Caring For Your Lawn Garden

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Wednesday, February 18th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed

When people drive up to someone’s home, the first thing almost everyone’s eye is drawn to is the lawn garden and how well it is being maintained. There is just nothing more beautiful than perfectly manicured lawns. However, if they are not in good shape and are not well maintained, then it can reflect badly on the rest of the landscape design and on the homeowner as well.

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 realestate is finished without some type of grass, as well as some forms of shruberry to help enhance the overall 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. Some trees, some pleasant green grass, and you will get it down pat before you know it Who knows? Maybe you will consider it as a career that you may be interested in following. Below there are some basic frequently asked questions of landscaping so that you can get some idea of how landscaping is completed and how it might be simpler than you may think.

Can I do my own landscaping?

Yes, you can do your own landscaping if you have a small amount of information on how to get it done and if set aside the time to do so. You will be getting your hands dirty. Plus you will need to have knowledge of what plants are the best for your terrain. If you are producing structures that are man-made such as ponds or decks, you will have to have some carpentry as well as plumbing skills. You will also have to know how to maintain the pond because the last thing you need after putting in all that work is to produce a body of water filled up with mosquito larvae and algae.

Perennials and annuals – What makes them different?

Both are, certainly, plants although the difference is in the time span in which they last and how frequently you have to plant them again. Annuals need to be replanted eash year. Some examples of annuals are any type of vegetable, sunflowers and flowers such as violets. Perennials are plants that will renew themselves. Some examples would be trees, bulb plants such as lilies, tulips and include roses and other hardy plants that become inactive in the winter months. Most grasses which are ornamental are thought to be perennials.

How do I decide which type to plant?

The kind of plant you select will be contingent upon on your climate and how much you want to water. It will also be dependent on how much sun that your gets during the day. Some plants thrive in the shade when others will wilt. For those people who reside in drought prone areas, they should think about planting hardy plants which require little water and actually help preserve the soil from process of erosion. Numerous individuals elect to have rock gardens as well as cactus if they happen to live in desert climates.

When is the ideal planting season?

The ideal planting season is dependent upon what variation of plant you wish to grow. Bulbs are best planted in the fall so that they have the necessary time to root within the soil. Other types of plants are more suitable to planting in the months of the spring. There are some plants will not produce flowers or fruits until one or two seasons later so you have to get ready for this. Trees will have to go through several years prior to them becoming big enough to furnish enough shade or create 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 at a minimum of around five hundred dollars and can easily run upwards of several thousand dollars for plants that are exotic and intricate features. A landscaper can give you an estimate for the cost.

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