Help Your Yard Survive the Heat!

One of the best parts of the spring is the chance to start fresh in landscaping your lawn.

Whether you plant perennials or annuals, a vegetable garden or butterfly garden, every spring as the chance to plant new blooms or breathe new life into your tired, old lawn. And while fall is the best time to plant certain perennials – like bulbs for tulips, daffodils, or hyacinths – spring is the best time to imagine your yard and make your landscaping dreams come true!

Learn more flowers that thrive in warmer weather.

From planting perennials and annuals in your flowerbeds to trimming and shaping your evergreens to those finishing touches like lawn maintenance and mulching, in as little as one weekend, you can completely transform your lawn.

Read on for some tips and tricks to really make your lawn stand out this season!

Evergreens

The first noticeable sign of spring is the snow finally melting and then disappearing from the boughs of your evergreen shrubs. And even though evergreens are hearty, resilient plants, they do require some love and maintenance in order to look their best. If you neglect your evergreens for too long, they could become scraggly and unkempt looking, or overtake your garden so that no other plants can bloom or grow productively.

Evergreens may require pruning earlier than other perennials. Ideally, you should prune your evergreens in the very late winter, before they’ve started to bud with new growth. This will encourage proper growth internally and for the buds on the outside of the bushes.

Make sure you are also pruning your evergreens in a Christmas tree-like shape: wider at the base and thinner at the top so that the tree doesn’t become top-heavy and ungainly. Also, make sure that you’re not letting the plant become too wide or tall for the space in which you planted it.

When properly cared for and regularly maintained, evergreens will add a constant, relatively low-maintenance burst of year-round green to your yard and landscaping. They’re ideal for decorating in the winter with Christmas lights, and for balancing the bright and beautiful spring and summer blooms.

Perennial Flowers

Other than evergreens, there are a whole host of floral perennials that you may choose to incorporate in your landscaping as well. There are ground-covering perennials, like violets or blue star creeper; or, you may grow taller perennials like ruby star or hydrangeas. Perennials are an easy way to landscape your garden because they return year after year as long as they are properly cared for during their blooming season and properly pruned in the fall or early winter.

To make sure that the perennials in your garden are looking beautiful year after year, there are a few simple steps to follow. First, make sure to promptly remove dead blooms. This will keep the plant healthy and allow room for new blooms to grow. You should also regularly check the plants for pests and insects, which could chew away the leaves or, in extreme cases, kill the plant. Make sure you keep your perennials, like all your plants, well watered and weeded so that the plants have access to the necessary nutrients that are not poached by weeds. Finally, make sure to keep your perennials fertilized and your beds mulched so that your flowers can achieve peak brilliance!

While evergreens create the framework of your garden, perennial flowers provide a consistent and beautiful color palate.

Annual Flowers

If you’d like to add some variety to your garden, you can change up your yearly annual choices! Annual flowers only live for one season, and then need to be replaced the following year. Unlike perennials, they cannot survive the winter months and then regenerate, growing into new blooms the following year. Some popular annual flowers include impatiens, zinnias, marigolds, and petunias – among others. Many annuals are sensitive to shade and sunlight, so be sure to carefully review optimal growing conditions.

A lot of vegetables that you might grow in a garden are also classified as annuals, too. While fruit trees bear fruit year after year (perennially), most vegetables need to be replanted late each spring. Peppers, beans and legumes, and some varieties of tomato all need to be replanted yearly as well.

Follow the same guidelines for maintaining your annuals as you do your perennials. Annuals need to be deadheaded (removing the dead blooms), monitored for pests, watered and fertiziled, and mulched for optimal blooming.

Mulching

Mulching your garden beds is an essential task for a successful garden, be it flowers or vegetables. Not only does mulching help prevent weeds from growing, but it also helps the beds retain their moisture, which makes it easier for the plants to access the water they need to grow and bloom. A nice layer of mulch also regulates the soil temperature, protecting the plants’ roots from unexpected spring frosts and broiling summer days alike.

Most commonly, people choose either wood chips or stones for an aesthetically appealing look to their gardens. Wood chips are easy to maintain and weed, while stone beds offer a longer-lasting mulch option. It may be harder to weed in a stone bed, but the stone will last through many seasons and won’t need to be redone yearly, as wood chips do.
Artificial Turf to Complete the Look
No matter if you choose to decorate your landscaping with evergreens, perennials, annuals, or a mixture of the three, you should also consider how to best make them pop against the backdrop of your lawn.

Instead of wasting your valuable gardening time laboring over keeping your grass alive and neatly maintained, upgrade your yard to artificial turf! The synthetic fibers of artificial turf will stay green and gorgeous with absolutely no maintenance and in any climate or weather. It will provide a beautiful, green backdrop against which you can showcase your perfectly manicured seasonal landscaping, making you the envy of the neighborhood.

Nothing highlights a beautifully colored blossom better than a rich, vibrantly green lawn, and artificial turf is the only surefire way to keep your lawn looking perfect and verdant is by replacing your tired, fickle grass with artificial turf. Artificial turf won’t require mowing, fertilizing, or watering, and it will stand up to the tireless ministrations of your pets as well.

Artificial Turf Will Add That Perfect Finishing Touch To Your Summer Garden

As spring veers toward summer, it’s time to begin seriously considering the statement you want your seasonal landscaping to make this year. Be the envy of the neighborhood not only with your perfectly placed, well taken care of plants and flowers but with your vibrant, rich, green lawn as well. Upgrade your grass to artificial turf, and never waste another gardening moment on your grass again!

Learn more about where to find artificial grass for your yard, and enjoy a long-lasting evergreen landscape in the front and back yards.