Hydroscape Inc's Lawn Care Guide

A properly manicured lawn landscape is one of the best perks of living in a house out in the suburbs, as opposed to an apartment in the city. And aside from looking great, it can increase the value of your home by as much as 20%.

Of course, you can only achieve such benefits if you devote the time and effort to properly taking care of your lawn.

Don’t worry, though, as lawn landscaping is easy once you know the basics. But keep in mind that, just like anything in life, preparation goes a long way.

So to further prepare you, here are some tips to help you become a master landscaper in no time! Note that how you approach landscaping depends on each season. Your landscaping goals and tasks in summer and spring would be very different.

Early Spring

Early spring landscaping is all about preparation. Your lawn is just coming out of winter hibernation, and it needs some TLC pretty soon. Be sure you're fully prepared to give your yard precisely that!

The first order of business is to clean up your lawn. Leaves, branches, and other things might have accumulated under all that snow. It would help if you raked as soon as possible, or you risk overwhelming the rest of your lawn throughout Spring.

You'll also need to trim your grass soon, and this is where you whip out the lawnmower. But before you do, don't forget to tune it up first! You haven't used it for some time, and the winter cold might have damaged it. Check to see if the spark plugs and air filters need replacing.

Also, see if the mower blades are already dull. Blunt edges can’t cut grass cleanly, which can leave jagged grass that discolors your lawn. Lastly, it's a good idea to refill the gas in your lawnmower for optimal performance.

Spring

Spring is where growth starts, so be prepared to do your first mow. However, make sure the grass is dry enough before you do. Mowing wet grass can clog up your mower’s blades, not to mention it’s a risk for spreading disease all over your lawn.

If you live in a more temperate climate, experts recommend fertilizing in Spring rather than fertilizing in Summer. Ideally, you'll apply it just as your grass begins to grow. If you live in a colder part of the world, however, it's better to apply fertilizer during Fall instead.

At the same time as promoting grass growth, you’d also want to minimize the growth of weeds. A pre-emergent herbicide is essential in these cases. It’s best to wait until the ground reaches the right temperature before applying (about 58 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature at which most weeds start to thrive).

To maximize all the water and nutrients seeping into the soil, aerating it is a good idea. You can use a garden fork or aeration machine to poke holes in the ground.

Summer

Summer is the period of the rapid growth of your lawn plants. Hence, this is all the season where your lawnmower will get pretty busy. However, it’s important not to mow your lawn too short. The perfect mower setting to use is about 3 inches. You must not remove more than one-third of the grass blade.

There are also specific watering strategies your professional landscaping company can use to ensure your grass grows at the ideal height. It's generally better to water your lawn infrequently but deeply, rather than regularly. It promotes shallow root growth and, therefore, shorter grass.

At the minimum, your lawn must get a minimum of 1 inch of water every week. Not doing this will cause the grass to go brown and dormant.

Pests will also start to become a problem during the warmer temperature of summer.

The culprit is usually the larvae of beetles. The larvae cause brown patches to form on affected parts of your lawn. If you want to verify if you have a grub problem, check under the sod of affected areas. You should see C-shaped worms. Worst case, you might need to apply a chemical pesticide into these areas.

Fall

Fall lawn care is all about preparing for the coming winter. Smart landscapers, however, start thinking about spring at this time.

Apart from that, it is all about cleaning and prep work. It would help if you raked excessive leaves that might fall to the ground regularly. You can also prepare the soil by aerating it using a garden fork or shovel.

If you find any dead spots on your lawn, you can also seed it at this time. Keep the patch that you seed moist throughout by watering it regularly or sprinkling grass clippings.

If you live in an area with a cold winter, now would be an excellent time to apply fertilizer for the following year's spring season. You can also use compost at this stage to further enrich the soil.

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