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If you're reading this you might be wondering how the heck do I keep my landscaping looking nice all year?! You may be thinking what am I suppose to do in the fall or what is the secret. While I can't read your mind (unfortunately), When home owners think of landscaping around their home, especially for the first time in the season it can be overwhelming. Often you're wanting some landscaping installed and don't know how to maintain the landscape afterwards. For example, this could be because of a lack of communication between you and your contractor. That's okay though! that's why I am here to break down the step by step way of understanding how to make your landscaping look great all year round. A lot of the things that we do around the landscape can and should require low maintenance. Essentially what i'm trying to say before we really get into things is that for the most part nothing that were really doing is out of this world or extravagant and can be done on a regular basis. However, there is a lot of value to be offered and you need to know how to care for your landscaping as well as understand that it is important to do so. This can be still beneficial if you're a gardener or a DIY'er. Now let's dive in.
Spring
Pruning
There are certainly a lot of things to do in the spring to maintain a tidy landscape. One thing to focus on for sure is early spring pruning. Make sure to focus on broken, load bearing, and old wood branches. Always cut on an angle with a pruning saw or use loppers for smaller shrubs. This will make sure there will be no rotting or disease of the plant,shrub,etc. This can even be done in the late winter.
In the spring after what some people might even call the April shower, there will be of course, weeding. You should weed your garden beds completely, particularly as early in the spring possible so you have a better chance of weeding before the weeds take root. You can also apply a weed control at this time. Another would be a spring cleanup. This can be a great idea and routine for you or to a hire a company like Holmscape Property Maintenance if you choose. This includes the raking of leaves to allow for the proper uptake of sunlight and nutrients for the lawn. However, this will also take into account cleaning out of beds of all leaves and debris, and redefining its edge. This obviously doesn't apply if you use the leaves for fertilizer. Tip: it may even work better to join some beds after a while instead of continuously edging.
Mulching
Many people's landscape would definitely benefit from mulching in the spring. Make sure to thoroughly look through your beds and see exactly how much mulch is currently on them. Look and see that their isn't any mold or mildew growing. If this is the case then you should remove a layer of mulch and possibly shut off any irrigation in that area. If there is no mulch, the mulch has completely broken down or has almost decomposed, I would recommend a 3" layer of mulch. Typically every year you can see an opportunity to top up beds with a 1" layer of mulch, so at three years without applying you would use a 3" layer. This will help provide moisture in dry seasons, cools the roots of plants during the hot summer, helps with the winterization of plants, and builds biodiversity throughout the soil increasing organic matter.
Summer
I have learned that when it comes to planting in the landscape, to keep it looking great to the homeowner year round often times it takes the right planting. What I mean is you need to plant enough variety so that Perennials, Shrubs, and Trees can stand out in each season and can thrive. Evergreens are great for the winter and standing out. Make sure that you keep these plants watered efficiently and properly. Make sure that you water your plants in sandy soil 2-3 times more than plants in clay soil. When watering your plants make sure that you are actually getting down to the root-ball as well. You also want to make sure when watering that you water to the point of absorption of the soil basically. Look for dying, browning or yellowing leaves as this is could simply be an over watering issue that can also lead to root rot,etc. During the summer, it is important to watch out for signs of disease and pests. Dying leaves, holes, brown patches, and dying/broken branches, etc. I would highly recommend some drought resistant plants for the summer. Early summer is actually a great time to do your transplanting. Just to clarify what that is, Transplanting is to simply replant a plant in another place.
While I am not one to speak on lawn care too much as I am here to provide service and education about landscaping I feel as though it should not be left out here. During the summer you need to make sure you do not mow your lawn too much as this can stunt your lawn. This applies of course for the company that you hire and making sure that they do not over do it with the mowing. You also should keep an eye on how much rain you're getting throughout the week and see if you need to water the lawn or install some irrigation. Sometimes a poor lawn can take away from a pretty landscape. Lastly, you can always be refreshing your mulched beds, touching up beds with new edging, Installing walkways to tie together your garden beds, lawn and complete your landscape, hedge and shrub trimming and thinning, and the lovely weeding that few want to do in the heat of the summer, so it may be best to hire a landscape company.
Fall
Last but not least we are now in the fall. Summer comes to an end, plants stop blooming, and especially leaves start falling. However, we should keep the property looking great all year long as stated in the title. Feel free to click here to get a better understanding of property cleanups and our services before reading into the fall section. Continue weeding as usual to limit the amount for the spring. At this time there shouldn't be as much growth. When that is taken care of and leaves come down you can clean the beds of leaves and rake the leaves to keep the lawn and landscape looking great. This is the time to cut down your Perennials for the winter. Make sure to cut low to the ground at about a few inches. This is also a great time to dig out and dispose of or even compost your annuals.
Seed and Sod
Fall is the best time to seed or sod, particularly the late fall as temperatures are mild and the cooler soil will allow the roots to take much easier than in the summer months. To complete the process fill bare spots in with seed and over-seed if desired. Ideally fertilizer should be applied in the fall to allow for the lawn to take and have the right nutrients. Please make sure that you do not over apply.
Other
An idea at this time could be to look at getting some lighting along your garden beds or patios,etc. This may be a good time as well to take a look at your downspouts or gutters. See if anything may need to be repaired or replaced. This is important as it can get worse throughout the winter especially when left year after year. Its important to ensure that you have good drainage around the property and that includes from those downspouts. Gutter cleaning may be of value as well. Keep in mind that a lot of this should be done by a professional to ensure that things are installed and flowing properly. You can certainly find landscape contractors who do good drainage work as well as gutter work.
Winter
I would say that certainly there is nothing pretty about the general landscape in the winter compared to other seasons. However, that does not mean there is absolutely nothing to do. Winterizing is a key one that I feel like people may not really know about. This is where you wrap an evergreen or a specimen plant such as a Japanese Maple with burlap, sometimes twine or something of that nature in order to prepare it for the winter. It can also be beneficial to make a tent or purchase one so that you can protect your more precious plants from ice and frost. Now how can we now forget beautiful holiday lighting. While it may not be considered anything to do with the landscape, I am going to be providing the service so I do feel compelled to talk about it on here. You can always hire a property maintenance company to do your lighting so you don't have to! this allows you to not have to worry about the hastle, labor, as well as you get an opportunity for a possible better variety, and a higher quality of lighting.
Now I want to make sure that this article is not necessarily to make anyone a gardener, or to immediately spend money on landscaping. I do believe the average person is quite hesitant to spend money on services due to a lack of education and honesty from contractors. Horrible salesman in the industry don't help.. The goal is to ultimately make you more aware and educated on this topic. If you chose to take action then great, I hope you have a green day!