Fall and Winter Lawn Mowing And Maintenance

Fall and Winter Lawn Mowing And Maintenance by Majestic Modifications

A successful (green) lawn usually starts in the fall and winter months, getting ahead of weeds and getting the right mix of nutrients in the soil. Starting in November, reduce your mower height about a half inch to an inch shorter than you normally do. Be sure to bag any clippings to reduce the amount of weed seeds that get left behind. Getting all the thatch picked up will help it stay healthier during the cold winter months. When spring returns, you will be rewarded with less weeds and a healthier lawn right from the start.

A winter fertilizer will put potassium back into the soil, making it more resistant and healthy during the dormant winter months. It is important to get it fertilized before it stops growing in mid to late November, so make this a fall routine. When spring returns, you want to start with a higher nitrogen mix. Aim to do your spring fertilizing in mid to late march or whenever temps return to the mid 60's. Then follow up with another application every 8 weeks or so (every two months). This will keep the nutrients in the soil, and keep your lawn extra healthy and green. Try to do any weed reducing mixes along with the fall/winter fertilizer or with the first round of fertilizer in the spring.

Over the course of a year, your lawns soil can get packed down pretty good. The more dense the soil is packed, the more difficult it is for water and nutrients to penetrate to the roots. Aerating a lawn is simply using a tool to create small holes in the soil to allow the much needed water and nutrients to get back down to the root systems. Grasses can’t survive long in compacted soil. If you notice your lawns soil becoming compacted, it is time to call someone to aerate. You can tell by taking something like a match or toothpick and pushing it into the soil. If it is difficult to push in, then you have compacted soil and should have it aerated to keep your lawn from thinning out and eventually dying.

Overseeing is an often overlooked maintenance service. It is a good idea to over-seed your lawn at least every couple of years. Your lawn will begin to slow down in its reproduction. Lawns can get thinner over time, and over-seeding will keep new grasses growing which will keep the lawn thicker. A thicker lawn is more tolerant to disease, more weed resistant, and will stay greener longer. If it has been a few years since you have over-seeded your lawn (or if you can’t remember when), then now is a good time to schedule it. The best time to over-seed is in September, so think ahead and remember to get it done this year.

As we mentioned above, the winter fertilizer application should include a weed reducing component. Weeds usually take their toll over the winter months due to leaves blocking sunlight and reduce air flow in the lawn, and from thatch containing weed seeds left to sit and cultivate over the winter months. When the spring time rolls around, this combination can create a free for all for weeds. The process to keep your lawn weed free begins by keeping it thatch free, keeping the leaves cleared, and adding the winterized fertilizing with weed control to your lawn maintenance routines.

When you consider calling a landscaping company to provide lawn maintenance services for your lawn, be sure to call the professionals at Vision Landscaping. We have trained and seasoned professionals to get the job done right so you can enjoy it – not work on it.

Vision-Landscaping provides Atlanta landscaping and lawn maintenance services, including fertilizing, mowing, overseeding, and monthly lawn and landscape maintenance.
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Article Source: Fall and Winter Lawn Mowing And Maintenance

Why use landscaping stones?

Why use landscaping stones? There are many reasons why you should incorporate landscaping stones into your landscaping design. The main one however is for beauty, pure esthetic beauty. For a landscaping design to look perfect it needs to have layer and this can be a hard thing to achieve without the use of landscaping stones. Landscaping stones are not the only way to give your yard depth but they are the easiest way. You could try to change the slope of your yard. You could dig lower spots and build up higher ones but this could take forever and you would have to know a lot about landscaping to try to tackle a job like that. Just think of the trouble you could get into with the drainage issues if you were to make a mistake! No, it is far easier to simply use landscaping stones to bring some depth to your yard.

You can use landscaping stones to accent certain portions of your yard, you can even plant some plants in these landscaping stones. They look great round the patio and the fence and you can even get colored landscaping stones to bring more color into your yard. This kind of color is especially nice to have in winter when everything is so bare and cold looking. The fact of the matter is that you can transform the whole look of your yard with the simple use of landscaping stones. They are like jewelry only for the yard.

