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The Top Choice Austin Landscaping Blog

Drip Irrigation: The Smarter Way to Water in Central Texas

By Nolan Gore / September 11, 2025

Short Version: Drip irrigation delivers water underground — right to the roots — saving water and boosting plant health. It’s perfect for Central Texas landscapes, especially in mulched beds, slopes, and even those narrow lawn strips by the street. What Is Drip Irrigation? Drip irrigation (also called subsurface drip) uses a network of tubing buried…

What Is Backflow Prevention — And Why Should Homeowners Care?

By The Top Choice Team / September 11, 2025

Short Version: Backflow happens when water flows the wrong way and takes contaminants with it. A backflow prevention device keeps fertilizers, pet waste, pool chemicals, and more out of your drinking water. If you have an irrigation system in Central Texas, this is one of those things you don’t want to ignore. So… What Is…

The Shaded Retreat: Designing a Lush and Low-Maintenance Shade Garden in Austin

By Nolan Gore / September 9, 2025

As a residential landscape company in Austin, Texas, we understand that not all garden spaces receive direct sunlight throughout the day. Whether you have towering trees or a north-facing yard, creating a lush and low-maintenance shade garden is achievable with the right approach. In this post, we’ll share our top secrets to designing an attractive…

What is a Native Plant in Central Texas? A Real Talk Recap

By Nolan Gore / August 21, 2025

A couple of weeks ago, I sat through a full day of landscaping classes at a Texas Nursery and Landscape Association (TNLA) expo. One of the most thought-provoking sessions was about native plants—a topic we all think we understand… until we start defining it out loud. The presenter was sharp. She lives in Fort Worth,…

The State of Lawn Robots in Austin, Texas: A 2025 Reality Check

By Nolan Gore / August 20, 2025

Last time I wrote about lawn robots, I opened with “Robots coming through!” That was back in 2018 when we introduced Willie, a Husqvarna Automower we named because Willie Nelson means grass, which we thought was hilarious. Well, spoiler alert: they’re still not good enough to use in most yards. They have reached a point…

How to choose the right plants

By Nolan Gore / May 6, 2025

Don’t put a plant in the ground until you’ve thought through these. Seriously. We plant thousands of plants every year—and we’ve seen just about everything. Over time, we’ve developed a go-to list of questions we ask ourselves before putting any plant into the ground. It helps us avoid the most common mistakes we see from…

Silkworms in Central Texas

By Nolan Gore / April 10, 2025

Silkworms in Central Texas: What Are Those Worms Crawling on You? Have you ever been in a serious conversation—maybe even a meeting—only to feel something crawling on your neck? You do the jump-and-slap combo, thinking it’s a spider, and it turns out to be a tiny, green worm. Welcome to springtime in Central Texas. Those…

What to Know About June Bugs in Austin Yards

By Nolan Gore / April 2, 2025

TL;DR: • June bugs = no big deal (unless there’s a lot) • Their babies = turf-killing grubs • Now’s a good time to keep an eye out • We’ve got grub control if you need it What to Know About June Bugs in Austin Yards (And why they’re crashing your porch light party) It’s…

Types of Grass

By The Top Choice Team / March 17, 2025

Central Texas Grass Though we do not think about it much, our climate has a big impact on our life, and your grass is a big part of your personal climate!  In Austin (the southernmost state capital in the US of A!), we have a lot of benefits from our temperate weather.  Sandals and Shorts…

Preparing Your Irrigation for Spring

By The Top Choice Team / March 7, 2025

Spring is the perfect season to prepare your automatic sprinkler system for effectively watering your lawn and landscape for another year. We suggest looking at your irrigation system at least four times a year. At minimum, one of those should be by a professional. Good times to consider are before starting in spring, before the…