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PAGE 12 | JUNE 23 - 29, 2022

HOME & GARDEN

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Outdoor Living Spaces a Big Plus in Post-Covid Housing Market

BY KYLEE TOLAND

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

As the days get longer and the weather becomes warmer, people are enjoying the summer season in the comfort of their own backyard. According to a 2021 trend report provided by the International Casual Furnishings Association, 90 percent of Americans with an outdoor living space have been taking far greater advantage of their outdoor amenities. These amenities can include decks, porches, patios, swimming pools and many more as people are doing more relaxing, gardening and dining outside.

The increase in purchases of outdoor living amenities can be attributed to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and how people have grown more comfortable in their own homes. While many people themselves can create their own outdoor living facilities, some may rely on landscapers, contractors and architects to provide these updated amenities. This has been beneficial to many local businesses, including AllGreen Landscape Company in Falls Church, Virginia.

AllGreen Landscape Company focuses on providing homeowners with eco-friendly landscaping designs as well as conserving natural resources. Tommy De la Torre, the owner of AllGreen, said the company had received about 15 or 20 requests from homeowners so far this summer, with calls mainly coming from DC, Maryland and Virginia areas.

Outdoor patios and gardens have proven popular among homeowners, where it can be seen as a place to entertain and relax without the risk of Covid. Many people decorate their patios with various types of furniture, cooking equipment and planters. The pandemic also led to a resurgence of interest in gardening, with a University of Vermont report suggesting that it is helping people stay “physically and mentally healthy” as well as providing a “welcome release from the stresses” related to Covid-19.

Due to the pandemic, De la Torre said the company has noticed a “substantial increase,” with many people teleworking and having the opportunity to enjoy the outside. He says creating a “great” outdoor living space involves creating different zones, such as patios, lounge and dining areas and a firepit. “It seems that people are focusing more on home, family and having a safe place to unwind,” De la Torre said, “and there’s no better place than your own backyard.”

Another area of relief that homeowners found during the peak of the pandemic were backyard swimming pools. Pool sales skyrocketed. From 2020 to 2021, 772 pools were sold in Arlington County, Falls Church City, Alexandria City, Fairfax County and Loudoun County, a vast difference from the 661 pools sold in 2019.

Forbes reported a popular trend in outdoor living is the installation of outdoor kitchen areas. In 2020 there was an 80 percent increase for outdoor kitchen products. Firepits, grills, coolers and pizza ovens are just a few examples of what people are placing in their backyard. Some benefits of having an outdoor kitchen include additional cooking space and an increased home value.

So far, De la Torre said he sees that families are “thrilled” to have these outdoor amenities, with the busiest season being spring and fall for purchasing products. “In this real estate market, it can also provide a selling point to entice potential buyers,” De la Torre said. “An outdoor living space increases the usable/ living space to a home.” De la Torre added outdoor living spaces can add 9 — 12 percent value to a home.

OUTDOOR LIVING on a patio built by AllGreen Lanscape. (P����: A�� G���� L������� C������)

PAGE 14 | JUNE 23 - 29, 2022

HOME & GARDEN

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Pollinators Need You, America Facing Decline of Native Plants

BY HENRY CAULEY

PIMMIT HILLS POLLINATOR COMPANY

North America is home to more than 4000 native bee species, as well as countless other types of native pollinators including birds, butterflies, beetles, wasps, and moths. In Virginia, roughly 400 of these native bees can be found, including many specialist types that only visit specific groups of flowering plants. However, across North America native pollinators are in decline due to the effects of human-induced climate change and the rapid redevelopment of our local environments. The decline of native pollinators, coupled with the decline of the nonnative, but also important European honeybee, affects the health of our environment and the functionality of our food systems. Almost 75 percent of the flowering plants on earth rely on pollinators to help them set seed or fruit, and one in three bites of our food is a direct result of a pollinator visiting a plant.

Pollinators need help in finding the food and habitat they need to survive. Here are five simple but important actions that you can take in your yard to improve the habitat for pollinators to thrive.

INCORPORATE NATIVE

PLANTS — When making additions or changes to your landscape, elect to use native plants. Not only are native pollinators better supported by native plants in the garden, these plants also do better in your yard because they are well-adapted to our specific climate and soil conditions. To narrow down the great number of options, first assess your specific conditions for light, moisture, and space. There are native plants for every sunny, shady, moist, and dry site and condition. You will find a list of some favorites at the end of this article that are all excellent, simple, widely available options that provide sources of food, reproduction, support, and shelter for many different pollinators.

STRIVE FOR DIVERSITY

— Use a combination of flowers, shrubs, grasses, and trees to better mimic our natural surroundings. A garden of all perennial flowers or all shrubs will lack the natural elements that a small understory tree or large shade tree provides to the landscape. The more varieties of plants you make available, the more variety of pollinators you will invite into your landscape. Bees forage mainly for pollen from a wide variety of plants, but butterflies and moths often require specific host plants for their larva to feed on. If you want to keep butterflies in your landscape, you need to plant these host plants, such as milkweed varieties for the Monarchs.

PLANT FOR YEAR-ROUND

FOOD SOURCES – Plant your gardens so that the widest range of food sources are available to pollinators across the longest time period. Providing plants that flower in spring, summer, and fall provides food sources for different species, from when they first emerge in the spring, to when they are padding their nests in late fall. Remember that many plants provide multiple rounds of food opportunities, often with the flowers of spring and summer yielding the fruits and seeds of fall and winter. Choosing plants that bloom at different times also provides you with greater color and interest in the garden throughout the growing season, making the space more attractive and inviting.

PROVIDE NESTING

HABITAT — Elect to leave certain areas of your garden undisturbed throughout the year to create nesting habitats for native bees. While the European honeybee and certain bumblebees and wasps are social bees that build bigger nests, most of our native bees are solitary in nature and make their nests in the ground or in hollow plant debris.

AVOID PESTICIDES — Before spraying diseased or infested plants, know what you are dealing with. That caterpillar eating a few leaves will likely turn into a beautiful butterfly. Many insects on plants are actually beneficial and consume the pesty ones. Spraying lawns for mosquitoes is also killing the pollinators in your yard and your neighbors as

A BEATIFUL BUTTERFLY visits the garden of local resident Sandy

Tarpinian. (P����: S���� T��������.)

the spray travels.

SOME FAVORITE NATIVES

— This list is only a small example of the many native species of perennial flowers, shrubs, and trees (by bloom season) to help make your property a better ecosystem for the native pollinators in our area. An excellent resource for finding out more about native plants and where to source them is Plant NOVA Natives at Plantnovanatives.org

Spring: Eastern Red Columbine (perennial), Blue Wild Indigo (perennial), Foamflower (perennial), Moss Phlox (perennial), Wild Azalea (shrub), Maple-leaved Viburnum (shrub), Northern Spicebush (shrub), Eastern Redbud (tree), Canada Serviceberry (tree).

Summer: Giant Blue Lobelia (perennial), Scarlet Beebalm (perennial), Narrow-leaf Mountain Mint (perennial), Dense Blazing Star (perennial), Butterfly Weed (perennial milkweed), Strawberry-bush (shrub), Red Chokeberry (shrub), Buttonbush (shrub), American Hornbeam (tree), Sweetbay Magnolia (tree).

Fall: White Turtlehead (perennial), White Wood Aster (perennial), Narrow-leaved Sunflower (perennial), Goldenrod (perennial), Witch Hazel (shrub), Common Winterberry (shrub), American Beautyberry (shrub), White Oak (tree), Blackgum (tree).

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