Improving the landscaping around your home doesn’t mean you have to contract a professional landscape company. With a little know-how, and a willingness to exercise that “green thumb” of yours, you can have a yard to be proud of, and one that will garner accolades from your neighbors.
12 Suggestions For a Great Yard
To help set you on the right path, here are an even dozen DIY tips you can follow for an appealing-looking landscaping scheme that won’t require a lot of maintenance:
1. Tune up lawn and garden equipment
To keep your home’s landscaping looking its best, you first need to make sure your landscaping equipment is working its best. To do this, you’ll need to tune-up your lawn mower, edger, string trimmer, or hedge trimmer. This generally means replacing air filters, fuel filters, spark plugs and other key components annually before you actually start using the equipment. You should also inspect the equipment for damage and performance issues. If any of the equipment is having problems, you can get comprehensive troubleshooting and DIY repair help at Repair Clinic.
2. Make a plan. Few people actually take the time to truly plan their landscaping, but you don’t have to be a Landscape Architect to create a nice look and natural flow to your yard, no matter the size. Study your yard and your region. Consider shade, sun, moisture, foot traffic, and other conditions specific to your yard. Recognize that you don’t have to make all the desired changes in one season. The best landscaping is one that evolves over time.
3. Add more vegetation. The best kind of yard is one that’s rich with plants. Since the lawn itself is usually very high maintenance, consider complementing your lawn with gardens and plants that won’t require as much weekly care. A yard with more vegetation has greater ecological benefits.
4. Make a walking path. Areas with a lot of shade or heavy foot traffic may be better suited as walking paths made of stones. Do the same for slopes and other areas that are difficult to maintain.
5. Add drought-tolerant plants for time saving and water conservation. The less water one has to use to maintain plants, the better. Do a little research so you’re adding the kind of plants that will thrive in your region without a lot of attention.
6. Ask the experts for preventative care advice. University landscape design or horticulture departments can provide information about diseases and pests threatening trees or plants locally. Take a few steps now to protect your yard and save a lot of time and money in the long term.
7. Plant perennials in lieu of annuals to reduce pre-season planting. This is an investment that really pays off in returns as you can enjoy beautiful blooms each year without have to put in additional effort.
8. Leave lawn clippings. Recycling grass clippings provides additional nutrients to promote lawn growth. Contrary to the common myth, lawn clippings rarely cause enough thatch to choke the lawn, so it’s wise to leave the clippings unbagged, unless crabgrass and weeds are present in the lawn. Of course, if you intend to leave the clippings on the lawn instead of bagging them, be sure your lawn mower is equipped with a mulching blade.
9. Add Hosta plants. In most environments, Hosta plants are shade loving, low-maintenance wonders that pair nicely with colorful, fellow shade-loving flowers. Hosta plants require little pruning and watering so they’re a wise choice in most parts of North America.
10. Allow your lawn to grow a bit. Taller grass is healthier grass so avoid giving lawns buzz cuts. Cut only one third of grass blade length in a single mowing. Grass grows through photosynthesis so the longer the blades, the more energy available to obtain nutrients for healthy root systems.
11. Choose plants that are native to your region as much as possible. Again, do a little research to find the plants and flowers that thrive in the area you live in. The easier it is for the plants to adapt to your yard, the less maintenance will be required.
12. Transform high-maintenance lawn patches into gardens. The patch of lawn between a street and a sidewalk often requires additional maintenance due to traffic and other factors. A strategically designed garden filled with easy-to-manage flowers and plants can add great curb appeal to your home and reduce yard maintenance.
Keeping Your Lawn & Garden Equipment in Top Shape with Repair Clinic
Maintaining your landscaping does require keeping your lawn and garden equipment in top shape. Repair Clinic makes that easy with tune-up kits and replacement parts for everything from lawn mowers and snowblowers to string trimmers, edgers, leaf blowers, pole pruners, chainsaws, and the small engines that power them all.
Repair Clinic’s free advanced online repair help system empowers do-it-yourselfers to fix common problems associated with outdoor power equipment, home appliances, and heating & cooling equipment. DIYers can enter a model number to choose from a list of common symptoms for that particular model, learn about the most likely causes, and watch expertly-produced videos that will demonstrate, step-by-step, how to do the repair. That same model number will also direct the user to the specific replacement part that fits that model, and fast shipping will put that part in your hands promptly, so you won’t have to wait long for your appliance or equipment to be back in good working order.