Posted by mgervais
I love the idea of a wide edging of bricks or pavers along a perennial border. I looks neat and tidy, but it also cuts down on maintenance. No need to get out the edger or the weed-whacker here! This…
Coming soon to a lawn or garden near you … Henbit (Lamium amplexicauli)! The cover-all-lawns-with-purple-spring-color ground cover. If you’re tired of the green look – consider purple. It’s easy care with absolutely no maintenance and pollinator friendly! You don’t even have to plant it as henbit will find its own way to your lawn.
It’s a weed but sure is another purty one!
Originally written by Dave @ The Home Garden
Not to be reproduced or re-blogged without permission. No feed scraping is permitted.
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Posted by PFZimmerman
Removing old canes should be part of any rose maintenance program. But how do you know it’s old, how much do you take out?
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05
Oct
Natural lawn care tips: weed and pest removal advice
Author: admin // Category: Home Gardening, TipsWalk into any supermarket, hardware, store, or general store and you will usually see shelves loaded with fertilizer, pest control
, pesticides, etc. The list goes on and on. People are, however, focusing more and more on health issues from looking for natural ways to encourage a healthy lawn to washing fruit thoroughly before eating.
How many times have you set your lawnmower at its lowest setting to cut your grass as short as possible? You are doing this for basically two reasons: cutting less often and shaving off those unsightly weeds, right?
Did you know that shorter grass encourages weed growth? If you will adjust your mower blades to around 3 inches and make sure they are sharpened, you will actually discourage weed growth and pests! Instead of raking the grass clippings, leave them unless they are very long. They actually work as a natural fertilizer.
It makes since that the more grass coverage you have, the less weeds there are to deal with. Keeping that in mind in the spring and fall, sprinkle grass seeds liberally on bare areas in your yard, so that you choke out any unwanted weeds. You will need to first loosen the soil and spread some type of organic filler like peat moss. Make sure you walk over the area that you have just seeded to flatten the seeds into the earth. If you know a good rain is on the way, this would be the perfect time to plant and then let the rain wash the seeds into the earth.
If you are having a fungus problem, look in your kitchen cabinet or pantry for the answer. Vinegar has so many uses and killing fungus is one of them. Add about 3 or 4 tablespoons per gallon of water and use a sprayer to cover problem areas. Water your lawn in the early morning hours. If you wait till the cool of the evening, the water will not have the opportunity to go through its natural evaporation process, thus encouraging fungal growth. Another way to control fungus is to apply liquid seaweed. It is chocked full of the nutrients that lawns need. Apply it monthly for the full benefits of this cure-all. It is very inexpensive!
Not sure about the health of your soil? Dig for worms! That’s right! Earth worms are a great indicator of the health of your soil. The general rule is that you should find at least 8 to 10 earthworms in a square foot of soil. Earthworms are natural aerators. They do the work for you!
If your soil seems unhealthy, take it to your local county extension service. Many times you can find help at your local cooperative store, also. If the soil is too acidic, you may need to add lime, another inexpensive treatment. If it is too alkaline, then sulfur may be what you need. Your extension agent can test your soil for you and make recommendations.
Composting is an easy way to harvest more nutrients for your soil, and it is recycling, too! If you have a vegetable garden, use your mower to mulch the left over stalks, plants and bushes. Make sure you save any pea shells or bean shells to throw into the mix. Mow them several times to make the pieces smaller, then leave them in the garden through the winter and let nature do its work! You can add various leftovers from the kitchen such as egg shells, potato and carrot peels, fruit peels and cores, etc.
Before you get ready to work on your lawn in the spring, spread your compost pile out a little and mow over it again. Now, spread your compost over your lawn. Less trash for you, and vitamins for your grass! Make sure to save enough to pile around various plantings that you have added to your lawn and flower gardens.
There are many ways to control those pesky insects that invade your beautiful lawn. One simple way is to combine some dishwasher liquid with water and spray your shrubs and grass that have problem areas. Grubs and other insects hate this simple combination. You can also steep approximately 2 tablespoons of rosemary into a half pint of water for about 20 minutes, let cool, and apply to problem areas. Place birdbaths and birdfeeders in your yard to encourage birds to visit and dine on your area pests.