There are many different kinds of landscaping stones and they come in all shapes and sized. The landscaping stones that are right for you will depend on the effect that you are trying to create with your yard. And different parts of the yard might require different sized landscaping stones. You can get a wide variety of colors for your landscaping stones and in some cases you may want to mix a couple of colors together to create a whole new and interesting look. If you are planning to overhaul your yard this year then you need to start looking into using landscaping stones in your design. These will bring the whole yard together and if they are used right will add balance and harmony to your entire garden.

You can get landscaping stones at your local gardening center and even some home building stores will carry them. Shop around and find the landscaping stones that suit your home and your needs best before you make a purchase.

Coming up with your own landscaping idea

Coming up with your own landscaping idea It is not all that easy to always come up with your own landscaping idea. In fact, most people are going to need a little help with their landscaping, it is a good thing that it is easy to find a landscaping idea to use. There are a few places that you can get some fantastic landscaping ideas and probably the best place is the internet. You will find hundreds of sites on the internet that will all have a great landscaping idea or two for you to take and make your own. It is important that you put a lot of though and consideration into the landscaping of your yard in the front and in the back so finding the perfect landscaping idea is essential to your success.

You should start by taking a walk around your property in order to get a good sense of what can be done. See how the drainage is and check out the slopes and levels of your property. This way you will be able to tell which landscaping idea is right for you right off the bat. The more you notice the easier things will be. It would be terrible to choose a landscaping idea and then start work only to find that it cannot be completed halfway through due to some aspect of your property. This is why you need to find out all that you can about each landscaping idea that you are contemplating using.

And before you choose the final landscaping idea that you are going to use take a little extra time to learn the basics of landscaping. This is imperative if you have never done any work like this before. If you re new to the whole world of landscaping then you might want to take out a book or two from the library. This way you do not have to pay for them and you will still get all that they have to offer. There is a lot of be gained from reading some good landscaping books, you might even find a landscaping idea in them. If you know that you want to change the landscaping in your front yard and your back yard then you need to use a landscaping idea that will incorporate both of these. Your front and back yards should flow together, this will give you the best possible design so look at a landscaping idea that will give you this kind of harmony and you will have a better yard for it.

The Necessity Of Topsoil In Akron Ohio

The Necessity Of Topsoil In Akron Ohio by Claire Winters

By measuring the amount of topsoil available to the local plant life is one of the ways we can ensure a healthy nurtured surroundings for a home or even the entire community. While the topsoil does provide the nutrients and food that the plants need to grow, the soil is also more prone to contamination as well. The soils pH balance is also extremely important, because in order to sustain the plant life it would need to be perfect or it can kill them instead of nourish them. Those who provide topsoil in Akron, Ohio understand this significance and often strive to provide proper and useful kinds of topsoil. Additionally, those who wish to increase the productivity and richness of their own topsoil may find that the fertilizers and other helps that work in conjunction with their topsoil can increase the quality and health of all their vegetation. Whether utilizing topsoil in Akron, Ohio primarily for landscaping or for growing more substantial foliage, it is the most significant component possible.

It is no secret that topsoil is exactly what surrounds the roots of trees, flowers, and shrubs. Grass is also permitted to grow green and tall on account of topsoil. What type of topsoil used greatly influences how the plants are maintained and their ability to thrive. This is why the quality of the topsoil in Akron, Ohio is so crucial, since it determines the type of plants that can be sustained there. It is why cool and wet climates are better able to sustain a larger abundance of plant life while warm and dry climates simply cannot. The topsoil in Akron is what determines the kinds of plants that are able to grow there. It is why fruit and shade trees mature easily and abundantly, and it is also why those kinds of trees are much easier to maintain than others. Examples of these trees include oaks, elms, maples, willows, and others that have grown naturally in this area for hundreds of years. Gardeners and landscaper's alike study the topsoil that produces the fullest, tallest and strongest trees so that they too may re-create this for themselves and have the best quality foliage and improve the health of the environment around their own home and around their neighborhood.

