PREVENTING YARD WARS! BOUNDARY IDEAS!!!

PREVENTING YARD WARS! BOUNDARY IDEAS WHEN PHILOSOPHIES DIFFER

For the most part, neighbors plant & mow the same types of grass.                 They don't often care  where their yard stops and the other begins.

But what if you don't have the same ideas about gardening?

Here are some neighborhood yards and gardens that conjure up some         interesting solutions.

This gardener used black star gravel and a metal border. To prevent gravel          from becoming a problem for the neighbor's lawnmower, they then                  cleverly transitioned to a black mulch!

I'm not sure I like the stark all-gravel look with a bungalow, but never mind.

These two neighbors have a dramatically different philosophy!

To solve the problem and keep the gravel in its place, they've used landscape       bricks and a metal runner.

Note: The nut sedge has already decided to live in the gravel. (Mother Nature       hates a void.)

It pains me to admit that one of my neighbors in the next block has a fake             yard. You are looking at St. Augustine grass on the left and the fake yard                 on the right.  The concrete divider comes standard with the fake grass.                     By the way, studies have found that the fake grass heats up about the                    same as concrete sidewalks. I've not tested the theory, so let's move on.

The family on the left wanted to plant natives and do away with part of                   their lawn. Landscape bricks separate their planting from the St. Augustine lawn       next door.  I liked this idea so much that I borrowed it for my own border       problems (which I'll show you at the end of the post).

A small ditch separates these two different mowing philosophies;                         longer grass on the left and shorter grass on the right.

Both are St. Augustine grass.

Three of the newest homes have Bermuda grass lawns.

I personally do NOT like this type of grass since it is much more difficult to         maintain.  As you can see on the left, weeds are a constant battle. If you are         next to a standard St. Augustine lawn, you'll need to install a metal strip to       prevent the lawns from battling for supremacy. 

Another example. St. Augustine grass on the left and low cut Bermuda                grass on the right.

Nothing divides these two types of grasses and this could lead to problems.

Bermuda grass is on the left and something new is on the right. I'll check back           in a couple of months to see what happens.

If both houses have no lawn and lots of shade, homeowners like this one               plant under story shrubs in a shared bed (left side). The right side of the         property has a fence, then gravel next to the sidewalk. I like when neighbors             work together. It looks like one endless garden.

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I hope you NEVER have to face a boundary problem between you and your     neighbor.

But if you do, hopefully this post will offer some solutions to keep the peace.

Snow, snow, go away!  It’s March, and yes, snow is a possibility, let’s hope not!  We’ll look at your lawn situation if it snowed much in February or if it snows in March.  We’ll also review lawn ideas for March if snow is not an issue.

Snow is good since it provides much needed moisture to your lawn and landscaping plantings during winter months.  Snow and cold weather also help the lawn go through its natural winter dormancy so it grows vigorously each spring.  However, I’m sure we all hope there is no snow when you read this article, we want spring to arrive!  How many times did you have to apply ice melters this winter?  Was it 5, 10, 20 times?  Did any of the ice melt drift off into lawn areas, I’m sure some did?  Depending on the type of ice melt you use you may have different degrees of lawn damage.  Rock salt and grass do not particularly like each other.  Salts draw moisture out of plants sometimes causing death.  Magnesium Chloride and Potassium Chloride are also common ice melt materials.  The good news is they are also components used in lawn fertilizers.  Hopefully these did not cause as much or any lawn damage.  Magnesium and Potassium can cause damage if you had to apply excessive amounts of these materials.

Snow and salt damage on lawns can be neutralized with applications of Gypsum or Calcium Sulfate Dihydrate which is found in our Love Your Lawn – Love Your Soil product. Aeration or loosening up the soil with a rake prior to applications of these products helps get to the root of the problem.  In the absence of enough moisture, heavy watering cans also help to “wash-out” some of the residual salts in the soil.  Salt damaged lawns will have to be re-seeded to avoid weeds invading these areas.  Snow mold may also be a problem on the lawn if there has been heavy snow cover for many weeks.  Snow mold may present itself once all snow has gone away.  If the lawn has died you should re-seed these damaged areas.

If it did not snow much in February or March do not read the first part of this article!  Let’s get your lawn going now.  Rake up lawn areas to get rid of any leaves and debris.  Determine where you need to re-seed bare spots and pick the correct grass seed mixture for the area whether it is sunny or shady or heavy traffic.  Apply a new seeding-type starter fertilizer and any other soil supplements you may need.  How good is the quality of your soil? Perhaps you need some calcium to raise the soil pH, did you test your soil for its pH value?  We have suggested this many times in prior articles.  If you have too many weeds growing in your lawn over the years your pH value is probably low.  If you are not seeding, apply a traditional lawn fertilizer in early spring to wake up your dormant lawn.

