If you’re yearning for show-stopping curb appeal, summer lawn maintenance is an important aspect of maintaining your exterior. Nearly any property can be transformed into an eye-catching display, and our expert tips can help you achieve the lawn and landscaping of your dreams.
Basic Cleaning and Summer Lawn Maintenance Tips
If you’re looking to get show-stopping curb appeal, starting with a clean slate makes way for a plethora of exciting landscaping possibilities.
When it comes to cleaning up your lawn, here are a few places to start:
Clean Up Flower Beds
Weeds in your landscaping are unsightly and even detrimental to the life of your plants. Getting the weeds cleaned up is a smart first step to get show-stopping curb appeal.
What is the best way to clean up and clear out weeds? You’ll want to start at the root. The best way to do this is with chemicals or you may use natural alternatives to get the same outcome.
Prefer to use natural alternatives? You can kill weeds by pouring boiling water over the root area. Keep in mind that you will have to wait for the weed to die off. The boiling water will seep into the soil and eventually kill the weeds.
You can also invest in some basic gardening tools to get to the root of your weed problem. Garden trowels and knives can help dig out the soil. Pull out the weed from the root so it doesn’t regrow. A garden hoe or weeder can make the process even simpler.
Meanwhile, you’ll want to collect the weeds in a bucket. This will help prevent the spread of seeds.
Once you clear up the weeds, you aren’t done yet. You’ll want to think about dealing with weeds in the future. The best course of action is weed prevention. You can do this by putting landscaping fabric down and covering it with mulch.
Mow and Edge the Lawn
Now that your yawn is clear of weeds, the next step is to tackle mowing and edging. There are several summer lawn maintenance tips to mow your yard like a pro.
First, set the blade at the correct height. You don’t want to scalp the lawn because it gives way for weeds to muscle their way through. When the grass is a little taller, it keeps the soil cool which can help prevent weeds from growing and sprouting.
When it comes to blade height, the correct height depends on the type of grass that you have. Fescue should be mowed at 2-2.5” once per week. If you have Bermuda grass, shoot for 1” to 1.5” inches once per week.
The next important step is to mow your lawn when it’s dry and the weather is as cool as possible. This typically means mowing your lawn in the evening works best. When you choose to mow your lawn during the height of mid-day, the heat adds stress to the lawn.
Not to mention, grass can be wet in the morning from dew or overnight sprinkles. This is why it’s easier to wait until evening to make sure the lawn is entirely dry.
If you try to mow the lawn when it’s wet, this can result in an uneven trim. An uneven trim is the last way that you’ll get show-stopping curb appeal!
Next, you’ll want to vary your mowing pattern. A varied pattern each time you mow is actually good for your lawn. This means you’ll want to mow in a different direction each time you mow. This is because grass will begin to lean in the direction you mow, especially if you mow in the same spot and direction repeatedly.
When you mow in different directions, it helps your grass grow nice and tall.
Meanwhile, you don’t want to always mow your lawn on an exact schedule. If it’s been a week and your grass hasn’t been mowed, but it’s not long, you can leave it alone. During the spring you may need to mow more because the grass is growing faster. In the height of summer, the grass can withstand less mowing because it won’t grow as fast.
Lastly, you’ll want to consider a feeding and fertilizing schedule for your landscaping. This will keep your grass looking lush and green, which is a surefire way to get the type of curb appeal that you desire.
Choosing the Design of Your Landscape
Now that your lawn is free from weeds and it’s freshly mowed, you’re ready to tackle more summer lawn maintenance tips for show-stopping curb appeal!
Starting fresh with landscaping might feel intimidating, but there are several ideas that you can use for inspiration for a stunning display.
There is an extensive number of options that you can do for your lawn, ranging from plants to lawn ornaments and decor.
Let’s start with popular flower and plant options in Georgia.
Easy Flowers to Plant and Grow in Your Landscaping
You’ll see these flowers everywhere throughout the state, and for good reason. They bring beautiful color to your curb appeal and variety to your flower garden.
- Bachelor’s button: Also known as cornflower, you’ll find this type of flower on the side of the road. It’s typically blue but you can also find it in strands of pink and white. This creates a great wildflower style landscaping with plenty of color.
- Black-eyed Susans: These flowers are found throughout the US. They look like yellow daisies and come in variations from yellow to gold.
- Bloodflower: This is an annual flower that is tall and attracts butterflies. Not only will ths bring beauty to your curb appeal, but it also adds the allure of butterflies.
- Cardinal flower: If you’re a lover of red flowers, the cardinal flower is for you. It can grow as four feet high and looks lovely through the month of August.
- Cosmos: Growing up to 5 feet high, this beautiful flower comes in a lavender color for a pop of purple for your landscaping.
- Purple coneflower: Another purple flower for your garden, this species grows in a cone shape that adds flair to your landscaping.
- Sunflower: You can’t forget the beauty and classic touch that sunflowers bring to your landscaping. There are a variety of sunflower sizes that you can plant, ranging from small sunflowers to the mammoth variety that can grow 10 feet tall or larger.
Keep in mind that color is king when it comes to designing beautiful summer landscaping. To keep it as colorful as possible, you’ll want to try flowers and plants that are drought resistant. You can take advantage of green and brown pants with pops of color within.
Don’t forget about charming and creative flowers that climb, giving a vertical focal point instead of horizontal. A corner fence with flowers and plants also creates an easy eye-catching display.
Keep an Eye Out for Pests
Once you have your Landscaping looking exactly as you want, your work still isn’t done.
Unfortunately, pests can wreak havoc on your efforts, destroying plans and other things in their path.
But how do you keep pests away without harming your lawn?
This is your chance to choose a safe and organic pesticide to keep bugs at bay. You can even incorporate other types of plants into your garden that naturally repel beetles and other insects. There are flowers and plants that can repel many types of insects, and even critters such as worms and slugs.
If you are having trouble with deer, you might want to add fuzzy plans to your landscaping. Yarrow and ageterum will help keep deer away from your garden.
Consider an Upkeep Plan
If you have yet to put yourself on a schedule for up keeping your summer lawn, there is no time like the present. The summer months are flying by and you want to keep your landscaping looking beautiful for as long as possible.
The good news is that a professional pest control and landscaping company is a perfect complement to your summer lawn maintenance needs. We have an entire lawn care program that will keep your landscaping looking beautiful not only in the summer but all other seasons as well.
During the late summer months, we will apply a slow-release fertilizer. This helps to feed the roots of your Turf and keeps the color looking vibrant for as long as possible.
If you discover brown spots on your lawn, this can be coming from fungi. If you call us after spotting the brown grass in your yard, we can help identify the cause and fix the problem. If you are trying to get a show-stopping curb appeal, a brown lawn certainly won’t bring you any bonus points.
Get Professional Lawn Care From Houseman Services
As your friendly neighborhood lawn maintenance and pest control company we are always here to help you. We provide free service visits to answer your questions and help you determine solutions to what you need.
Please get in touch with us now to get started on a mid-to-late summer lawn service plan!