There are other crucial elements topsoil can present as well. The types of weather which have been common in the area throughout the year or season are actually directly reflected in the topsoil in Akron, Ohio. The level of acidity or baseness can be linked to pollutants or show where water flows from and what patterns are created as a result. The amount of care that the plants require to flourish and remain healthy is also a reflection of the quality of topsoil that had been used. Because all of these aspects work together to increase the importance of topsoil, it is also important for individuals and communities to look for high quality topsoil providers. Growing a garden or enhancing a landscape become a lot easier once these vital components have been discovered. This is true whether individuals, organizations, or communities have a long tradition of growing things or whether they are just beginning. Once these plants and other foliage have been cultivated, they are able to better keep topsoil in its place and can continue to thrive for many years. This creates a cycle of health and growth for all plant life that are put in from the first along with those that are included later on.


Check out Howard's Nursery if you find yourself in search of quality topsoil in Akron Ohio for your upcoming landscaping job. Visit www.howardsnursery.com for much more info on Howard's Nursery.

Article Source: The Necessity Of Topsoil In Akron Ohio

Landscape Maintenance Needs

Landscape Maintenance Needs by Kevin Germain

The weather here in Michigan is changing and with that comes a change in the needs of our landscaping. The four seasons bring with it a mix of snow, rain, heat, humidity and dry spells. Is it possible to maintain the health of your lawn with all that this brings? Yes, however it is important to recognize that your lawns care and needs will change throughout each of the seasons. It is up to you to keep up with these changes or to hire a landscape company to come in and maintain the landscape.

The fall is upon us here in Michigan. Laws start to go into a semi hibernating state in which they trap the minerals and nutrients to stay alive throughout the chilly, sunless days of winter. When looking into fall lawn maintenance it is important to think about it in terms of wrapping the year up.

Lawn fertilization is a must during the “closing” of the lawn season. When you do this you give your lawn the basic nutrients it needs to stay healthy through the winter. When fertilizing you will want to first make sure debris such as leaves is removed and the grass freshly cut. Then before you fertilize you will want to aerate the lawn so that the fertilizer is able to seep deep into the lawn. This provides what the lawn will miss out on through the cold, sunless winter.

The next thing to think about in fall landscape need is pruning. Many flowers and shrubs need to be pruned back to allow for the new growth of the spring. It is important to note though that not all trees will benefit from this. Some trees do not need trimming of any kind and will continue to grow. The same is true with many plants. Fall is also the time for removing bulbs that are damaged in the freeze and plant those that need the winter to develop and grow in the spring. Burlap should be applied to all shrubs that are especially fragile and that the frost will damage. Plants, shrubs and trees can also benefit greatly from some extra food in the form of fertilizer.

Raking the leaves that have accumulated on the lawn is often a huge task. There are two schools of thought in leaves being raked or allowed to live as they lay. This is up to individual homeowners. Leaves can act as a great fertilizer in their own right. From experience leaves allowed to decay within the Lily of the Valley in the yard act as a major growth hormone for them. Literally the plant uses that acid break down of the leaves to flourish. Use discretion when allowing leaves to accumulate on grass. It is not beneficial to allow all of the fall leaves to stay piled on the ground as they will absorb the little bit of sun that will attempt to get to your lawn throughout the winter.

Fall landscape needs are similar to spring landscaping needs. We do clean-up in the spring to spruce the lawn up and clean-up in the fall to allow for hibernation and re-growth. Landscaping needs also vary depending on the region in which you live. The plants that survive and grow here in the North are not the same viable plants that exist in Arizona. Can you imagine a cactus here soaking up the rainfall that we receive here in Michigan?

If you have enjoyed this article from Kevin Germain at CPS on landscape maintenance please visit http://www.bladerunnerslandscape.com/landscape_maintenance.php today. You will find useful information on landscape maintenance.

Article Source: Landscape Maintenance Needs