What about soil compaction, drainage problems or shade?  These problems should have been addressed last fall when the air and soil temperatures where more pleasing to work in your yard.  You cannot grow a great lawn without the proper environment, one that favors grass growth and not one with various problems like we have discussed.

If you are not seeding I would hold off on applying crabgrass preventers until April.  Let the newly seeded grass grow and be mowed a few times.  By delaying crabgrass control you will see less crabgrass this summer.  Remember, crabgrass only really grows in sunny areas of your lawn.  Let’s get going and grow the best lawn we can this year, I know you can do it!

How to fix Multicolored Lawn

Is your lawn Is your lawn a variety of colors right now?  Chances are it's because your lawn is made up of a patchwork of grasses. 

It is important to know as much as you can about the different types of grasses in your Lawn It is important to know as much as you can about the different types of grasses in your lawn and how they behave so that you know what to expect from them.  If the patchy lawn bothers you, you can choose the correct solution. 

I've seen a lot of people assume that their dormant Rough Bluegrass is an "insect" problem.  They go out an needlessly apply a potentially dangerous insecticide for no reason that doesn't solve their problem.  Knowing the types of grass I've seen a lot of people assume that their dormant Rough Bluegrass is an "insect" problem.  They go out an needlessly apply a potentially dangerous insecticide for no reason that doesn't solve their problem.  Knowing the types of grass in your lawn really helps you formulate a plan for your lawn.  

ROUGH BLUEGRASS

Rough Bluegrass is a weedy grass type that thrives in wet, shady lawn areas.  It has stolons which is a fancy name for an above ground root that allows it to climb over other grasses.  That's why you'll see it start in a small patch and get gradually bigger.  In the spring, Rough Bluegrass stands out from traditional grasses like Kentucky Bluegrass and Turf Type Tall Fescue because it is lighter in color and typically grows faster and sticks up taller in the spring.  The problem with Rough Bluegrass is that when the weather warms up, it goes dormant really early.  When it's dormant, it looks dead.  You'll see matted down patches of grass that seem to have no life left in them.  I've seen people incorrectly assume that they have an insect problem and go out to apply a chemical insecticide to correct the problem.  If you know the grass type, you won't be tempted to use the wrong product to solve the wrong problem.

Here's what Rough Bluegrass looks like in the spring in a Tall Fescue Lawn:

Here's what Rough Bluegrass looks like next to Turf Type Tall Fescue in the middle of the summer:

It would be pretty easy to assume that the Rough Bluegrass pictured on the left is dead right?  If you have a patch of that in your lawn, you'd imagine that it was insects or disease or something.  It turns out, that's just what Rough Bluegrass does in the summer.  It will recover on its own when temperatures cool in the fall. 

I would NEVER buy any grass seed that contains Rough Bluegrass unless your lawn is really wet and shady.  Many "Shade Seed" mixes will contain Poa Trivialis (Rough Bluegrass) and I would avoid those. Rough Bluegrass can also end up mixed in with grass seed that you buy if you're purchasing Kentucky Bluegrass mixes.  This is because Rough Bluegrass has a seed that is very similar in size and weight to Kentucky Bluegrass which makes it difficult to sort it out of Kentucky Bluegrass mixes.  That's another reason we recommend a primarily Turf Type Tall Fescue seed mix .  If your lawn is full of Rough Bluegrass, you can either learn to live with it turning brown every summer (much earlier than other grasses) or you can decide to replace it.  If you decide to replace it, you'll want to "renovate" your lawn.  The best time to Renovate Your Lawn is in the late summer (August/September). 

CREEPING BENTGRASS

Creeping Bentgrass is similar to Rough Bluegrass (Poa Trivialis) in that it crawls over more desireable grasses in your lawn via above groung roots, called stolons.  These stolons are the reason that when you try to rake your lawn it pulls up like a bad comb-over job.  Creeping Bentgrass is a finicky grass that when grown under ideal conditions can produce a beautiful lawn.  It tolerates short mowing and is used extensively on golf course greens.  The problem with creeping bentgrass is that it is susceptible to a variety of diseases and insects and generally struggles during the summer.  When creeping bentgrass turns brown and goes dormant during the summer, it tends to be invaded by annual weeds.  The bentgrass in the picture below is shorter than the other grasses and has a blueish tint.

