Four Ways You Can Prepare for Your Landscaping Ideas

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During winter, each one of use laments and complains about the cold temperatures and how we can’t do anything about our landscapes since everything is covered with snow. However, things usually change as soon as spring sets in, and we want to increase our curb appeal. Does any of these make sense to you? Of course, it does. What most people miss out is lack of preparation even as they wait to landscape the outdoor space.

Understand that custom landscaping ideas won’t just appear from nowhere. You must prepare properly so as to avoid any frustrations on work delays as well as unnecessary expenses. Working with a professional lawn care and landscaping company like Liberty Lawn New Braunfels can make everything easier for you. So, how do you prepare or get ready for your custom landscaping?

Consider mapping the permanent structures within your yard

Even as you make the necessary plans, remember that your custom landscaping is likely to affect some areas of your yard.  The best way to know the areas that could be most affected is to take time and take stock of all the permanent structures on your property. You’ll need to evaluate your landscape and lawn so that you can know how and where to position or rather place future plants and structures.

Clear Out any Diseased or Dead Plant Life

It’s not a good idea to implement any landscaping ideas when some of the existing plants are either diseased or dead. It’s, therefore, important that you inspect and check if there are any diseased plants before implementing any changes in your yard. If there’s any, consider removing them to prevent the diseases from spreading to other trees including the new shrubs and trees you intend to add to your beautiful lawn.

Prune and Trim Trees and other Plants that will remain

Once you’ve removed any diseased and dead plants from your yard, it’s time to also do something about the remaining, healthy trees. In this case, you’re supposed to trim and prune any weak, dead, dying, and diseased limbs and branches from the plants and trees that you want to keep. Trimming and pruning are tasks that should be left for professionals to avoid causing any damage to your property or even causing serious injuries.

Don’t forget to Clean-up the Leaves and other Debris

As part of your lawn care and maintenance practices, you should remove and clean-up any leaves and debris in your lawn. You may wonder what it is that we’re referring to as debris in this case is. Well, this includes any pieces of rock, weeds, leaves, dead plants, and any other item that can be moved.

Consider hiring a professional lawn care and landscaping company when preparing your yard for custom landscaping.

How to Achieve a Perfect Lawn

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Many homeowners want to have a perfect lawn, yet they believe it’s impossible. Or, let’s just say they’ve been trying to create one without any success. Creating a lush, green, healthy lawn is something that can be achieved. Each spring, homeowners across the country spend much of their valuable time during weekends trying to take care and maintain their lawns. As much as you’re used to doing everything by yourself, hiring professionals can relieve you and allow you to have time for other important things. Well, let’s look at some of the things that can help you grow and build a perfect lawn in your residential or commercial property.

Get the Mowing Height Right and Stay Sharp

Mowing your lawn isn’t just about getting that mower on the grass every weekend. First, you must ensure that the mower blades are sharp, whether you’re using a lawn tractor or a walk-behind mower. Dull blades will leave jagged ends on your grass and can be entryways for diseases. Secondly, be sure to cut the grass to the recommended (one-third of the grass leaves) height. In summer, you may need to mow once a week while in early spring mowing once in every 4 or 5 days should do.

Pay Attention to the Water

How much water does your lawn need? Turf grasses need about an inch of water every seven days (one week). If your area isn’t receiving much rainfall, you’ll need to supply water to your lawn. Consider placing a one-inch container in your lawn, specifically at the middle, to help you avoid over-watering. It’s recommended to water your lawn in the morning so that the water can saturate your lawn.

Test the Soil and Remember to Apply Fertilizer

It’s important that you test your soil to determine whether it’s alkaline or acidic. You can have a professional do this for you. If it’s acidic, you may be required to add pulverized lime to raise the PH level. The next thing you must do is to time your fertilizer schedule and fertilize the grass so it can grow green and healthy. Don’t over-fertilize the grass. If you live in an area that experiences drought conditions, consider not applying fertilizer in summer. Don’t skip applying it in fall, however. To jump-start root growth and development, consider fertilizing in early spring. Timing is important when it comes to fertilizer application.

Prevention is the Best Way to Maintaining a Healthy Lawn

You don’t have to wait for issues or problems to develop before you can correct them. Ensure consistency in taking care of your lawn. If you notice any bare spots, repair them immediately. If you spot any weeds, apply the right herbicide. Remember to remove leaves and any debris from your lawn all year long.

Letting professionals take care and maintain your lawn is a great way to having a lush and green lawn. Professionals not only have the technical expertise to maintain your lawn but also understand what’s right and what’s wrong with your grass.

4 Signs your Lawn Needs to Be Aerated

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Achieving and maintaining a lush, green, and healthy lawn requires one to employ basic lawn maintenance practices like watering, fertilizing, and proper mowing. Another element that plays a crucial part in ensuring your lawn is healthy is aeration. What’s aeration? First, aeration is what makes it possible for water, nutrients, and air to penetrate the grass or lawn thatch. The process of aerating your lawn involves perforating the soil to allow for the penetration of nutrients, air, and water to the grass roots.

