Start winter cleanup of the lawn by raking dead growth, stray leaves, twigs and winter debris. By doing this will expose the soil to light and air will encourage the grass to grow.
Reseed Bare and Damaged Patches of Lawn
Delineate the areas that need to be repaired by digging around bare or damaged area. Remove and discard any poor grass and weeds within the area. Keep the remaining bare soil free of debris. Apply organic matter, slow-acting fertilizer, and grass seed to the area and rake the soil smooth and level. For more information on lawn care and turfgrass renovation, visit Turfgrass (lawn) Renovation.
Transplant Shrubs
Transplant any existing shrubs you want to move before they begin to leaf out.
Cut back Perennials and Ornamental Grasses
Cut back any remaining dead perennial foliage from last season and ornamental grasses.
Remove Weeds
Weeds start growing early. Start early in the season by pulling them out by hand or applying herbicides to the lawn.
Create Planting Beds
Prior to cutting in your planting beds, make sure the soil is ready. A handful of soil should fall apart and not stick together. When its dry enough, dig beds and add compost or manure in preparation for planting. For assistance with choosing the appropriate plants for a planting bed, consider using our using our knowledgeable staff to help create a personalized custom plant list that meets all of your expectations. For more information, visit the Greenscape Guide Consulting Services.
Apply Fertilizer
While it is more important to apply fertilizer in the fall, a spring feeding strengthens roots and gets lawns off to a good start before the heavy growing season. In most regions, it is wise to apply a combination fertilizer with a pre-emergent to control crabgrass. Lawns can be fertilized organically by using compost or chemical fertilizers. It is recommended that a light fertilization take place in the spring, while a heavier fertilization take place in the fall. Too much fertilizer in spring can lead to disease and weed problems. To purchase fertilizers and other lawn care products, visitGarden’s Alive or Gurney’s.
Plant selection is essential in creating a beautiful landscape. Along with landforms, buildings, and structures, plants constitute the major components of a landscape as they organize space and solve issues and problems. When choosing plants for your landscape or garden, consideration must be given to its use, the proposed site, maintenance requirements, size of plants at maturity, seasonal interest, and susceptibility to pests.
Plant Use
Besides the visual qualities that plants possess, they provide many other functions within the landscape. Plants can be used to create outdoor spaces, stabilize steep slopes, screen unsightly views and modify the exposure to wind and sun. Additionally, plants provide ecological benefits by cleansing the air, modify air temperatures, preventing erosion and providing habitat for birds and animals. Consequently, its use should be determined prior to choosing and purchasing plants for your landscape.
Advance Planning
Because trees, shrubs, and perennials, can live for many years, it’s essential to choose plants that are appropriate for the proposed area within your landscape. For example, is the site in the sun or shade, is it wet or dry, and what is the soil type. Some plants prefer moist shade with acidic rich soil, while others prefer dry, hot, sunny areas with poor soil. By choosing plants that are well adapted to the conditions in your yard or garden, your plants will flourish without much maintenance or special care.
Maintenance Requirements
How much time and energy do you want to spend in your yard or garden? This is an important question to consider as all plants require different levels of care and maintenance. For example, roses require much care and attention. They must be pruned, sprayed, watered, and dead-headed regularly to produce favorable results. While many people are willing to dedicate their time and energy to get these gorgeous flowers, others are not as enthusiastic about yard work. For that reason, before purchasing plants for a desired location, be aware of their maintenance requirements.
An example of a plant list that can be customized to fit your needs
Plant Size at Maturity
Plants purchased from nurseries are –for the most part–always smaller than at maturity. However, people often forget this and plant too many shrubs and perennials in beds to look more complete right after planting. However, over time the plants crowd each other out and have to be either removed or pruned extensively. As a result, a plant’s size at maturity and proposed location must be carefully considered prior to its purchase.
Seasonal Interest
Plants are dynamic; they constantly change in color, texture, opaqueness, and overall character with seasons and with growth. For example, deciduous plants found in temperate climates typically have four distinctly different visual characteristics based on the seasons of the year: (1) spring with flowers and lush yellow-green foliage; (2) summer with dark green foliage; (3) autumn with brightly colored foliage; and (4) winter with bare branches and visible trunk bark. While some plants in other climates may not vary dramatically as deciduous plants do, they still alter in response to warm and cool or wet or dry seasons. These dynamic qualities of plants have major implications for their use in landscapes and therefore should be considered in the plant selection process.
Pests
To ensure the vitality and success of your plants, choose plants that are naturally free of major pests and diseases, and that are well adapted to your climate, and to the specific soil, light and moisture conditions on-site. Plants that require shade, for example, are more susceptible to pests when grown in full sun. The pH level of soil can also affect a plant’s ability to withstand pests.
Hardiness Zones
Prior to purchasing the desired plant, make certain that it can flourish and survive in the proposed area by referring to the plant hardiness zones. Plant hardiness zones are geographically defined zones in which specific categories of plant life are capable of growing, as defined by temperature hardiness, or ability to withstand the minimum temperatures of the zone. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) divides North America into 11 zones based on a 10 degree Fahrenheit difference in the average annual minimum temperature.
Need additional information on choosing plants or or just want a hand in selecting the right plants for an area within your landscape? Consider using our knowledgeable staff to help create a personalized custom plant list that meets all of your expectations. Please visit The Greenscape Guide Consulting Services.
