Just about everyone is familiar with the term “curb appeal” as it relates to someone’s first impression of a house. It only takes people a second to judge the home from the outside based on what they see when they first arrive. One of the simplest ways to assure that your home is blessed with god curb appeal is to take steps to see to it that the lawn is as beautiful and inviting as possible.

While that can sound easy enough, sometimes getting the back and front lawn to look beautiful, immaculate and attractive can be a daunting task, especially if there have been some problems with the health of your lawn recently. Below is a collection of lawn care tips and suggestions that can help you cultivate a lawn that draws people to your home, welcomes them, and gives your curb appeal a real boost.

Tip One: Find out the condition of the lawn soil. You can get the soil tested through the agricultural extension agencies in your area. This test will identify what is lacking in the soil so you know what it needs to make your lawns flourish.

Tip Two: Have a regular lawn maintenance routine that includes fertilizing three to five times every year. Make sure this is done on a regular schedule and is the right kind of food for the grass in your garden lawn. The extension agency can also help you with information in this regard as it relates to your local area.

Tip Three: When undertaking lawn mowing during the heat of the summer, cut it at the maximum height your lawn mower allows. This helps keep the grass from drying out as fast and even provides shade to the ground which helps prevent the loss of moisture. This will help conserve water and it will also help the lawns to crowd the weeds out. During the cooler and wetter times of the year you can set the lawn mower to cut lower according to your preferences.

Tip Four: Water about one to one-and-a-half inches once a week. When you water briefly every day, you are encouraging your lawn to develop a shallow root system. Watering only once a week helps develop nice deep roots which can better withstand hot, dry summer weather.

Tip Five: Aerate at least once or twice every year. This also helps promote lawns with deep root systems and helps the water and lawn food to get past the surface and down to the roots where it does the most good. Aerating also helps undo the effects of soil compacting, which is a particular problem if you use a riding lawn mower to help with your lawn maintenance.

Tip Six: Keep the blades of the mower good and sharp. Dull blades actually rip the ends of the grass blades and cause a ragged look and contribute to browning at the ends. Also, you should do your lawn mowing in different directions each time you mow. This helps avoid ruts and soil compaction problems.

Tip Seven: Watch for signs of dead areas. Such dead patches can be an indication of an insect problem or disease that is attacking your home and garden lawns. When you see this, you should not treat the problem until you know the cause. Your local extension agency will be a great help in this case also.

Tip Eight: Control weeds with the use of quality herbicides. You can do this separately or look for a fertilizer that also contains weed control components.

These simple tips should give you a good starting place from which to improve the health, vitality and appearance of the lawn that is the introduction to your home. With careful lawn maintenance you will enjoy great curb appeal and you will also be able to use and enjoy your yard more fully.

No building is complete without some grass, a few plants and some shrubbery to help enhance the quality of the building. The enhanced curb appeal as well as the added value can make the final difference when selling a home or adding to the over all value of the house. 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? Possibly you will decide it as a line of work that you may be curious in pursuing. 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.

 

When should I hire a landscaper?

You should hire a landscaper if you don’t have a a special ability to make plants grow and you are not going to have the time to devote to removing the prior landscape and planting the new. There are specific steps that must be put into place to stop soil erosion so it will require at a minimum a weekend of challenging work. Landscaper’s are not inexpensive but you can find one at a sensible cost depending upon on how big the area is and how much labor you intend to do yourself. If you are going to upkeep the area, you will spend less money as well.

 

What is the difference between annuals and perennials?

Both are, certainly, plants but the variation is in the time span in which they last and how frequently you need to plant them again. Annuals must be replanted every year. Examples of annuals are any kind of vegetable, sunflowers and flowers such as violets. Perennials are plants that will regenerate themselves. They include trees, bulb plants such as lilies, tulips and also include roses as well as other sturdy plants that go dormant during the winter months. Most ornamental grasses are considered to be perennials.

 

Whats the best way to decide on the kind of plant to use?

The kind of plant you choose will depend on your climate and the amount of water you want to use. It will also be dependent on the amount of sun that your gets during the day. Some plants flourush in the shade when others will wilt. For those individuals who reside in drought prone areas, they should think about planting hardy plants which require little water and really help maintain the soil from eroding. Numerous people choose to have rock gardens and cactus if they live in desert climates.

 

When is the ideal planting season?

The ideal planting season is dependent upon what kind of plant you want to grow. Bulbs are best planted in the fall so that they have time to root within the soil. Other types of plants are more suitable to planting in the months of the spring. Some plants will not produce flowers or fruits for one or two seasons later so you need to prepare for this. Trees will need to go through several years before they become large enough to give the right amount of shade or create fruit.

 

What will be the cost be to have my home landscaped?

 

It would be virtually impossible to get an accurate estimate without knowing how big your yard is, what the overall condition of the soil is and finally what kind of plants that you are looking to plant in your yard. You can generally guess that it will be at at a minimum of around five hundred dollars and can quickly run in the range of several thousand dollars for exotic plants and features which are complex. A landscaper can give you an estimate for the cost.

To discover additional information head on over to Landscape Edging similarly Landscape Drainage also head on over to Pool Landscaping

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