Healthy plants, healthy earth, healthy family – EZ Landscaping Solutions keeps …

2012-04-26

Healthy plants, healthy earth, healthy family – EZ Landscaping Solutions keeps it green

By Carolyn B. Edwards BCC Staff Writer

If you forgot to buy tomato plants, or that six pack you bought back in early March just shriveled up and died, we’ve got good news for you!

EZ Landscape Solutions, conveniently located at 8494 Highway 16 South in Pipe Creek has a good selection of large healthy plants ready to take off in your garden.

Alicia and Joel Sarazua opened their landscape business last January. “We started off well,” said Alicia, “but then we got hit with the drought.”

However, the serious lack of water during the 2011 season proved not to be as big a business negative as one might expect.

“As soon as people knew we were here and what we offered, they got to know us and trust us,” said Alicia. “They came and kept us going!”

Perhaps what kept them going is the fact that EZ Landscaping Solutions doesn’t just sell plants. They also provide professional yard and garden planning and installation. In-stock garden materials include sod, quality topsoil and mulch, landscaping gravel and stone, and organic compost.

They can install flagstone patios, stone entryways, outdoor fireplaces and kitchens, and rock retaining walls. EZ Landscaping can install an irrigation system for you and they can help you get a water feature installed as well.

The Sarazuas carry a wide variety of native trees and shrubs, plenty of perennial flowering plants and grasses, in addition to an assortment of vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers.

“We have our vegetable garden at the foot of our property,” said Alicia. “That way we can show people how to plan a garden…what grows well here. And the garden catches the run-off water from our nursery plants, so we demonstrate conservation, too.”

Alicia comes from the well-known Maldonado family, whose members have been operating nurseries in the San Antonio area for generations. Joel hails from Mexico where he earned a degree in computer engineering. “It’s a weird mix,” admitted Alicia, “but it works!”

They’ve been married nine years and started in the nursery business in Boerne before moving to Pipe Creek.

While in Boerne, they participated in a program called NICE, Natives Instead of Common Exotics, a joint project between the City of Boerne and local nurseries. “We still use the NICE idea of promoting native plants,” said Alicia. “They use less water and are healthier; they don’t need pesticides and treatments.”

A family member’s health issues challenged the Sarazuas to look for gardening options that don’t require the application of toxic materials in order to achieve beauty.

“For example, the live oak is susceptible to oak wilt and decline,” said Alicia. “So, a lot of people think they can’t have an oak, but we offer varieties that aren’t susceptible like Southern oak, burr oak, Monterrey oak. Other good trees for this area are the cedar elm and Chinese pistache.”

If someone wants a particular kind of plant that may not be ideal for the Hill Country, “we have alternatives,” said Alicia. “We urge people to go organic, avoid chemicals and save water.

“We’re happy to teach people how to keep a yard up without using a lot of water,” said Alicia. They also recommend the use of top quality weed barrier fabric and organic mulches for weed control.

The nursery offers a wide selection of salvias, lantanas, and grasses.

Plants are reasonably priced according to the size of the container and all of them look very healthy and vigorous. “We believe our prices are competitive with the large stores like Home Depot,” said Alicia.

So, save yourself a trip and get a good, locally acclimated plant.

The Sarazuas use a virtual design plan generated on the computer to insert actual plants and then animate your ideas for your landscape. “We charge for planning your landscape, but if you go with us for the installation we take that charge off on the final bill,” explained Alicia.

Once they have created a design, it is yours to keep.

“We also encourage people to consider planting fruit trees in their landscape,” said Alicia. “They’re wonderful to have. They bring back what is natural to the area, wildlife, bees, humming birds.”

When they develop your landscape plan, they use natural resources and try to work with whatever you may already have on hand. “If you have rock, we try to use it,” said Alicia.

Consider extending the celebration of Earth Day into May and stop by EZ Landscape Solutions in Pipe Creek to find some healthy, beautiful and colorful additions to your yard and garden. As an added bonus, you’ll get to know this knowledgeable and enthusiastic young couple.

They are open Monday through Saturday, 8 am to 5 pm and Sundays from 1 to 6 pm.

Call 830-535-4800 for more information.

Pictured: Joel and Alicia Sarazua welcome gardeners to EZ Landscaping Solutions at 8494 Highway 16 South in Pipe Creek. They offer a wide range of plants and garden services.