There’s nothing like owning a beautiful lawn for everyone to see. Whether you have a sod lawn or you choose to seed your lawn, keep your lawn in tiptop shape by following these lawn design and care tips.
Did you know lawns are the top grown crop in the United States?
Are you looking for some tips to keep your lawn in pristine shape this summer? Not to worry! In this guide, we’ll go over lawn design and care methods.
Want to learn more? Keep reading to find out.
Lawn Design and Care
Organize your lawn plans before you plant any saplings. You’ll want to know where pathways, seating areas, and garages go.
Make sure you keep a small space of your lawn available for future upgrades. You might want to add a gazebo, water feature, area with artificial grass, or swing down the road. This will give you flexibility for any last-minute changes.
1. Use Your Leaf Blower
When you have a lot of foliage around your garden, you’ll want a manual rake and leaf blower. Make sure you get rid of fallen autumn leaves. This will prevent rotting of grass in the wintertime.
Don’t use your leaf blower on recent pesticides, gravel, or loose soil. This will help prevent toxic dust clouds.
2. Select Diverse Vegetation
Pick a range of saplings that will bloom in various seasons. Have fun with different colors like purple and blue rose bushes.
Introduce flowers that will bloom in the summer months. If you want a low maintenance shrubbery, pick a native species of plants.
Include a mix of grasses and plants in your lawn. A diverse landscape is easier to maintain and is better for the environment.
If you have a leaning tree, you might need to uproot it. Green Tops Tree Service help with dangerous tree removal.
3. Add Lighting and Seating
Increase the charm of your garden by installing a path with crushed concrete or bricks. Add benches and patios for seating. Consider highlighting the walkways with landscape LED lighting.
You could also choose organic lighting instead. Install solar fairy lights that will create a cozy atmosphere for gatherings. Place a fountain in the center of your lawn.
4. Grass Care Tips
Fertilize your grass in the fall before cold months. Large plants need fertilization in warmer months in the spring. Line your garden beds with mulch. This will keep the soil fertilized and help prevent any weeds from growing.
Weeds will hog nutrients and moisture from the soil. Try and uproot them to stop their growth.
Fresh fertilizer has nitrogen in it that can cause the grass to yellow. To avoid yellow patches of grass, make sure you dilute the area of lawn you fertilize. Douse the area with water to prevent this from happening.
Keep some grass clippings on your lawn because they provide nutrients to your yard.
Make sure you aerate compacted soil in the fall. This will help air, water, and nutrients reach the plant roots. In thin areas, sow new seeds over thinned areas or tough spots.
5. Flowerbed Design
For something different, make curved edges around your flowers. Use slate tiles, flagstones, and crushed rock, so your landscaping appears natural. Don’t choose plastic edging because it deteriorates after exposure to sunlight.
Consider planting lavender or lemongrass around your house. They will release a soothing scent and also act as insecticides.
6. Use Small Pebbles in Flowerbeds
You can add pebbles or crushed stones to your flowerbeds. These stones come in many different colors and sizes. Change the color throughout the seasons. These stones can help prevent weed growth.
7. Setting Soil
If you plan to plant a new lawn, take time to prepare the area well. Haul out weeds and make sure the soil won’t lump together. Try and test the pH of the soil. You can pick up a test kit at your local nursery.
Strip the area of weeds and rake them out by the roots. Rototill six inches down to loosen the soil and aid drainage. Add compost and loan to enrich the soil. Use a roller to pack down soil and grade your lawn with a metal rake.
8. Seed or Sod
You could roll out a carpet of sod. It’s the quickest route to a stunning lawn, but it’s expensive. Another option is to seed your lawn by yourself. Do it by hand or with a method called hydroseeding.
Farmers sow their massive fields by hydroseeding. It disperses the seeds in an even manner.
9. Mowing Height
Lawnmowers allow you to maintain your turf. Make sure you don’t use it too often; otherwise, you could create bald or patchy grass spots. Weeds will grow in these areas fast.
If you mow your lawn too short, the grass becomes stressed. Raise your mower to the highest notch ensuring only the top part of the grass’s cut.
Taller grass creates better root development. It also shades the ground, so the soil doesn’t dry out fast. Longer grass blocks out sunlight weed seeds need for germination.
10. Water Your Lawn Well
Make sure you don’t wet your lawn with a shallow watering but instead once a week. If the roots soak in a deep manner, you can prevent thatch.
You can also prevent chinch bugs that attach to dry and stressed out lawns. To decide how much water you’ll need, take into account the type of soil you have. Sandy soils dry fast whereas clay soils tend to hold moisture for a longer period.
For a recently seeded lawn, water every day for up to ten minutes. You want to dampen the seeds but not force them to wash away.
Want to Learn More?
We hope you found this article on lawn design insightful. Set aside time to make a plan for your lawn care this year.
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