Follow This Advice From The Experts

A lush, beautiful yard in the summer starts with proper planning in early spring. While hiring professionals for lawn and garden clean-up and preparation is an option, you can tackle these tasks yourself with the right approach. Before making a trip to the garden center, use the checklist below to map out your strategy.

Spring Lawn Care Steps

1. Seed Bare Spots

Although major aeration, major fertilizing, and overseeding are best done in early fall, it is certainly a good idea to heavily rake and seed bare spots in your yard. Apply a starter fertilizer to these areas. Keep the new seed moist, but don't drench it.

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2. Apply Pre-emergent Herbicide

Pre-emergent herbicide prevents weed growth before the weed seedlings can emerge, so one would apply this in spring in jurisdictions where lawn herbicides are allowed. However, it will also prevent your good grass seed from germinating so do not apply it on top of any newly seeded areas.

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3. Use Fertilizer

Most cool season grasses like those we have in the Washington, D.C. area are typically fertilized in the fall. However, a light fertilization will help green-up your lawn in spring. Most lawns do not need phosphorus, so choose a fertilizer with 0 as the middle number. (Example 18-0-4). Be careful not to use too much fertilizer because it will run off into our streams and rivers when it rains.

4. Tune-Up Your Mower

To tune-up your mower, change the oil, spark plugs, and air filter. Fill the tires with air and remove old grass clippings and dirt. Finally, inspect the blades on your mower to see if they need to be sharpened or adjusted.

5. Mow Your Lawn

When the grass is long enough to require cutting, usually in early spring, it is time to start mowing about once a week. Adjust the mower to the highest setting, leaving the grass at about three inches tall. Avoid mowing the grass too low so that the roots can grow strong and weeds will not take hold.

Spring Garden Care Steps

1. Clean Out The Beds

The first step in preparing your garden for spring is to tidy up the beds where plants and flowers are to grow. Pull out weeds that are sprouting. Remove all old dead perennial leaves and any annual flowers that have not lasted the winter.

2. Prune Shrubs And Trees

Prune any dead branches from shrubs or small trees in your garden. Trim old liriope (the evergreen ground cover) to about three inches, but no shorter. While entire books have been written on pruning, a key rule to remember is that spring-flowering shrubs—such as azaleas, forsythia, and spring-blooming camellias—should not be heavily pruned, as this will remove next season’s flowers.

3. Apply Fertilizer

Apply a granular fertilizer around the trees, shrubs, and perennials, being careful to follow the directions. Too little is fine, but too much can harm or even kill your plants. Do not leave fertilizer on foliage; make sure all of it is on the ground. If you wish, you can use compost to fertilize. Following application of the fertilizer, be sure to gently water your plants and shrubs.

4. Edge The Garden Beds

Make a nice edge with a flat shovel or a power edger to define the beds. This way your yard is more attractive and the edge creates a "lip" that contains the mulch. Do not throw the edgings into the bed. Instead, take the edgings away or use them as fill somewhere else in your yard.

5. Add Mulch

Mulch is used to retain water in the soil, suppress weeds, and make the garden beds look good. It also helps plants survive by acting as a protective layer against heavy rain and cold temperatures. Mulch lightly; one inch of new mulch is plenty because too much mulch can harm the plants.

6. Wait Until May For Annual Flowers

Don’t be tempted to plant annual flowers such as begonias, petunias, and New Guinea impatiens before May. One small frost can kill every single annual flower. Instead, plant cold-tolerant flowers such as pansies and violas in deer-free areas in fall, let them overwinter, and enjoy their regrowth in spring. Just around the time they are ready to fizzle out in May, go ahead and plant your new annuals.

At Meridian Homes, we specialize in luxury remodeling and custom home building in the Washington, D.C. area. Our mission is to create exceptional residences that exceed expectations. Our highly personalized design process and careful management of every project have earned us a reputation over many years for outstanding client service and solid, beautiful craftsmanship. Contact us today to begin your custom home or remodeling project.