It’s summer, so that means it’s time to spruce up the garden, mow the lawn, and overall just tend to your yard more. Summer is the right time to do that yard work you’ve been putting off. With the perfect weather outside for such a task, get that green thumb ready and put it to good use. Here are some popular summer landscaping jobs you might like around the home exterior.
”Summer afternoon, summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” - Henry James
Tips for Mowing Grass
Perhaps the most common aspect of maintaining a lawn is to mow it. There are several strategies involved in this, but all of them revolve around how frequently you should mow your lawn and at what height to cut the grass.
When landscaping new houses, you’ll want to cut the grass frequently and short, as this triggers the grass to grow more. But for longer standing lawns, cut less frequently and taller, because this allows the grass to form deep roots in your yard. Here are some tips to keep in mind when mowing your lawn:
- Never cut the grass too short (scalping)
- Grass loves grass clippings, so cleanup isn’t always necessary
- Keep the blade sharp
- Mow when your grass is dry
- Mow in the shade
- Designs do help with your grass
How to Trim Hedges
All homes with landscaping features know the importance of keeping everything neat and tidy. Another common means of taking care of your yard is to trim your bushes, hedges, shrubs, and anything else that isn’t a flower or grass. There is a proper way to do this, and we’ll show you a step by step process below. Take a look.
- Lay down a tarp for easy cleanup
- Remove growth you don’t want first (overgrowth)
- To encourage growth, trim along the lower half of the hedge
- Remove all dead limbs near base
- Cut no more than ⅓ of the entire hedge per year
- Be sure to remove any suckers or watersprouts
Tend to Your Garden
The flowers and edible plants of your garden need just a little more tender love and care than the shrubs and grass. But fear not, your garden is the perfect summer landscaping task to really get you gardening like a pro. We’ve included just a few hints and tips to help you truly revitalize your backyard garden.
- Be sure to space plants correctly
- Group similar plants together to make watering easier
- Diversify your garden
- Grow what you like
- Fertilize your plants
- Seed early
- Water regularly
- Support climbing plants
- Be mindful of weed control
- Be mindful of pest control
- WInterize the garden
Hardscape
Last but certainly not least, hardscape features add a very specific element to your garden. Each piece is unique in its own right, and most hardscaping is unique to your very hard. Try moving slate or rocks around to form designs and patterns around the yard. You might be pleasantly surprised by the results. For hardscape, sometimes the best yards are the ones that were modeled after a summer landscape drawing. This can be the blueprint for your garden.
In the market for some landscaping work for your home? On the lookout for skilled landscapers? Call a professional to get the best work for your home.
