Early Spring Lawn Care and Landscape Tips

When spring hits, the rain pours, the flowers start to bloom and the sound of lawn mowers revving up for their first run of the season can be heard throughout each neighborhood. A well-maintained landscape can help to increase your home’s curb appeal and planting flowering bushes and trees attracts helpful pollinators such as bees, hummingbirds and butterflies. 

So, as you write out your spring lawn checklist, here are a few early spring lawn care tips for keeping your lawn healthy and attractive:

• Before your first mow, check your grass for heavy thatch spots and rake them so they are no more than 1/2 inch
• Address bare spots in your lawn— it happens, don’t panic—simply water the affected spot, rake out old grass and add some fresh soil and seed to the spot
• Keep your mower blades sharp; dull blades fray turf resulting in a brownish cast
• Return grass clippings to your lawn whenever possible (by purchasing a mower with a mulching blade you’re feeding your grass and saving the hassle of bagging up clippings each week)
• Check your mower settings and be sure the height is set to 2-3 inches—when your grass is cut too low, it depletes the grass’s energy supply and can cause browning and bare spots
• Mow in a variety of directions—sure those diagonal lines are pretty but by mowing in a different direction each week your grass will maintain a more uniform cut
• When mulching, keep the mulch to a depth of 2 inches so the essential nutrients can still reach your plants and flowers
• Trees that have been staked and guided should be checked to ensure that the tree is not growing into the guids