Some insects are good insects, and you want to attract them. Praying mantis and ladybugs eat the insects that attack your plants and lawn. Refrain from using any type of pesticide so that you encourage these bugs to take up residence in your yard. Various types of flowers such as daisies, marigolds, and sunflowers, and herbs such as dill provide food and a place for the good insects to live and flourish. As you can see, there are many ways to have a beautiful lawn without sacrificing the health of you, your family, and your pets.
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Overseeding a Lawn
The goal of most lawn mavens is to show a thick, lush cover of green foreground, welcoming any and all to a home where one cares greatly about his appearance. I could make a long, long list of guys and gals to whom this means something magical and serves a vital role in their well-being. Sure, some are a bit “out there” and darn near obsessive with it all. It happens!
In the end, a lush lawn is, by any criterion, gorgeous to look at and improves such things as air quality and the maintenance of dust control for a home. What we often overlook in the maintenance end of any lawn is a certain “tired” nature a lawn can acquire after a period of years. It is for this reason the entire notion of “overseeding” takes place. An informed sprinkling of grass seed over an existing lawn is never something to overlook. It is one chore which may be the easiest of all toward maintaining a healthy lawn. It also allows the introduction of new species of seed to augment or to ameliorate existing conditions, leading to an improved stand of grass lawn. Whether we are looking for an improved substance to walk on or one which may be, say, more disease resistant, overseeding allows this function.
Typically, overseeding commences with a real low mowing of the existing lawn – at a severely low setting. Seed is then sprinkled over the entire lawn, with some manual raking with a grass rake to follow. This “bedding” of the seeds allows contact with soil and some protection from elements while the germination period transpires. It also allows a couple of weeks between mowings, which we would do without a catcher.
Naturally, watering the new seeds is required on a very regular basis, either by one’s own devices or by rain. But attention to this detail is fairly vital. In the end, what one finds is a far lusher stand of lawn than before, with an improved top, lush as when it was initially installed, if not more so. A gradual shifting from here can tale place, in terms of the grass chosen. Bear in mind many types of grass combine exceptionally well.
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Winter is the time to carry out some much needed lawn maintenance. Below are five tips you can think about as the big cold envelops your garden and lawn.
Maintenance Tip #1
As winter approaches, gradually lower the mowing height of your mower. Winter should begin without any young, tender growth that makes your lawn more appealing to winter diseases.
Besides, new growth on the lawn is vulnerable to dry out after the first winter winds come through, which will give you a brown winter lawn. So for the sake of lawn maintenance, as winter approaches, begin to gradually reduce the cutting height on your mower, until you are almost, but not quite, shaving the lawn. However, be sure to do this in several steps to avoid suddenly removing all the green leaf tissue and damaging the turf.
Winter Lawn Maintenance Tip #2
In late fall, be sure to give your lawn a final fertilization. Inactive during winter, your lawn won’t use the fertilizers immediately. Much like mammals bulking up for the cold, your lawn will store these nutrients in its root system and take full advantage of them at the first signs of spring.
Winter Lawn Maintenance Tip #3
Clear your lawn of any debris like logs, toys, or gardening equipment. Once snow comes, these objects can smother your grass, damage your turf, and leave your lawn more vulnerable to diseases.
Winter Lawn Maintenance Tip #4
Be sure to aerate your lawn before the first freeze. Thatch will only get worse with the affects of winter. A good aeration, along with a round of fertilization, will set the stage for bountiful spring growth.
Winter Lawn Maintenance Tip #5
Winter is a great time to learn more about your garden and your lawn in particular. Take this time to buy some lawn maintenance books and research the Internet for tips on how to keep a beautiful lawn and garden.
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18
Nov
3 LANDSCAPING MAINTENANCE TIPS FOR YOUR LAWN
Author: admin // Category: landscaping ideas, Tips3 LANDSCAPING MAINTENANCE TIPS FOR YOUR LAWN
We often have a “do it and forget it” mentality. Once a task is completed, we do not give it a second thought. Instead, we move on to whatever is next in line. That attitude may work in some areas, but it certainly is not appropriate for the care and nurturing of your property’s landscape.
Great landscaping does not stem exclusively from those days of planning and planting. Your property is a growing, living thing. You can set something beautiful into motion, but in order to get the most out of your landscaping plans, you will need to conduct regular maintenance. You will need to address the yard’s needs and to be proactive in order to prevent the development of problems that could completely derail your plans.
Our lawn is a critical part of our overall landscape, in most cases. Grass frequently forms the basis from which the rest of our landscaping efforts emerge. A good looking, healthy lawn is a necessity for those seeking landscaping success. The lawn in the canvas upon which landscapers paint.
