How to Prepare Soil for a New Lawn

Soil preparation is not an art but rather a science. You need to take care of the dosage of everything your soil needs. Whether it’s water, fertilizers or pesticides, a careful preparation can make all the difference between a green, healthy lawn and a poorly grown one. All the landscaping companies insist on the right nutrition at the right time to get the best results.

1. Weeding – Removing weeds is essential. Whether you use mowing, hand picking, or weed spray depends on the severity of infestation. If you have a big infestation of weeds, you should always spray them out first and then start other tasks two weeks later. Try to opt for low chemical or chemical free weed killers.

2. Aeration – Check if the soil of your lawn is hard and compact. If yes, use a pitchfork or spade to turn over the soil to a depth of 12 inches. If the lawn is vast use an aerator for the task. Landscaping companies also offer different aeration services.
3. Levelling – Levelling is important for lawns. This helps to fill and fix potholes and depressions in your lawn. Fill the holes and level with a spade or back of a rake. Once the soil has been leveled, it should be lightly firmed down to knock out large air pockets and prevent the soil level from dropping too much.
4. pH testing – Before adding any fertilizers or pesticides, we suggest soil testing. Soil testing reveals the oil pH and amount of available nutrients such as phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). If major modifications are needed, it is easier to make these prior to establishing the lawn.

5. Fertilizers and manure – Starter fertilizers should be mixed into the soil surface prior to lawn establishment. These are typically high in phosphorous. Balanced fertilizers have a balanced ratios of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (N, P, K). Manure is a natural fertilizer that’s rich in nitrogen. You can use it as a fertilizer, mix it with other ingredients to create your own lawn food, or layer it on grass as a thin mulch. Manure helps in keeping your lawn healthy with its high nitrogen and phosphorus content.
6. Watering – Every lawn has specific water needs depending on the climate, fertilizers and manure used, and the soil. Get the right instructions from a lawn care company about the water requirement of your lawn for proper nutrition absorption and moisture regulation.

Now your lawn is ready to grow anything you want. Go out and experiment!

How to choose the right plants for your garden

Choosing the right plants for your garden varies from your personal preferences to the plants that can be grown in the given space and climate.

Before you decide on the plants, be sure to make a plan.

1. Expenses – Your budget is the most important thing. How much the plants will cost? What kind of fertilizers will they need? Will they need any special maintenance service that can only be provided by landscaping companies? Once your budget is defined, you can move on other important things.
2. Space – Sometimes when you get a plant at home, you forget to analyze how big it will grow when it’s full size. Make sure you are aware of the space you can afford for each plant when it matures and attains full size.
3. Climatic conditions – What are the climatic conditions of your area? How suitable is it for the plant you choose? How much attention does it need in each season? You have to get all the information from the nursery or you can also get a lesson from a lawn care company.
4. Availability – How easily are the pesticides, manure and fertilizers for your plant available? Do they need anything special that is not commonly available at nurseries and lawn care companies?

Once you have taken care of the basics, we can move to the type of plants you can choose to have in your garden. There are different types of plants and trees you can plant in your garden and get a beautiful and refreshing look.

1. Plants around the perimeter – For the perimeter of the house choose small trees and shrubs that look good year-round and remain small. Place them so that they won’t grow into the house or damage the foundation with their roots. Avoid entrances and windows as they may block them when they are mature.
2. Trees – When choosing trees, first decide on their placement in your garden and then accordingly choose the tree with the right height, width, form and color. You should also determine if you want fruit or berries or flower yielding trees. Trees can be evergreen or deciduous. Evergreens are great for spots that need green year-round while deciduous will offer more variety, changing their look with each season, and offering beautiful leaves, flowers, and fruit.
3. Shrubs – Shrubs and shrub borders are low-maintenance alternatives to flower borders. Like trees, shrubs are also evergreen and deciduous. They can fill a landscape with flowers, fragrance and colors. When choosing a shrub, consider characteristics like size, flower or berries, bloom time, leaf form and seasonal color.
4. Groundcovers – Ground covers require less maintenance than the lawn. They are thick and grow vigorously. They help keeping weeds away and need less water. But beware of the over-vigorous ground covers as they tend to choke out the less aggressive plants.
5. Perennials and Annuals – Perennials bloom year after year, for a season or at least for two weeks, depending on the variety. They are more expensive initially, but save money over time. Annuals on the other hand are less expensive than perennials initially, but they die after one year and hence need replacement.
6. Vines – They are the best to make the most out of a small garden as they use little ground space. They add greenery and colors to your walls and tree trunks. When you choose an annual or perennial vine, see to how it attaches itself to its support. Some vines twine while others grow out tendrils. There are some that cling. The clinging types are somewhat permanent and are suitable only for brick, stone, and other surfaces that are virtually maintenance-free.

Before selecting any type of plants or trees, be sure to visit a nursery or a lawn care company and get complete information on sun, soil, and water requirements of the plants. You should also learn about how long the plant blooms, what the flowers and leaves look like, any diseases or pests that threaten them, when the trees drop their leaves and over what period of time, their seasonal colors and suitability to your climate.

It’s great to have exotic plants and flowers in your garden but you need to ensure that you have the time, money and tools to take care of your precious plants.