Why should you even aerate your soil in the first place? The basic reason as to why we aerate our lawns is to alleviate soil compaction. It’s important that the grass roots grow deeply so that they can produce a stronger, healthy, and more vigorous lawn. When the soil is compacted, it becomes hard for air, water, and nutrients to penetrate and circulate within the soil. So, how will you know it’s time to aerate your lawn? Here are the signs to look for.

Thick Layer of Thatch

If you see a thick layer of dead grass that has accumulated or is accumulating on your lawn, it’s clear indication your lawn needs to be aerated. That layer of organic debris or dead grass is what’s referred to as thatch. Note that a small layer of organic debris is beneficial to your lawn. However, when it becomes too thick, it creates a barrier that makes it difficult for sunshine, water, and nutrients to get to your grass. At this point, you’ll need to aerate your lawn to break up the thatch and prevent it from causing serious problems in your lawn.

Compacted Soil

As mentioned, compacted soil makes it almost impossible for nutrients, air, and water to penetrate and get to the grass roots. The soil in your lawn can be compacted as a result of foot traffic or vehicles. Without water and nutrients, your grass will end up having weak root systems thereby leaving your lawn vulnerable to disease and pest infestations, as well as drought. Aerating your soil will help create space around the grass roots thus making room for soil to spread out.

When water Starts Pooling in your Lawn

We already mentioned that water couldn’t percolate and penetrate through compacted soil. If water starts puddling up and pooling in your lawn when the sprinkler runs or after rainfall, that’s an indication that your soil needs to be aerated. This is especially true if the water is puddling up and pooling in areas where it used not to.

Sparse Grass in Parts of Your Lawn

If for the longest time you’ve had a uniform and healthy lawn in all parts, and you start seeing sparse grass or patches, it could be a sign that you need to aerate. Most likely, the soil in those areas might have been compacted as a result of so much traffic, and it’s difficult for the grass to grow healthy. If you see weeds such as chicory and quack grass in those areas, the soil is compacted and needs to be aerated.

Lawn Care: Common Mowing Mistakes to Avoid

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If you have a lawn, you know that grass cutting is a very crucial part of your lawn maintenance practices. There are many tasks that homeowners are supposed to do to ensure their lawns remain lush, green, and healthy. Remember your lawn not only makes your home attractive and beautiful but also adds value to it. Mowing is one of the practices that will help you maintain your lawn and keep it lush and green all year round. One of the things you should be concerned about is how you can mow your lawn correctly without causing any damage. That means you should know some of the mistakes to avoid and get everything right as you mow your lawn. So, here are the mistakes you should avoid the next time you’re mowing your lawn.

Cutting too short

The number one mistake that people often make is mowing their lawns more than the required height. Of course, you want to reduce the number of times or rather the frequency of mowing your lawn, but this shouldn’t be achieved by cutting too low. You should only cut about one-third of the grass blade. Cutting too much of the grass blade when mowing causes stress on your lawn and can inhibit healthy growth. When you cut the recommended height, you’ll get the best quality turf and have a healthy lawn.

Mowing with Blunt Mower Blades

As soon as the mowing season sets in, make sure your mower is in good condition. That includes sharpening the mower blades. A common mistake made by homeowners is using a mower with blunt blades to cut the grass. Failure to sharpen the mower blades before mowing your lawn will result in the shredded grass which can lead to disease and pest infestation. Make sure your mower blade is sharp and well-balanced to promote healthy turf and also avoid damaging the mower.

Bagging Clippings after Mowing

Many people have adopted this practice, but that doesn’t mean it’s beneficial to your lawn. You’d rather mulch your lawn that bag clipping. Bagging clippings are more likely to result in the development of fungus diseases which is why you need to cut to the recommended height to make it easy for the clippings to decompose. If you choose to bag your lawn, consider composting your clippings before reusing them on site.

Mowing Pattern Monotony

Don’t mow your lawn in the same pattern or direction. Doing so will mat down the grass and even inhibit healthy growth. Always vary the mowing pattern as this will help you avoid double mowing or missing out on some areas. It will also help in reducing wear on your grass and encourage healthier growth.

Blowing Grass into Sidewalks and Driveways

Blowing the grass onto your sidewalks or driveway might seem the easiest way to vacuum and clean our lawn, but there are more disadvantages to it. Freshly cut grass, when blown onto driveways or sidewalks, will stick and stain the concrete thereby making these areas look untidy. You’d rather change direction when mowing on the edges of your driveways and sidewalks to allow the grass to blow back into your yard. This saves you the energy and time of having to clean these hardscapes later.

