Fall is one of the best times of the year to prepare your yard for the next growing season. Landscaping during fall involves a lot of yard work, but the promise of a bountiful harvest is worth it! So this fall, take advantage of your outdoor space and spruce it up! Use our landscaping checklist to get started beautifying your yard:
Lawn Care
Three items you need to mark off your checklist before fall: aerate, feed and mow the lawn. Aeration means you perforate your lawn and the soil with small holes to allow air, water and nutrients into the grass roots. This will help produce a stronger and more vigorous lawn. Once you have aerated the lawn, you need to feed it! Apply a high-phosphorus mix to the lawn to encourage roots to grow well throughout fall.1 Once you have completed the 2 steps above, mow your lawn for a final time before fall starts!
Rake the Leaves
In order to allow your lawn to grow well throughout fall, be sure to collect leaves at least once a week. To make them easier to transport, rake them onto a plastic tarp or plastic garbage bag. Once you have gotten them all on there, round the tarp or garbage bag, and dispose of them in your compost bin.
Plant Shrubs In Your Garden
Not only will planting new shrubs look great in your yard throughout fall, it will give them a head start at establishing roots in the season’s soil. To maximize their beauty throughout fall and well into spring, dig a hole, position the shrub in the hole, fill in with soil, pour some water and add more soil!
Various Garden Tips
This fall, add these three vital landscaping tips to your checklist:
- Trim Dead Limbs. Fall and winter will get the best of your branches. To protect your trees, cut the dead limbs off.
- Cut Back Perennials. Remove tired annuals and the bugs that feast on them. Trim them down the ground so the roots can grow stronger for spring!
- Mulch Young Plants. Put mulch on new garden beds before the ground freezes. It keeps plants warm and water off them!
References
1Cook, R. (2010). Fall landscaping checklist. Retrieved September 25, 2015 from http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20420445_20840562,00.html
About Jordhan Briggs
Jordhan Briggs is a content writer and copywriter at Enova International, Inc. dedicated to providing the most informative and useful content about living a rewarding life on a budget. Find out more about her on Google+.