How To Construct And Maintain A Striking Lawn

It's exciting to see the first signs of green grass and blossoming flowers in your lawn. In fact, you practically visualize your hard work paying off but it's not late since this flourish turns into a hideous lump of weeds and over extensions that are a plague for the eye. It's absolutely essential, therefore to keep the lawn manicured and maintained. Here are some of the tips that will help you in doing so.

Trimming the bushes

The bushes at the perimeter can either make or break the outlook of your garden. Neatly cut them and you have got yourself an inviting space, keep them unattended and people will feel undecided as to enter the lawn or not.

Call a gardener or if you are an experienced “lawn-man”, take the clipper and cut them in the shape of a drumstick if they are separated by spaces or in box and funnel-shaped if they are planted close to each other. Check this guide for more information.

Watering deep

The rule of thumb is to water the lawn especially the grass heavily. It is better to make the water reach at least 6 inches down the soil rather than lightly watering it repetitively. Only if you water it heavily will the roots be able to take it in and grow deeper in the soil.

The amount of watering depends on the type of grass you have in the yard. Manage the water supply early in the morning or late afternoon as these times would ensure that only a limited amount is evaporated.

Construct a well-defined edge

This gives a layered effect to your garden. Having a dedicated area for a specific type of plants or flowers or an artificial waterfall bordered with flowers gives an added focal point to the lawn. But edging it prominently is significant because if it seems to merge with the rest of the grass, you will lose that layered effect.

One way of doing it is to construct the edge a little higher than the grass level by throwing in extra soil or separating them with edge border materials like pebbles or rocks. You can add more elegance to it by painting them with colors like red, black or white.

Scheduled mowing

The grass is probably the element of your lawn that will grow the fastest hence requires maximum maintenance. The time of cutting will vary according to the species of the grass you have planted but here is a secret tip for good growth. Never cut away more than 1/3 of the grass height otherwise it will seriously harm its growth.

You may use these self-propelled lawn mowers if the garden size is small and a zero-turn radius lawn mower if a large one needs your attention. A zero-turn lawn mower can effectively cut grass at acute angles because of its ability to turn around a zero radius. Choose mowers that have sharp blades because they cut the grass evenly. A poorly cut grass is more prone to diseases and would require extra nutrients to remain healthy.

The lawn needs nutrients

Although the rainwater and wind dispersal will provide the lawn with some of the nutrients but eventually the soil tends to get devoid of them. Hence, it is important that you refuel them with fertilizers which have the necessary nutrients, salts, and compounds. Get advice from a gardener or a lawn expert regarding which type of fertilizer is promoting maximum growth and which amount is optimal.

Be cautious because adding excessive fertilizer can burn the plants and grass completely. The most effective method is to use granular fertilizer twice a year. As opposed to the water-soluble fertilizer, it releases its nutrients slowly over a span of months which contributes to a more efficient spread. Of course, you could use natural fertilizer like manure and compost.

Add flower beds

Green color all around looks ravishing but it will be after some time that you will feel bored because of the lack of vibrancy. Dedicating some space for flower beds would bring that bewitching flavor. Make sure that you don’t add too much color because it would feel over-expressive. Keep it composed by merging together three to four colors in an attractive arrangement.

There are two types of flower beds you can make: Dig-out or no-dig. The first one involves digging out grass through a shovel or a trowel to about 4-5 inches and then planting the seeds by getting rid of any debris or loose soil. The latter also includes cutting of grass as the first step but not till deep enough. It is cut till the ground and then a raised flower bed is created by spreading a newspaper over the are and covering it up with compost and mulch. This method is becoming more popular because it's better for the environment and requires less effort.

Wooden features as a masterstroke

If you can manage to integrate some sort of wooden features into the garden, it would be brilliant; much of a masterstroke. It could be a fence or illuminated logs at prescribed locations, an artificial sculpture fashioned out of wood or a bridge flowing over a stream of water.

Defeat the diseases

Like a disease inflict serious damage to a human body, does it to a lawn as well. Plants catch diseases in the form of pests and fungal attack. It can be caused by many reasons ranging from waterlogged soil to a sudden wasp attack.

You must be prepared for diseases of all sorts. Look for signs of weeds every now and then because they snatch the nutrients of the soil and make tour plantations weaker. Pull them out with hand or spray a herbicide if they have grown large in number. As for the fungus and insects craving on your plants, eradicate them through spraying fungicide and insecticides but carry out research before choosing the type because specific insecticides are so strong that they would damage your plants as well.