills on a driveway, a combination of water and common scouring powder, along with a stiff-bristled nylon brush, often does the trick. Oil and acrylic paints, meanwhile, pose more of a challenge. In the case of an asphalt driveway, it is sometimes easiest to reseal the area, as any solvent capable of dissolving these paints would damage the underlying driveway.