Great lawn care is something many homeowners take a lot of pride in. Maintaining your garden and lawn to keep them in pristine condition can be a very satisfying thing. You don’t have to own a lawn care business to enjoy a beautiful, lush, green lawn or well-groomed garden. Having a yard that looks great can be its own reward and well worth the effort if it’s something you enjoy.
Luckily you don’t have to have the resources and manpower lawn care businesses have to use their tips and make your yard look even better. Lawn care businesses often share their tips with homeowners both online and in person.
If you’re wondering what they suggest when it comes to maintaining your garden and lawn keep reading. Here are five awesome ideas to maintain your garden and lawn that are ready to help you take your lawn care to the next level.
1. Go Easy In The Spring
When the snow melts and it’s tempting to get started raking up dead leaves and grass, it’s okay to head out into your yard and get to work. Just remember the ground is still wet even if the top layer feels pretty dry. This means your lawn is still pretty vulnerable and can be easily damaged. When it comes to cleaning up your yard in the springtime, go easy.
If areas of your lawn are matted down and tough to rake, leave them until the ground is a little more sturdy and ready to handle a tougher raking job. It’s understandable that you want to get your yard in top-notch shape as soon as possible but going too hard when the lawn is still thawing and recovering from the winter will result in a worse overall look later in the season.
2. Don’t Mow Too Short
Your lawn should be mowed to look good of course, but when you’re mowing make sure you aren’t cutting your lawn too short. When you mow aim to only cut about the top third of the grass blades. Shorter lawns are not as equipped to handle dry spells and they show off imperfections in a very obvious manner.
If your lawn gets overdried due to a drought in the summer, you’ll have a better chance of camouflaging imperfections with blades that are longer. Longer grass also gives your lawn a plusher carpet-like feel and look. So when you’re mowing, remember not to go too short. Keep your lawn longer for a better look.
3. Sharpen Your Mower Blades
While you’re thinking about mowing, this tip will come in handy too. It’s easy to get so focused on your yard you forget to think about the tools you’re using to maintain it. When it comes to your lawn mower, it’s best to make sure your blades are as sharp as possible. Sharper blades mean a better-looking lawn.
Dull blades chew and rip your grass instead of actually cutting it. This can lead to your grass being vulnerable to pests and decay. Since you definitely want to avoid either of those things taking a few minutes to check the sharpness of your mower blades is a great idea. A blade of grass that’s actually cut, not ripped or torn will look better and be healthier.
4. Redraw Your Garden Beds In The Springtime
If you’ve been thinking about making your garden beds bigger (and maybe cutting down on a little extra mowing) spring is the time to do that. The ground will still be soft and easy to manipulate, and you won’t have to put as much effort into cutting into it to expand your gardens. You can even use a garden hose as a guide for where to use a sharp edger to make your cuts.
Place the garden hose where you would like to expand your garden bed. The hose will be easy to manipulate and shape into whatever your desired look is for the garden bed. If you want to add curves or bends the hose will move easily and still give you a good idea of where to cut.
Then use your edging tool to start cutting into the ground and removing the grass, leaving behind bare dirt ready for your new larger garden. When the ground is tougher and not as easy to manipulate you’ll be glad you decided to do this part of the gardening early on.
5. Water Your Garden The Right Way
When it comes to watering your garden you want to make sure you’re giving your plants plenty of water, especially if they’re young and still getting rooted. The thing to keep in mind is that you shouldn’t water the leaves of the plants, for several reasons.
First of all, the leaves don’t need water, so there’s little point in spraying the leaves themselves. You also risk the leaves getting wet enough to develop mold or start rotting, which means you’ll have a sick plant on your hands. No one wants that, especially when you’re going for a yard that looks amazing.
Stick to getting water at the base of the plant and avoid soaking the leaves as much as possible. Your plants will be healthier, look better, and you’ll be much happier with how your garden looks.
Keeping your lawn and garden looking great can be quite enjoyable when it results in having a yard that looks amazing. It could even be the yard that’s the envy of your neighborhood. If you’ve been looking for ways to up your game you have some great tips on where to start now. Keep what you’ve learned in mind and get out there to start working on your lawn.
After you’ve put in the effort and used the new tips you’ve learned here make sure you take time to enjoy your beautiful yard. Take some time to relax outside and maybe invite some neighbors over for a cook-out. Make sure you’re spending enough time out in your beautiful well-groomed yard while the weather is nice. You’ve definitely earned it.