Dear Friends,
This winter has been brutally cold. Unlike last winter (which was also very cold), we've had the moisture to go with it. I think that this is the most snow plowing we've done since 2015! The good news is that the long term temperature forecast appears to pull us out of the ice ages. Spring is right around the corner!
Another beautiful New England Spring will soon be here. The days are getting longer, the sun is getting higher. Our goal, as always, is to begin our season around the first day of spring. This past Fall Clean Up season was a success, but the last couple weeks were fierce. Mother Nature challenged us with brutal wind and cold temperatures. We battled through it all and reached the finish line. Though it was a rather unpleasant experience.
On the cover of your 2026 spring letter, you will see our beloved Anthony D'Eramo. You might recognize Anthony from servicing your lawn over the years. Anthony suffered a sudden medical episode in December 2025. About one week later, he left this world as we know it. We were devastated. Even to this day, none of this feels real. Anthony D'Eramo was a resident of Sherborn and somehow he knew everyone one way or another. He was quite literally the heart and soul of R&R Landscaping. He had a heart of gold and would do anything for anyone. This has been an incredibly difficult time for the R&R Landscaping team and for Anthony's family, of course. This year simply won't be the same without him. Anthony will never be forgotten. Our brother has been lost.
Please see pictures of the next generation of future landscapers, Spencer Read. Spencer turns 5 and a half years old on 3/1/26. He enjoys reading books, making puzzles, and anything to do with Halloween & Skeletons! Spencer Read no longer aspires to be a landscaper. He has decided that he wants to be a mechanical engineer someday. His main focus will be creating "animatronic" characters for Spirit Halloween stores. Every day is Halloween back here on the home front. He is very tall, so a professional basketball player is still a possibility. He is very chatty and has trouble focusing. He definitely gets that from me!
Inside this mailer, please also find a postcard with information about my wife Dr. Read and her business partner Dr. Crosier's new animal hospital. Upper Charles Animal Hospital can be found right next door in Bellingham. Unlike many practices, U.C.A.H. is welcoming new clients daily! I am incredibly proud of them both and their career path has been nothing short of inspiring to me. They are highly recommended, of course.
The 2016 Washington Street home base garage is finally coming together. After an extremely challenging year of continued permitting and financing process, we finally broke ground in mid-October. The additional 1875 square feet of indoor space is much needed. It will allow for us to conduct our business seamlessly and utilizes the lay of the land better than before. Our goal is to have the roof installed by the end of this week.
In no particular order, I have just a couple key notes from the office. Billing is always done on a monthly basis, after each month is completed. While your invoice reflects a particular date in the top right corner, this date indicates the month of actual service. The send out date of invoices will vary based on the time of year, but the goal is to send them out on the first of the month. Because some invoices tend to be the same recurring amount (especially during the mowing season), we urge you to make a memo on your end to indicate the month in which you are paying for. This will make it easier for you to remember which months have been paid. Quickbooks will always apply your payment to the oldest invoice that carries a matching balance. Because we do not have a traditional store front counter and many services are recurring, it can be easy to lose track of your current balance. A statement can always be provided to you at any time upon request. Pertaining to our spring return postcard, the return addresses reflect the actual property being serviced as we recognize them. They are done this way to enable us to create our master lists faster and easier. Finally, we still only accept mail at 45 Pleasant Street. Our mailbox is on the fence by the sidewalk if you so choose to drop off a payment in person. We do not accept mail at 2016 Washington Street.
In order to prepare for the start of this season we need to know what your needs are. To get things started we will first get the lawns cleaned up. We also offer a dethatching service to go with this. Dethatching the lawn is done just prior to the Spring Clean Up. The dethatcher acts as a comb for the lawn and pulls up the weakest grass, as well as some of that pesky moss. It lets the grass breathe and also lets in sunlight. We suggest the dethatching service as part of your Spring Clean Up as it is well worth the minimal increase in price. Because Clean Ups can get dusty, we do our best on warm days to ask that you close your windows while we perform our work. It also really helps allow us to do a more thorough job if cars are moved from the driveway and children's toys are put aside while we clean the lawn up. No one loves dogs more than the R&R team. For those with dogs that frequent the lawn, we require to schedule ahead to avoid working through large amounts of dog waste. We require the same preparation during regular lawn cutting season as well. Thank you very much!
