Caring For Your Lawn Garden
When it comes to making sure that the landscape around your home stays in top condition, one of the key items to take care of is the lawn garden area. It is important that proper maintenance is done to keep the back and front lawn, and the garden healthy and looking good because in most cases, the lawn is the largest and most visible aspect of a property.
Watering the lawn and garden is one of the most important parts of good lawn maintenance. In some parts of the country, there is enough rainfall so that the roots are properly supplied with moisture. But even in what would be considered soggy areas, such as the Pacific Northwest, there are periods or dry weather and no rain. When this happens, it is vital to the survival of the lawns that they be properly watered.
The first sign of an impending drought condition of the lawn garden area of your landscaping is a change in color. The grass in lawns that are suffering from insufficient moisture will start to lose their intense greenness and will soon turn to a straw color, or even brown if the lack of moisture persists.
The best time of day to water a lawn or garden is during the coolest part of the day. This means that turning on the lawn sprinkler early in the morning or in the evening after the sun has set is best. Garden lawn experts also say that the rotary sprinklers provide the best coverage if you don’t have a built in sprinkler system for your lawn maintenance.
In most cases, it is best to water your lawn just once a week, unless the weather is extremely hot or dry. When doing your weekly watering, you can place an empty tuna can on the grass and let the water run until it is filled up. This will help you know when you have watered enough to give the deep roots enough moisture without over watering. Watering in this way will also help your lawns develop a deep root system which will also help them survive periods of drought.
Another aspect of lawn and garden maintenance is proper fertilization and weed control. Good basic maintenance techniques will go a long way in keeping the lawns of your home and garden healthy, thriving and with few weeds. Spring is the best time to fertilize lawns as this is when the grass is “waking up” and will need the extra nutrients from the fertilizer to assure healthy growth. The best garden lawn fertilizers will have a combination of nitrogen, phosphates and potash.
Often, it is very beneficial to do another round of fertilization of your lawn garden in the summer months to give your lawns a better chance of gaining the nutrients that will make them hearty. Using a fertilizer that also contains some weed killer can also reduce your work by keeping the weeds in check. This combination of a well-fed lawn and a light herbicide will control most of the weed problems so that you can enjoy your home, gardens and lawns with your friends and family.
No building is complete without some grass, a few plants and some shrubbery to help enhance the quality of the building. The added value of curb appeal can make the difference when selling a house or increasing the value of a home. Any small amounts help and you don’t have to always use a professional to complete the landscaping for you. It never hurts to have some professional advice or a little bit of knowledge before you start ripping up your front yard, though. A few trees, some nice green grass and you will have it down pat before you know it. Who knows? Maybe you will decide it as a career that you might be curious in pursuing. The following are some of the frequently asked question people have for landscaping so that you can have an idea of how landscaping is done and how it can be easier than you might think.
When should I hire a landscaper?
You should employ a landscaper if you don’t have a “green thumb” and you are not going to have the time to devote to getting rid of the old landscape and planting the new. There are certain steps that must be put into place to stop the erosion of soil so it will need at a minimum a weekend of difficult work. Landscaper’s are not inexpensive but you can find one at a sensible cost depending on how large the area is and how much labor you intend to complete yourself. If you are going to upkeep the area, you will save money as well.
What qualifications should I search for in a superior landscaper?
An established landscaper will have a photography album of all the landscape designs that he or she has created. The typically will have a background with an education in landscape architecture or have a great deal of actual experience in landscaping. If you want to see an actual landscape they have designed and planted, the landscaper should not balk at showing you or providing you with the particulars to contact the owner of the property. It is in their best interest to have content and satisfied clients.
How do I decide which type to plant?
The type of plant you choose will depend on your environmental condition and the amount of water you want to use. It will also be dependent on the amount of sun that your receives throughout the day. Some plants thrive in the shade while others will wilt. For those people who live in drought prone areas, they should think about planting plants that are hardy that need small amounts of water and actually help maintain the soil from erosion. Many individuals elect to have rock gardens and cactus if they happen to live in desert climates.
When is the ideal planting season?
The ideal planting season depends on what kind of plant you wish to grow. The best time to plany bulbs is in the fall so that they have the necessary time to root. Other types of plants are best suited to planting during the spring months. Some plants will not produce flowers or fruits for at least one or two seasons later so you need to get ready for this. Trees will have to work through several years before they become large enough to provide adequate shade or to produce fruit.
How much will it cost to landscape my home?
Without knowing how large your yard is, what condition the ground is and what type of plants you want to place in your yard it is impossible to estimate how much it will cost. You can take a general guess that it will be at least five hundred dollars and can easily go upwards of several thousand dollars for exotic plants and features which are complex. A landscaper can give you an estimate for the cost.
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