Spring Cleaning for Your Lawn

Now that its officially Spring, its time to think about doing some Spring cleaning. We know all too well the yearly tradition of cleaning our homes, but what about our lawns. A beautiful lawn not only gives your home good curb appeal, but creates a more inviting environment for your friends and family to enjoy. By following these tips, you can help your lawn wake up from its winter slumber and grow some beautiful flowers and healthy grass.

As mundane and task heavy as it is, the first thing you want to do is clear out all of the built up leaves, branches, and other debris that has collected in flower beads and crevices around your home and outdoor furniture. It amazing how many bags of junk can collect when we're not spending time outside!

Next you want to plant your new beauties for the coming warm weather. What you plant depends on your soil, shade, and of course the amount of time and effort you want to put into gardening. I love to have useful plants like lavendar, rosemary, and basil. Not only can you cook with these and use them for fragrance, but they also repel mosquitos.

After you get your new plants in the ground and pots, you need to mulch. The chunkier the better. I've been advised to get the cheapest, chunkiest mulch available. You want 2-3 inches of mulch in your flowerbeds and surrounding your potted plants as well. This not only protects the soil and root system, but prevents weeds from settling in and grabbing hold.

Finally after mowing, you want to fertilize. The general rule of thumb on timing is mow twice fertilize once. In otherwords, once you have mowed your Spring grass twice, it is now time to fertilize your lawn. I like to spray weed killer the day before I mow to give it time to absorb into the plant and to reach the root system.

Of course, for those of you without green thumbs, you can always decorate with the oh so adorable fairy gardens; very little gardening and lots of amusement!