OLD FASHIONED TALL FESCUE

Always mistaken for "crabgrass" old fashioned Tall Fescue is a perennial grass that has very coarse leaves and sticks out like a sore thumb in a fine textured lawn - especially when all the fine textured grasses turn brown in the heat of summer and Tall Fescue stays nice and green.  If you have a lot of clumps of this grass, I'd recommend over seeding the rest of your lawn with Turf Type Tall Fescue, like our LandXscapes Tuff Turf, which will stay greener during the summer and camouflage the old fashioned Tall Fescue.  If you really want to eliminate it, there are a few chemicals that will do the trick, including roundup.

WHAT TO DO ABOUT YOUR PATCHWORK LAWN?

If you can tolerate an imperfect lawn and don't mind the lack of uniformity, it often makes sense just to do the best you can and understand that your lawn will never be perfect with the grass varieties it has.  In fact, if you have rough bluegrass or even creeping bent, your lawn will often times look terrible during the summer.  There is not much you can do about that other than eliminate your grasses and start over with a new lawn.  We call that a lawn renovation. 

How to Make Sure Next Year's Bulbs Look Great

How to Make Sure Next Year's Bulbs Look Great

Lawn Care vs. Bulb Care

KEEPING YOUR LAWN LOOKING BEAUTIFUL AND HEALTHY AT THE SAME TIME

I was speaking with a neighbor the other day. She was telling me about how her lawn was 

not as healthy as it could be. She told me that the flowers in her front garden bed were not

 producing anymore flowers; and yet, her back flowers were doing okay in this situation. 

She honestly did not know what to do about it. 

She was shaking her head in puzzlement. The same day another neighbor came up to me 

with a different issue. 

She told me that her front flowers in the bed were looking a bit sickly. These flowers had turned yellow. They looked God-awful. She did not know what to do either. She told me she was doing everything she could; and yet, the problem was happening. 

I asked them both about the lawn care company they used. Both admitted that they didn't really 

pay that close attention to what was going on. I told my neighbors that the company probably 

used some sort of fertilizer, a fertilizer that was affecting the lawn and soil. 

This very same day, a third neighbor came up to me and inquired about how to get better lawn care. 

I decided that instead of speaking to each one separately, I was going to do this as a three-in-one shot.

I gathered the three of them around. I then imparted some advice onto the three of them. This very same advice I am giving to you too, my dear friend. 

LOOKING TO THE FALL

This might seem a bit strange; but, you need to start planning ahead for your lawn. In the summer time, look to what you are going to plant in the fall. Write it down. This way you will know exactly what you wish to get at to get.

It's best to do this during the hot months of the summer. Stay in doors and write it all down. There are going to be times of thunderstorms. Write down your plans then too. You are going to have rainy days in the fall. You might even have hot days in the fall. If you live down here in the south, like we do, this is an every day occurrence. Plan for these things. Look at what kind of bulbs you want. Look at what types of bulbs can take the heat and/or rain.

COMMUNICATION

This is one of the bigger ones. Always communicate your wants/needs to the company who takes care of your lawn and bulbs. They might know you, but they do not "know" you. Always tell them specifically what you are after. The biggest mistake my one neighbor made was leaving and not saying anything. She told me she trusted him. That trust didn't take her very far. Do not make the same mistake. 

It's possible to have a healthy, green lawn. It's also possible to have healthy, flourishing bulbs. You can also have both; but, you have to keep an open dialogue. 

DISCOUNTS ARE GOOD

If you are anything like my three neighbors, you love discounts. There are lots of lawn companies who offer a five percent discount for buying early. If you buy your bulbs by July the first, you get the savings. If you buy it all on time, you get an extra five percent discount. This is a total savings of ten percent. 

OTHER THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WITH YOUR BULB PLANTING

Alliums and Ornamental Onions are some of the best bulbs to plant in the fall. There are some Alliums that grow to the size of a volleyball. I am not kidding.
With these two bulbs, you will get your choice of color, flower size and height. It's truly remarkable how big and bright come of these bulbs get.

I hope this helps you out. My neighbors got better results after they saw this. Please let me know how things go. Share your story with me. I am always interested in how other members of the community are doing with their lawns and bulbs. 

How do you buy good quality grass seed?

How do you buy good quality grass seed?

