Holland Landscape Maintenance

Clean Up Services

Spring Readiness

We normally relate "spring cleaning" tasks as those performed to freshen up a home that has been shuttered up all winter. Lawns and your landscaping need some TLC at this time of year and throughout the year to prepare your yard for the growing season. The other types of tasks discussed below involve getting your yard ready for gardening:

• Preparing flower beds
• Planting
• Weed control
• Plant care

A thorough spring yard cleanup readies your lawn and landscaping for summer, but it can accomplish more than just that. In some cases, it will save you from headaches farther down the road.

Summer Care

In the summer keep an eye out for fungal diseases on turf and your ornamentals. Mitigate situations favoring their spread and treat with a Fungicide if necessary such as weed and leaf/debris removal as necessary.

Mow high, this helps to shade the plant crown and roots. It also helps keep the soil from drying out as much douring hot summer days. Pull any weeds that show up in the yard. When summer heat and lack of moisture is starting to turn your lawn a little brown, think cool season grasses such as bluegrass, fescues and ryegrasses. They naturally do best in cooler weather and will green up again as the weather cools and rains return. Also, Dull mower blades shred grass, so they lose more moisture than they would with a clean cut and shredded tips turn brown, making your lawn look dull.

Turning your sprinkler on for just a few minutes a few times a week really will not do much to help your lawn. Water your grass deeply and less often. And water early in the morning, This will help reduce problems with evaporation and disease.

Fall Preparations

When summer is drawing to a close, that does not mean it is time to forget your lawn and garden. If you want a vibrant and healthy lawn and garden in the spring, there is plenty of lawn maintenance left to do before winter arrives.

Preparing your lawn and garden for winter will give you less yard work to do once the weather warms. Less work equates to less money you will need to spend.

As leaves collect on your lawn, we rake them regularly to keep your grass healthy. Leaves can smother and kill the grass if left on your lawn. Then we bag them for disposal or you can also shred the leaves for garden compost.

Winter Watch

Preparing your lawn and garden for winter will give you less yard work to do once the weather warms. Less work equates to less money you will need to spend.

Caring for your lawn in the winter requires multiple steps, here are some "must do" steps:

• Fertilize for early growth in the spring.
• Aeration for the lawn to breathe.
• Seeding with cool weather grass seed.
• Rake and water the lawn to break up clumps and help cover the seeds.

If you follow the steps above you improve the chance of a good looking healthy lawn the following spring and there are some other things you may want to consider.

Clean up your lawn. Debris, leaves, and toys on the lawn can smother the grass and create disease conditions, Insects, mice, and other damaging pests love to hide under things. Like debris, excessively long grass can smother itself and cause disease. Moreover, it is also at risk of damage from freezing and thawing conditions. Therefore, make sure that it is cut at a lower level than normal. Not too short, scalping is not a good thing.

When possible avoid traffic on the lawn, a heavily worn winter path will be slower to green up in the spring and and traffic can cause compaction. Winters can often be unpredictable and may put your lawn through some extreme conditions during the course. Make sure, you've "put the lawn to bed" properly.