Fall is upon us, and it is time to do some landscape maintenance in your garden. These tips will help you get started on your landscaping checklist and to keep your yard and home looking beautiful through the colder seasons.
Lawn Care
When you begin your fall landscaping and yard maintenance, remember to follow these tips to ensure a healthy lawn.
- Aeration will loosen the soil that has been packed down during the summer by kids, pets and lawn mowing.
- Seed your lawn after you have aerated it to ensure that the seeds will take. Seeds love the holes from the aeration and will germinate more quickly.
- Fertilize the lawn after seeding to ensure that the seeds get all of the required nutrients.
Fall is also an ideal time to spread new mulch over your lawn and garden. Be sure that you are only spreading about two +/- inches of mulch. If you spread more than this, you can create a home for bugs and insects that may spread disease in your yard. A good mulch layer will help protect roots from frost and retain moisture over the dry winter months.
Leaf Raking
Before you begin raking, check the drains for any leaves that may clog the gutters. Failing to do so may cause an unwanted flood in your yard.
Too many leaves on your lawn can damage the roots of your grass. As soon as you finish your final mow of the season, begin removing your leaves so that the grass will receive plenty of sunlight. Pace yourself in leaf raking – better yet, call Absolute Landscape and Turf Services to do the job for you.
Clean Up
Fall is an ideal time to remove all of the dead foliage in and around your yard. Remove any dead blooms and cut back the ornamental grasses and the perennials that have bloomed. Pull and discard any dead annuals. Remove dead or broken trees. Weak limbs will not be able to withstand snow or ice, and they could fall and damage your property.
Lightly prune shrubs to help protect them from harsh winter weather. This will also help to control their size in the spring and will ensure that the healthiest parts of the plant remain. Avoid pruning hydrangeas, lilacs and viburnum as you may disrupt the spring bloom.
Hardscaping upkeep
Retaining walls, patios and sidewalks can be added during the fall months to help beautify your property. Fill any cracks in sidewalks or driveways and apply sealant as required. If there is damage to the patio, driveway or path, fall is a good time to repair or replace before the winter frost sets in.
Fall Nursery Sales
In the fall, nurseries begin clearing out their inventory of trees and shrubs in preparation for winter. However, you can still plant until the ground freezes; take advantage of the low prices while you can. In addition, outdoor furniture often goes on sale in the fall. Purchase it now, and you will be able to enjoy both the furniture and yours savings in the spring.
Absolute Landscape and Turf Services, Inc. offers professional yard and landscape maintenance all year-round. Click here to reach our experts for more landscaping maintenance tips.