How do you buy good quality grass seed? The basis of a great lawn is to use good quality grass seed such as our Black Beauty Ultra.  Look for seed from reliable sources or ask a neighbor with a great lawn what they used.  Grass seed is a product of nature so look on the analysis label on the bag for low percentages of weed seed, less than 0.10%; other crop seed, less than 0.25% and inert matter under 2.00%.  Introducing more weeds or difficult to control crop seeds makes your lawn care plan tougher to get ahead.  In the mid-Atlantic and northeastern states, it seems that Tall Fescue based mixtures have become the grass seed of choice over the last 30 years.  The greatest improvements have been thinner grass blades than older “meadow-type” fescues and darker green color.   Choose the best time of year to re-seed either early spring or early fall.  I took a call from a homeowner around November 15th and they asked if this is a good time of the year to seed?  They said they heard that “the fall” is a good time to seed?  Yes, it is but why not seed in early fall not late fall so you get the maximum growth potential before cold weather sets in?

Why is soil pH so important?  All plants like to grow within a certain range of soil pH to thrive.  If your lawn soil is too low or too high grass plants will struggle to survive.  Soil pH levels of 6.2 to 7.0 are best.  If you do not know your soil pH, buy a tester from your local lawn & garden center or hardware store.  Use Mag-I-Cal to raise soil pH and sulfur based products to lower soil pH to a desirable growing level.

Lawn grasses like and need to be fed during the growing season from early spring through late fall.  If you start with quality grass seed and your soil is balanced, feeding the grass and watching it grow is the fun part. You may be able to do away with any crabgrass controls if your lawn has been growing thick and green for a few years.  I would suggest 3 to 4 feedings a year, one in early spring and then again in early June, early fall and then late fall.  If you have been only feeding your lawn 1 to 2 times a year you need to increase that to 3 or 4 times a year to develop a good lawn.  You might want to consider introducing some organic lawn fertilizers such as Black Beauty Organic Lawn Fertilizer into your lawn care plan too.  These are wonderful soil builders and offer a slow, gentle feeding that stimulates soil microbes for better lawn growth.

Keep these ideas in mind while you enjoy a winter of football, basketball, or hockey or other hobbies.

HOW TO PULL WEEDS BY HAND

HOW TO PULL WEEDS BY HAND

January 21, 2016

Weeding is not the most fun activity. Ideally, you should leave weed prevention and control in the hands of experts. But at some point, you may find you dedicate a great deal of time to weeding in your lawn. In order to do this well, you should make sure that you’re taking the right steps to hand weed correctly.

Tips to Pulling Weeds By Hand

Find its Base – Weeds need to be pulled at the base in order to get the root. Nearly all weeds can regrow from only a small amount of root left in the soil. Try to make sure that you've found the roots/base of the plant so that you can try to remove the weed completely.

Loosen Soil Around It – Some roots are especially stubborn. If you can loosen up the soil around the weed, you’ll be more likely to pull it out successfully.

Don’t Tug Fast – Plants can break when they’re pulled too fast. Don’t simply try to rip it out as fast as you can as the pressure may cause some of these plants to simply rip right off the root, and once they do they can be nearly impossible to remove. Try to pull slowly but assuredly, grabbing as much of the plant’s base as possible.

Wait Until Rain – You may also want to consider waiting until it rains to pull the weed out. Soil is much looser after a rain and plants can come out fairly easily. Keep in mind though that if your lawn is not healthy, you can actually damage your lawn by stepping on it when it’s wet.

Clean it Out – Once you've successfully pulled the weed out, make sure you examine what remains in order to ensure that the root has completely been removed. Sometimes it can feel like you removed the entire plant, only to find that some of the root still remains.

Turning to a Professional

As “simple” as it may be to pull out weeds on your own, the process is not only time consuming – it is often not that effective, and leaves a lot of holes in your yard that won’t simply grow back grass. Contact LandXscapes today to find out more about our weed control service, or to schedule a consultation with one of our experts.

Buzzing with Blooms

20Jan2016

Prickly Pear is Buzzing with Blooms

I noticed the other day that my spineless prickly pear was just about to bust into full bloom. The combination of the baby spikes (that it loses) the flower bids and the purple tunas is pretty awesome looking.  Well, bloom it did and as I approached this morning I noticed a low humming. Hundreds and hundreds of bees were having a flower celebration jumping from flower to flower.It was quite the sight- check it out.

Diving right in-

Multiple levels

Heavy load-

How many bees can you fit in a photo?

Prickly pear cactus blooming times can vary by the specific variety you have, but I see a lot blooming in this wet spring we have been having.  The flowers can be red, orange or yellow according to variety as well.  But no matter what, the bees love it.   The flowers are  filled with pollen and  easy to locate. I love the spineless variety even though they are not truly “spineless” so you have to be careful of the small, almost invisible, spikes that still exist and can be a nuisance if they embed in your finger.