With temperatures rising and rain fall decreasing, summer time is putting a serious strain on your lawn. If you are not careful, your lawn could end up dead. No rain and water restrictions can really take a shot at your ability to take care of your lawn. However, there are some tried and true tips that are sure to beat the summer heat. When your lawn is suffering from a drought, these tips will help you survive: 1. Raise the blades on your mower. Taller grass provides more protection from sun and grows deeper roots, which makes it more resilient. 2. Resist the temptation to bag your lawn and use a mulching mower instead. The clippings will provide a barrier that keeps moisture in your lawn longer. 3. Aerate your lawn twice a year (fall and spring) to keep out thatch and help the roots grow deeper. 4. Sharpen your lawnmower blade. Dull blades put your grass under lots of undue stress. Stressed grass needs more water. 5. Water early in the morning and when it is not windy to avoid unnecessary evaporation of your rationed water. 6. Use a drip type irrigation system like a soaker hose. It put water in the ground, where it is needed, more efficiently. 7. Do not fertilize in the summer. Experts will tell you that fertilized lawns are more sensitive to heat and require more water. Green is definitely a color to envy in the heart of the summer. Do yourself a favor and follow these tips to keep a green lawn that makes your neighbors squirm with envy.
Sunday, August 28, 2016
Some practical ideas for designing you own landscape
Designing your own landscape, can be both exciting and challenging. If you are considering such a project, here are some practical ideas and suggestions. Planning the Project Planning your landscape design is the first and most important step. Take the time to gather the information you will need to make your decisions on the elements you wish to include in your landscape design. Will you want a deck, patio, foot paths, walkways, a pond? What type of plants, trees, flowers, and ground cover will you want to use? You should research books, articles, and landscape design magazines to help you make these decisions. This will pay off in the end by saving you money, time, and frustration, enabeling you end up with a beautifully finished project to be proud of. The Design The landscape design is your next step. You will need to make a layout of the area to be landscaped, as close to scale as possible, and with accurate measurements. Many landscape design planning guides that will give you step-by-step instructions are available on the internet for free, and books or eBooks are abundant. Once your landscape design layout is done you can began to place your elements on the layout pad. This should be your first or preliminary plan and as you progess, changes can be transfered to your secondary or updated plans. Changing your mind often is just fine. After all this is just on paper at this point and you have not spent any money or performed any labor yet. Experimenting with a few plans is necessary before you come up the final landscape design. A well planned landscape will never look the same in different seasons. Plan your landscape design to change with the seasons. You should attempt to design your landscape as maintenance free as possible. Landscape Design Software If it is hard for you to visualize your finished landscape design by just looking at your layout, there is some very good landscape design software available. Much of the landscape design software was originally developed for professional landscapers, but since has been modified for the beginner who wants to do-it-themselves. There are many do-it-yourslef landscape design software programs available today. Landscape design software lets you see a virtual picture of the landscape design and enables you to move items around and see the changes you make come to life. Some software allows you to import a photo of your home or building and designs the landscape around the photo. Most landscape design software programs offer advise on using and placing the many different elements available today in your landscape design. A well designed landscape will always change with time, abd some of the landscape design software available will allow you to view your landscape as it matures. You can see what it will look like 5 or 10 years from now when the trees have grown and the plants matured. Gardens Many people like to incorparate a garden in their landscape design. Gardens can be tucked away in the corner of an area, or be the focal point of the entire landscape design. Gardens can even be stragecly placed among the plants, flowers and trees so they blend in with the entire landscape design. If you like to garden, dont overlook all the garden design possiblities when planning your landscape design.