We also offer aeration with over seeding and lawn restoration as part of our spring program too. While aeration and/or lawn restoration can be done in the spring or fall, fall typically yields better long term growth success. We offer this option in the spring because we understand that many of you would prefer not to wait until fall.
There is nothing like the smell of fresh cut grass and recently spread bark mulch. Lawn Mowing will begin around the end of April as usual. Bark mulching can be done at any time, but we typically begin spreading mulch around the end of April too. We continue to spread mulch through mid-summer. If you have a time line in mind for your bark mulch, please specify this in the notes. Getting mulch put down very early before the growing season is not advised. If you are signing up for bark mulch, please specify which type you prefer. All of our mulch applications include a generous sprinkle of Preen weed preventer. If you do not want Preen weed preventer, please specify this in your notes! We have always been very happy with the results from using Preen.
We will continue to use Weston Nurseries as our new mulch supplier. While Hemlock mulch costs a few dollars more per yard, it also weighs less than Pine so it is quicker for us to apply it. For that reason, we urge you to choose the mulch color that you like the best! If a mulch type is not selected on the return postcard when we get it back from you, we will default back to the best matching type for your existing mulch beds.
We also highly recommend our routine hand weeding visits for the duration of the growing season to keep those beds from becoming filled in with weeds. While Preen is a great value and certainly helps with weed prevention, nothing compares to the elbow grease in our visits. Routine hand weeding is kept up with about every 3 weeks at our lowest hourly rate. This program begins in the late spring and ends around the first frost in October. Our college help loves pulling weeds!
We have again revised our applications program this year to help give you the lawn you deserve. If you opt for the 8 step fertilizer program (with weed, insect & grub control), you are getting 5 applications of fertilizer plus 3 added prevention treatments in combination. If you opt for the 5 step fertilizer program, you are getting just fertilizer.
The 8 step program consists of the following. Step 1 is a fertilizer combo with Pre-Emergent for crabgrass prevention. It is applied in mid-April (depending on our season start time). Please know that our Step 1 is safe for new seeding! Step 2 is a fertilizer combo with another multi weed preventer, plus grub control too! It is applied in mid-May. Step 3 is just a fertilizer, applied in mid-June. Step 4 is a fertilizer combo with insect control. It is applied in late-August. Step 5 is just a fertilizer, applied in early-October. Like in past years, lime has no relation to the fertilizer program. Lime is applied once in the spring and once in the fall. Lime is your best defense against moss. Feel free to reach out with any questions! "Grub Control Only" is no longer a solo option. It is only offered as part of the 8 step fertilizer program as it was rarely selected on its own in past years.
As we approach summer we will begin bush pruning season. We suggest multiple rounds of pruning for fast growing bushes. If this option is selected on the return postcard, your pruning service will be done early (1st round) and late (2nd round) in season. This year, we are now offering a 3rd round of bush pruning in an effort to stay on top of fastest growing bushes. At this time we ask that home owners who receive our lawn mowing service cut back the encroaching woods line of their lawn perimeter. An encroaching woods line makes it difficult for the team to cut grass under low hanging branches. We can handle this service if you are unable to do so. Cutting back the woods line will happen at any time in late summer or in the fall when time permits. Bush pruning is our priority of these two services.
When summer transitions into fall, it is again time for aerating and/or lawn restoration. By poking holes and removing plugs from the soil, aeration relieves compaction and introduces oxygen into the root zone. In time, the pulled dirt plugs will soften and reapply themselves to the base of the lawn. This is an excellent opportunity to over seed and starter fertilize your lawn. If you choose aeration or lawn restoration service, please let us know if you have irrigation or invisible dog fence so we can plan accordingly. We need this information as not to damage those systems!
