Quick Guide to Maintaining Your Perfect Lawn

You’ve just completed your landscaping project with Pondering Gardens Landscaping and now the daunting task of maintaining your beautiful new lawn comes bearing down on you. Have no fear! Here’s the quick guide to maintaining your perfect lawn. Let’s start by breaking down your tasks into seasons.

Spring

The snow is melting, you can smell the fresh air and your lawn is ready to wake up from it’s slumber. Here are your need to know tips about maintaining your lawn in the springtime season:

• Mow your grass at regular intervals to keep at least ⅓ of the length of the grass at any time. You should strive to keep your lawn at the same relative height throughout the season.
• Raking to get rid of any extra grass clippings, tree branches, twigs, or leaves is essential to allow your grass to receive fertilizers that you’ll be adding.
• Fertilize your grass to encourage stronger grass that looks thicker and greener. The best time to feed your grass is when rain is in the forecast or when the soil is wet.
• Seeding your lawn at this time is essential to improving the thickness. After every winter, your lawn can lose up to 25% of it’s grass so sowing into your lawn now will help reduce the amount of weeds and moss that may crop up in your lawn.

Summer

Your lawn is green, perky and ready for you to have your friends over for some yard games. Be ready for your hopping parties by preparing your lawn in these ways:

• Just like you did in the springtime, mowing your lawn on a regular basis will help keep the grass in it’s healthy state and will avoid overgrowth. Make sure to not cut your grass too short as this will cause your lawn to lose nutrients and thin your growth too much.
• Watering your lawn on a regular basis also becomes vital as the summer sun becomes stronger and the temperatures warmer. Try to water your grass in the early morning or night time to avoid evaporation from the sun’s rays.
• The amount of fertilizer you should use will depend on the climate. If you have a cool, wet summer, your fertilizer should last until the fall time. If you have a warm and dry summer, it may be helpful for your lawn to have extra fertilizer throughout the summer.

Autumn

The heat has subsided and a cool, crisp breeze has replaced the scorching sun. It’s perfect bonfire weather, after you’ve spent a long day raking leaves to give your lawn a breather. Here are the protips to taking care of your lawn in the fall:

• It’s time to take an aerating machine or a garden fork and aerate your lawn. This will help in high traffic areas to get much needed oxygen to the roots of your grass and keep the soil well drained.
• Raking the leaves of your yard not only makes your yard look nicer but it saves your lawn from being suffocated. You can use a rake to remove dead grass, leaves, moss and unwanted thatch at this time.
• Continue to mow your lawn but as you get closer to winter, leave the grass a bit longer to protect it while it is in it’s deep slumber.
• You can fertilize your grass one more time in the autumn. Make sure to use a fertilizer that is high in phosphates and potash.

Winter

You have put in the hard work of maintaining your lawn for months and enjoyed its benefits. Now it’s time to relax while the snow gently falls over the landscape and envelopes your world in white. Here are some things to remember while you’re in the midst of your own hibernation:

• Try not to walk on your grass often after it has frosted. This will keep the damage to a minimum.
• Be aware of any puddles of water which can signify compacted soil. When spring rolls around, you should aerate these locations.
• Do your best to keep any salt or ice removers away from your lawn. It can be helpful to mark the edges of your driveway and walkways with flags so you know where things begin and end. This will also help you while you are shoveling snow, so you don’t gouge out sections of your lawn while trying to get that pesky snow off your walking path.

Once the winter freeze is over, you can begin again! The small amount of work it takes to maintain your lawn in every season will be worth it when you are able to enjoy the smooth, thick grass under your feet year after year. For more landscaping tips, tricks and ideas, make sure to follow us on Facebook and Pinterest!