Understanding the importance of great grass and the need for regular landscaping maintenance let us look at three things you can do to keep your property attractive and in line with your landscaping vision. These three lawn care tips are all “out of season” activities you can do to improve your landscape’s health and beauty.
FALL FERTILIZATION
Fertilization is a perfect example of maintenance for landscapes. It is one of those regular things that you simply cannot afford to neglect. Every year, as the end of autumn approaches, you should apply a final dose of fertilizer to your grass. The lawn will absorb those nutrients and they will help to keep it strong, healthy throughout the winter, and ready to explode into growth when things warm up again.
WINTER CLEANING
If your lawn is smothered in any location, it can do a great deal of harm. Before the really cold weather sits in, walk your property and carefully remove any debris from the lawn. Things like tree branches, logs, your children’s toys or that shovel you have been meaning to put back into the garage can do serious damage if left in place through the winter. Smothered grass is less disease resilient and may even die completely. You certainly do not want to usher in spring with a brown ring in the middle of the yard!
AERATION
Aerate the grassy area before the year’s first freeze. As winter comes, thatch will accumulate and your lawn can be “choked off.” A serious aeration and that aforementioned fall fertilization will prepare your lawn to last out the cold and will position in for maximum spring performance. You can rent an aerator at any hardware store, if you do not own your own. Some people claim to get more than satisfactory results from manual aeration strategies, including special slip-on shoe cleats. Give your lawn a chance to breathe through the winter and it will thank you in the spring.
These are only three of literally thousands of potential landscaping maintenance tasks you can perform. These three means of improving your lawn’s health, however, do reveal why maintenance activity is necessary. If you simply “let things go,” you run the risk of undoing all of your hard work and encountering disappointing results. Last year’s landscaping accomplishment can become next year’s embarrassment if maintenance is not taken seriously.
Remember, you landscape is not a pretty picture that, once painted, remains in place forever. It is a constantly growing and changing collection of living things. It is, in many ways, an organism unto itself. In order to nurture it effectively, you will need to revisit it frequently. That is what maintenance is really all about.
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S.E.CT Landscaping Company provides all aspects of commercial landscaping. Whether you are looking for a design, installation, maintenance, or seasonal color, S.E.CT can proficiently handle all of your needs.
Service
You deserve a company that is responsive to you! Our maintenance organizations allows us to do that. Our horticulturists are directly responsible for scheduling, production, and quality control. As a result, they will react quickly and efficiently to your request.
Creativity
The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is “that little extra”. Our extensive knowledge of plant material, color, and texture combined with our knowledge of plant performance guaratees traffic stopping color displays.
Teamwork
We are a team of professionals who demand excellence and provide quality beyond expectations. SECT will work with you to meet your goals. Our team and maintenance managers are committed to the idea that Together Everyone Achieves More.
Results
A consistent image for your property – an image that reflects quality and professionalism. We will strive to meet your objectives as well as those of your property managers, asset managers, and owners. The result will be an exterior environment that is pleasing to tenants and will maximize the investment of clients.
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Landscape Maintenance Programs
S.E.CT Landscaping Company offers two outstanding residential maintenance programs which insure that our clients’ landscape investment is properly maintained.
Weekly Maintenance Program
The weekly program offers our clients a maintenance program which covers all aspects of their landscape maintenance needs. The weekly program is truly an A to Z program specifically designed for those clients who expect a meticulously maintained landscape. A specially trained crew will perform all of the weekly service functions which are as follows:
- Deep hand pruning of all ornamental plant material
- Ground cover control e.g. ivy, vinca
- Insect and disease control
- Weed control
- Hand weeding
- Fertilization of plant material
- Edging
- Leaf removal
- Trenching bed lines
- Design seasonal color
- Cleanup of landscaped areas each visit
- Fertilization and weed control of turf area
- Mowing of all turf area
Seasonal Maintenance Program
The seasonal program offers a solution for our clients who do not have a need for a weekly maintenance program. A specially trained crew will perform all the seasonal service functions which are as follows:
- Deep hand pruning
- Insect and disease control
- Ground cover control e.g. ivy, vinca
- Fertilization of plant material
- Weed control
- Hand weeding
- Edging
- Mowing of all turf area
- General landscape cleanup
We recommend this service two to three times per year.