Hiring a professional lawn care service can help take care of all your lawn mowing needs and allow you focus on other important things. Remember professionals have both the technical expertise to do this job as well as the equipment required.

4 Reasons to Hire a Professional Lawn Care Service

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How do you feel when your eyes rest on the lush, green lawn in your residential property after spending hours in the office? Of course, the assumption here is that you have a lawn at your home. If you do, you know how a well-manicured and good looking lawn can make you feel relaxed after having a tiring day at work. However, it’s important to understand that your lawn requires proper maintenance for it to remain green, lush, and good looking.

Homeowners across the United States are faced with numerous activities and tasks each day which is why hiring a professional lawn care service can help. From redesigning your landscape to mowing your lawn, and fiddling with the sprinkler system, your lawn requires so much to remain healthy and green. With your busy schedule throughout the week, you need time to spend with your loved ones during the weekend. If you’re not yet convinced about hiring a lawn care service, there are reasons why you should consider getting one.

Professional Expertise

We both know that you’re not an expert in landscaping or yard maintenance. You might have an idea of what’s supposed to be done on your landscape and lawn, but that doesn’t mean you know all the equipment needed for the various tasks. Neither can you differentiate between your garden plants and the weeds? Professionals have the experience and expertise required to maintain your lawn and make it lush and green all year round.

Do you really have the time to maintain and take care of your lawn?

It’s important that you look at your weekly or monthly schedule and ask yourself if there’s spare time to take care of all the tasks and responsibilities on your lawn. It’s likely that the spare time you have or rather your leisure time is not even enough for your loved ones. You don’t want to spend your free time mowing your lawn. Right? Hiring professionals allow you to maximize your time on other important and valuable things while your lawn is taken care of and maintained.

Save Money

Well, one of the reasons homeowners opt for DIY lawn care and maintenance is to save money. But do you know that spending money on a professional lawn care service will save you money? How is it even possible, you ask? Remember you have to purchase the necessary equipment for tasks like vacuuming up the leaves, pruning the hedges, trimming, edging the sidewalks, mowing the grass, and more. At some point, you’ll need to replace and repair this equipment which adds up to more expense. Furthermore, the fact that you’re not an expert in this job means you’re at risk of causing serious injury, property damage, or accidents while using power equipment. Hiring professionals save you from all these expenses thereby saving you money.

Certification and Liability

Professional lawn care and landscaping companies in different states of the country have certifications in the industry, which means they have experience and proper training in their work. One of the things you should consider when hiring a landscaping company is liability insurance. It’s important that you hire a lawn care company with liability insurance so you won’t have to worry about the financial burden arising from any damage caused on your property by the company.

Basic Lawn Tools

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The world of landscaping tools is vast—you could fill your garage with types of hoes alone. But you’ll have to invest money and space in basic landscaping tools to maintain and improve your property. Here are 10 must-haves.

  1. Round point shovel: Arguably the most versatile landscape tool, this shovel has a rounded and beveled steel blade that ends in a point. It digs, scoops, and slices dirt, manure, and gravel.
  2. Rakes: There’s a whole world of long-handled tools that dig, spread, and gather. Buy a metal-toothed landscaping rake to move dirt, separate rock from soil, and spread mulch. Buy a plastic leaf rake that gathers leaves, grass clippings, and other debris on the surface of your lawn.
  3. Hoe: This digging and spreading landscape tool has the blade at a right angle to a long handle. The shape and sharpness of blades vary, making some hoes better for slicing weed roots (gooseneck hoe), and others for breaking up soil (garden hoe).
  4. Flat border spade: The blade is parallel to the handle. This is often used to edge beds and uproot grass.
  5. Chainsaw: These gas or electric saws have sharp teeth that revolve on a chain. They’re good for cutting wood, downed tree limbs, big branches, and trees. It takes practice to use one safely, so get some pointers before revving up. A 40 cc saw with a 16-inch blade is good for most yard work.
  6. Shears: There’s a wide variety of hand-held landscape tools that cut and trim. You’ll need small bypass shears for roses, hedge shears for boxwoods, and looping shears for small tree limbs.
  7. Lawn mower: Manual, battery, electric, or gas-powered lawn cutters are pushed or ridden, self-propelled, or hand-propelled. Most can bag clippings. Get a 21-inch gas-powered mower for the average yard. Yards bigger than ¼-acre may need a riding mower to save time and muscle. A push-type reel mower is a good green choice.
  8. Wheelbarrow: Made of metal or plastic, wheelbarrows are movers of soil, plants, hay, and basically anything that fits. Most have one wheel and two handles for balancing and steering; some have two wheels for added stability..
  9. Edger: This is a manual or automatic landscape tool that creates a neat and clear separation between the lawn and adjacent surfaces (such as driveways) and around trees or flowerbeds.
  10. Hand trowel: This is used for digging small holes to plant seedlings and bulbs for borders and gardens.