Creating a Beautiful Spring Lawn & Garden

As the weather warms, you may be excited to revive your dormant lawn and start gardening. Maybe you’ve been envious of your neighbor’s grass and flowers for a few seasons, and now you’re ready to learn the tricks for creating beautiful spring color on your own property. Here’s what your lawn and garden need to look their best this year.

Creating a Beautiful Spring Lawn

Your grass can look lush and beautiful without a lot of chemicals. Ditch the pesticides and fertilizers and follow these eco-friendly tips for a beautiful spring lawn.

• Water your lawn with 4 to 6 inches of water a time or two per week. Before you water again, make sure the soil is almost completely dry. Clay soil requires less frequent irrigation while sandy soil dries out faster and needs to be watered more often.
• Mow when the grass is dry and don’t cut the grass too short. By keeping the blades a few inches long, you shade the soil to prevent water loss and prevent weed germination. Even if the grass overgrows, try not to mow no more than one-third of the blade to prevent stressing your lawn.
• Leave grass clippings on the lawn to act as natural fertilizer. Only add actual fertilizer if your soil is nutritionally deficient. Then, use a small amount of slow-release fertilizer to help the grass absorb nutrients better.
• Aerate and dethatch the lawn in spring to promote better growth and greener grass. Aerating also helps reduce thatch buildup.

Creating a Beautiful Spring Garden

If you dream of creating a flower garden you can really be proud of, follow these tips to grow beautiful flowers with the least amount of effort.

• Install garden edging to keep the flowerbed separate from the lawn. Plastic, metal, flagstone or concrete are all potential edging materials.
• Trim back perennial bushes and clear away plant debris left over from last year.
• Prepare the soil by adding homemade compost, composted manure or store-bought flower food. Turn the soil with a sturdy trowel and mix in the organic material. The goal is to create soil the texture of crumbly chocolate cake.
• Plant annuals to fill in the gaps between perennials. To speed up the process, plant seeds in small indoor containers in late winter so they have time to grow before the weather warms up. You can also buy flowers that have already started growing and transplant them into your garden.
• Follow the instructions on the tag with regards to spacing, watering and preferred sunlight level. “Full sun” indicates the plant prefers four to six hours of sunlight, especially in the afternoon. “Partial shade” indicates the plant does better with a few hours of sunlight in the morning. “Full shade” plants do best in areas that never see direct sunlight.
• Lay down 2 to 4 inches of mulch to help your flowerbed look tidy. Mulch also serves the practical purposes of conserving water and preventing weed growth.
• Aim to give your plants about one inch of water per week. Infrequent deep watering is better than frequent shallow watering. Once a week, mix a balanced 20-20-20 fertilizer in your watering can to feed your flowers. Follow the directions on the packaging for the best results.
• Check on your flowers regularly. Deadhead them to prolong the blooming period. Cut back floppy or overgrown sections to keep your garden looking nice and promote fresh, new growth.

If you need help creating beautiful spring color in your lawn and garden this year, please contact The Grounds Guys®. We offer many services to help your grass and flowers thrive.