Garden guide

Maintenance trimming is generally possible all year round, provided no nesting birds are disturbed. Heavy pruning should take place outside the breeding season, roughly from October to February. Check whether nests are occupied before every cut.

The main pruning takes place in spring, when severe frosts are no longer expected – a well-known rule of thumb is when forsythia blooms. In summer, faded flowers and weak shoots are removed.

Traditional winter pruning takes place after leaf fall on frost-free days and encourages growth. Summer pruning curbs vigorous growth. Stone fruit trees such as cherries are often pruned after harvest.

Cherry laurel is considered invasive in Switzerland. Depending on the location, good native alternatives include hornbeam, yew, privet, field maple or a mixed wildlife hedge.

Low-growing species such as calamint, hyssop and violets have proved effective right beside paths, with woodland sage and anise hyssop a little further back. Early in the year, daphne and lily of the valley provide fragrance. Location is key: fragrant plants are best appreciated where people pass them – beside a seating area, steps or the front door.

On rendered or insulated façades, climbing plants grow best on an offset structure of tensioned wires or wooden trellises with a 10 to 20 cm air gap from the wall. Self-clinging climbers such as ivy or Virginia creeper should only be used on solid masonry without render, as their clinging roots can damage render and insulation. First check whether the structure can support the additional weight when the plants are in full leaf.

As a rule, a thorough watering of around 15 to 20 litres per square metre every seven to ten days is sufficient – it is better to water generously and infrequently than a little every day. Young plants, containers and sandy soils need water more often, while mulched beds need significantly less.

Grass clippings, leaves, twigs, fruit and vegetable waste, coffee grounds and crushed eggshells: alternate green and brown material, keeping it as moist as a wrung-out sponge. Meat and cooked food, diseased plant material, weeds with seeds and larger quantities of ash do not belong in it.

In many municipalities, rainwater should soak into the ground on site. Open sand joints, permeable jointing mortar or grass-jointed paving are therefore a simple solution. We clarify your municipality’s requirements before preparing a quote – otherwise, a sealed surface needs an additional drain.

Slug collars around individual stems, early-sprouting berry varieties, daily collection in the evening and a diverse community of beneficial organisms work more reliably than scatter treatments. Use pellets only in targeted spots and in small quantities.

In the city of Zurich, Grün Stadt Zürich contributes through the «Stadtgrün» funding programme with one-off grants covering 50 percent of the total costs per measure, up to Fr. 1 000 000 – for vertical and roof greening, ecological improvements to outdoor spaces, removal of existing sealed surfaces, tree planting and preservation of existing trees. Maintenance can also be co-funded: the two-year establishment care of a planting scheme and the four-year development care of newly planted trees can be included in the funding on request, but require a separate application. A prerequisite is a nature-friendly design with predominantly native plants – at least 80 % in our case – and no invasive non-native plants. The former programmes «Mehr als Grün» and «Vertikalbegrünung» are now included in it. Important: the application must be submitted electronically through the city’s web portal before construction begins, and the funded measure must be retained and professionally maintained for ten years. Geiser Gartenbau compiles the required documents and submits the applications for you.

Yes. Geiser Gartenbau provides garden maintenance and tree and hedge pruning in Zurich and the surrounding area – as a one-off service or regular maintenance. Contact us for a no-obligation consultation.