For larger bald patches or sparse grass portions of your lawn, we would also recommend lawn restoration the good old fashioned way. We use a quality organic compost, grass seed and starter fertilizer. Over the last few years, we have transitioned away from a heavier screened loam to a lighter compost mix. Compost requires far less labor time to put down and it is richer in nutrients. This is something I wish we had done years ago! Fall is the best time of year for seeding. While spring seeding is an option, the risk of failure is a little higher with the summer heat to follow. If monitored properly, both seasons can be successful for lawn repairs. Summer seeding is never advised.
Both aeration and lawn restoration options are performed during the early spring and early fall. They both have their great benefits with the same goals in mind. Aeration with over seeding and starter fertilizer is a good budget option. Lawn restoration is a little more labor and materials intensive. For those of you who opt for lawn restoration, this service will also include aeration as part of it!
Our Fall Leaf Clean Up season is restricted to a very small window of time. Fall Clean Up season is our busiest 5-6 weeks of our entire season. The time frame between the last leaves to fall and first snow to fall typically overlap. Especially with those stubborn beech and oak trees. For those of you that typically have late falling leaves, please consider more than one round of a Fall Clean Up. On an average, having your leaves cleaned up twice versus once will cost roughly 50% more in total. Having your leaves cleaned up three times versus once will cost roughly 100% more in total. Multiple visits will keep your lawn looking tidy longer, instead of waiting until the last minute for your only visit. This lowers the risk of your lawn not getting a Fall Clean Up at all due to possible early snow. Your neighbors will appreciate it and so will we!
As a reminder, we only offer curbside leaf pick up if it is done in conjunction with an R&R performed fall clean up service.
Please find a separate inserted letter in this package that pertains specifically to the future of snow plowing services. If you plan to use our snow plowing service in 2026/2027, it will be necessary to read this insert. For those of you interested in snow plowing, we urge you to please sign up early so that we can plan accordingly. We only have so many spots in our routes and we have been at maximum capacity for longer than I can remember. We expect to finalize our snow plowing routes early!
For anyone that uses our snow plow service, the installation of fiberglass or wooden driveway snow stakes is mandatory. Snow stakes are expected to be installed by 11/1/26. After that date, our team will be installing snow stakes to all driveways (for a small fee) that have not yet been staked. While snow stakes are not a guaranteed way to prevent lawn damage, they do help. Ultimately the snow needs to be pushed off of the driveway which presents risk to the lawn, but stakes offer guidance as to where your driveway boundaries are. This will help keep our team safe and should help limit damages to your property.
We offer two "trigger" options for snow plowing. For snow storms which accumulate to roughly 2" or more, this would be considered our Main Snow Plowing route. In this case, everyone who signed up would receive service. For snow storms with any accumulation at all, this would be considered our Zero Tolerance Snow Plowing route. This route is suggested to anyone who may have difficulty with their footing, or those who have a driveway which is steep in incline or decline. Some driveways can be very unsafe with just a minor snow accumulation. Especially if the snow is mixed and is followed by a back freeze. As part of an effort to improve your snow plowing service, we will be moving to 5" tier pricing. We have found that most snow service groups are billing on a 3" and 4" pricing system. We feel that a 5" pricing system is fair, reasonable and gives us room to grow.
Hand shoveling in front of garage doors is always included with snow plowing. We also offer shoveling to your preferred walkway and stairs. If you need shoveling done, please select this option on the postcard. Shoveling is only offered for homes that use our snow plowing service. If you received shoveling last winter but do NOT want it done next winter, it must be specified (by you) in the notes! This option is often overlooked on the postcards.
We have provided a pre-paid, self-addressed post card with this letter. These cards list most of the typical landscaping work that we offer. Please check off any of the jobs you would like to have done. Please also note any extra work you may need done around your property. For our customers that get the same work done annually, you can expect the cost to be fairly similar to last year. We expect our biggest challenges will be our own rising costs and staffing shortages. We ask that all post cards be returned ASAP so that we can plan our season accordingly. We do not take ANY work for granted. We very much appreciate your business, and hope to see you soon!
Sincerely,
James E. Read
2/11/2026