5 Ways to Enhance Your Yard

Other than the exterior of the house itself, your front yard is probably the most prominent feature of your property from the outside. To make a good first impression on visitors or anyone passing by, you want your lawn to be looking its best! Fortunately, there are quite a few ways to spruce up your plot of land. Here are several ideas to consider.

Landscaping

You have your own private piece of the world, so why not personalize it? Landscaping is a great way to express yourself while also making your home look sharp.

Consider laying pavers for a practical and decorative pathway. You can try planting ornamental shrubs around your front door, near your porch, or in your side yard. You could also create a colorful flower bed with a wide array of dazzling colors. If you enjoy birdwatching, you could install a stylish bird bath or a purple martin bird house. Putting down fresh mulch can add a highly polished look as well. Plus, it helps reduce the number of pesky, unsightly weeds.

There are plenty of ways to decorate and make your space your own. Use your imagination and have fun!

Mowing

A freshly mown lawn is undoubtedly pleasing to the eye. For the best results, be sure to abide by some best mowing practices.

For example, you should generally aim to remove only the top third of the grass length. Mowing any further can cause significant damage to the grass, stunting growth and resulting in unattractive patchiness. An extremely short cut—called scalping—can even allow weeds to easily spread and overtake the area, disrupting the appealing homogeneity that you’ve worked so hard to achieve.

The quality of your mowing blades can also dramatically affect the health of your grass. Sharp blades ensure a clean and even cut. In contrast, dull blades tear the grass, causing jagged ends that are unhealthy, brownish in color and susceptible to both disease and pests.

Fertilizing

Your lawn needs resources to grow as the luscious emerald carpet of your dreams. Nature will take care of the sunshine and rain, but you need to provide some additional nutrients to make the grass really grow. That’s where fertilizer comes in.

Fertilizer provides essential nutrients and minerals for grass that may have been depleted or washed away over the years. Fertilizing is key to having a lush, green plot of land.

Aerating

Over time, your soil becomes compacted due to a number of factors, such as years of mowing or high clay content. The compact earth prevents air, water, and other nutrients from reaching the grass roots, stunting healthy growth.

By aerating, you remove many small cores from the ground, which breaks up the compact dirt and allows grass roots to receive the nutrients needed for dense growth. Improved grass density will make your yard look more uniform and aesthetically pleasing.

Pruning

With your well-manicured lawn, a shaggy, unkempt bush or tree is sure to disrupt the idyllic scenery of your property. Proper pruning not only improves appearances, but also promotes plant health and longevity.

When pruning, be sure to remove any dead or diseased branches. Aside from being eyesores, dead branches can attract harmful insects, so removing them is a must for protecting the plant. Besides, the dead pieces aren’t doing the plant any favors. They are literal dead weights! Getting rid of the diseased portions helps prevent further spread of the disease to healthy parts of the plant.

Also, remove any small offshoots sprouting from near the base of the plant. Removing these springs forces the plant to focus its precious resources on maintaining strong and healthy branches, rather than wasting resources on small sucker branches.

There are numerous ways to upgrade the looks of your yard. With a little perseverance and hard work, you can have a high-quality lawn that is sure to impress the next passerby.