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!