Everything to do with your shak.
My goal this winter is to walk my yard from front to back and side to side just to pick up the detrious that has accumulated over the summer.
Once the trash is picked up, I'll still look forward to the snowfall to blanket the brown, dead colors that grow so tiresome in the winter.
That's why Christmas is also spectacular! The lights, yard art, etc. help cheer even the most jaded soul! Yeppers… ready for snow, ready for Christmas, ready for Spring!
The first step in making that plan is to find out what city bylaws
or other rules affect your front yard. You do not want to draw the
wrath of the local bylaw department down on you and find you have fined
for having a messy yard. So check with city hall first.Once
you know the rules, you can begin to the plan. You may find that a well
drafted plan that clearly sets out your intentions, along with plant
lists, will convince the authorities to stretch the rules a bit.crocuses- courtesy jhirtz/flickr
I’ll be honest, I’m skeptical. I was reading over at Gardening Tips ‘N’ I Ideas about painting your drought or winter browned lawn green. Apparently the grass painting company uses environmentally friendly paint which contains traces of ammonia which is supposed to turn to nitrogen and fertilize your lawn.
Sound too good to be true? I don’t know. It’s possible that the paint is okay to use on your lawn, but to me it seems a browned lawn isn’t the worst thing ever- certainly not bad enough to warrant painting it.
Of course, I don’t live in a neighborhood with a cranky homeowners association- I heard of HOAs that required people to keep a green lawn even though the city they were in were having water restrictions. In a case like that, the grass painting might be a good idea.
As for me, I’ll stick with my brown lawn.
I love the change of seasons and I especially love the cooler temperatures that come with fall. I start thinking about the holidays soon approaching. What I don’t think about is that it is time to once again fertilize my yard. Apparently, according to the blog post This Old House called Fall Fertilizing, I should be thinking about just that….
"Fall is here and it’s time to fertilize. Why now? Taking the time to fertilize
in the fall will strengthen your plants’ and lawn’s roots, giving them a strong base on which to thrive next spring."
The good news for me is that I have been banned from any yard work at my house. A few years back I decided to surprise my husband and fertilize, but the surprise was on me when a few days later when I had tons of stripes all over my yard. I will just have to add one more project to my hubby’s list of things to do this month.
I’ve been having some problems with spots in my lawn where my dog normally goes to pee. The lawn is burned and brown. So, what’s a girl to do when presented with a lawn connumdrum?
I called my dad, of course. He has two dogs and no issues with his lawn. Dad’s remedy is to water the lawn religiously. It’s easy for him- he has a sprinkler system that is on a timer. So I asked him what the lowly peasants without sprinker systems should do.
The solution is simple, although it might look a bit strange to passersby- he said to dump a bucket of water over the affected area. Dog urine is high in nitrogen and when it’s concentrated on your lawn as it is when your dog pees on it, it will burn your lawn and eventually kill it in that spot. Dumping a bucket of water on the area will dilute the pee and won’t harm your lawn.
Who knew it was that simple?
I always have questions about my lawn. The answer is usually that I have poor soil and I need to water my lawn more. I know, I know. I’m torn between wanting to do the right thing for mother earth by not wasting water on my lawn, and having a nice lawn. The saving water has been winning out lately.
But as I was cruising around the internet today, I found this awesome resource for taking care of your yard. It’s called yardcare.com and it’s got a lot of great information! Go check it out!
My kids went outside to play earlier today and didn’t put shoes on. They came back in within a few moments because the grass was "crunchy and hurt our feet". Our lawn’s about completely dead. I’ve watered my plants, but have left off watering the lawn because I’m concerned about water restrictions coming up, so I’m trying to do my part.
I worry about whether or not this will permanently affect our lawn. The weather forecaster said our long term forecast didn’t look good at all. Will this kill our lawn forever? Will we need to re-seed when the rain finally comes back? I’ve lived in Tennessee for 15 years and have never seen it this dry. When we first moved here, it was much, much wetter- it rained nearly every morning the first summer we were here.
I just wish the rain would come back, I miss it.
When I was a kid, I played on my dad’s grass. That was fine with him. When I started getting older and I learned to drive, I sometimes drove (accidentally! we had a long driveway!!) on my dad’s grass. I don’t think it bothered him, since he never yelled at us for anything other than when I’d drive over his sprinkler system and he had to reset the sprinklers.
And even though we played on the grass and sometimes drove on it, he still managed to have the most beautiful lawn I’ve ever seen. Each blade of grass was the same height and thickness, no clover or dandelions, just beautiful green lawn. He really took pride in that lawn.
Which is why I got really cheesed off when I read this story about a man who killed a kid for walking on his lawn. The man who did the killing said he really cared about his lawn. Funny, I doubt he’ll have any space for growing grass in prison, eh?
Is there anybody that actually likes mowing lawns? If you do, I think you’re nuts, just for the record. Well, unless you have a super cool riding lawnmower or something. Otherwise, you’re nuts. 😉
It’s days like these when I’ve spent too much time watering and mowing my lawn that I need a lawn like this.
[Photo Credit: TuffTurf]
There are many people who just seem to have all the luck when it comes to having a fantastically looking lawn, no matter what the size of the piece of grass, they always seem to have it cut just right, no weeds poking through and most defiantly no bare patches, so how do they do it, and more to the point, how can we get a lawn that looks just as good.
Here are just five steps that can help you achieve that putting green effect.
1. The use of organically produces products.
What is means is producing your own garden products, such as a good organic compost. Making this is not as hard as it may seem and if you get it right it is possible to make two or three loads in a year, imagine how satisfying that would be. Getting your own water butt for fresh rain water is also a very idea; with just these two ideas you know exactly what you are putting onto your garden.
2. Mowing.
It is best to use the highest setting on your mower as cutting the grass too short can damage it and by leaving it slightly longer the grass is thicker and less likely to be covered on insects and weeds. Try to leave the cuttings on the lawn, as these are another natural feed.
3. Pests.
There are many pests that can damage the lawn, these include weeds, insects, birds and small mammals, these need to be controlled but not eradicated, apart from the weeds of which it is better to try and hand pick them as these will prevent them spreading.
4. Raking.
The lawn will need raking and aerating from time to time, as this will remove the dead material from roots of the grass and by aerating the lawn with spiked shoes or a garden fork, will help the moisture to get down into the roots of the grass.
5. Seeding.
To prevent the dreaded bare patches that make a lawn look so worn and tired, all that are needed is a bag of grass seed, you can never really put too many seeds down, and so by occasionally spreading the lawn with a good grass seed this will prevent a bare patch from forming.
These few easy steps will bring your lawn up to the standard that you are looking for, it is not hard as you may of originally thought, but the results will be worth it.
Source [Do It Yourself]
