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Spring is fast approaching and if you live in the Midwest or points North, your lawn will soon begin to awaken from winter slumber.

This winter has been a long and especially harsh one, and your turf will need a little help if it’s going to look lush and green in time for early Summer picnics and horseshoes.

Here are 4 “must-dos” in regards to your lawn this March:

Aeration
I recommend every lawn be aerated in mid-March (assuming ground is thawed) to help manage thatch levels and loosen hardened and compacted soil. Thatch is the layer of dead grass, leaves and other organic material that collects just above the soil line.

Some thatch is necessary to keep turf root systems shaded and reduce soil erosion and water runoff. However, too much thatch (more than 1″) can block water absorption and create shallow rooting in the lawn.

Aeration will manage the thatch layer properly without completely eliminating it like a power-raking or de-thatching would do. I DO NOT recommend power raking except in extreme cases.

You can rent an aerator for about $60 per day and I’d recommend running across your lawn twice. (north and south and then east and west) If this is a bit steep in price for you, consider getting your neighbors to pitch in and share the time. It’s well worth the effort.

The Spring Cleanup
Your lawn probably has all kinds of garbage and litter strewed around after winter storms and winds. If you have big trees, you no doubt will have limbs and leaves scattered about.

Limbs have to be picked up by hand (don’t hit them with your mower and ruin your blade!) but leaves can be mowed over and sucked up in the bag.

This initial cutting should have the height adjusted one setting lower than your normal cutting to help rejuvenate the turf. (normal cutting height is 2.5-3″ … initial cut should be between 2-2.5″) Always bag the clippings on this intitial cutting.

Starter Fertilizer
One you’ve completed the above, it’s time to hit the lawn with a nice dose of fertilizer to start the growing process off right.

If you’re going to use synthetic fertilizer (like Scott’s or K-grow) you need to grab the 20-20-10 or 20-10-10 (also know as ‘starter fertilizer’). The first number represents nitrogen and should be the largest number of the 3.

If you want to use a more natural option this season, I’d recommend a hybrid formulation that contains 50% naturally derived products and 50% synthetic. Natural fertilizers break down slower in the soil unless temps are above 55 degrees. This does not happen much in March in the Midwest.

If you go with a hybrid blend, you will get some good release now, and some later.

Seeding
Notice that we have not put down any weed control or crab grass preventor yet? That’s because we’ll address those problems in April.

Because of this, it’s a great time to introduce some fresh cultivars of grass seed into the lawn. A general overseeding directly after the aeration is recommended to help the overall thickness of the turf.

A rate of 1-pound seed per 1,000 square feet of lawn is going to be plenty. Also, since we’re in the Spring season, the rains will do the trick in keeping the seed moist.

In addition, don’t buy cheap seed. Look at the label on the back and see the percentage of “noxious weed seed” or “inert material.” Both of those together should be less than 3% of the total contents.

You’ll be safe adding Kentucky bluegrass or perennial ryegrass to most lawns, however, I am a fan of turf-type-tall fescue blends as they tolerate drought better.

If you implement these 4 simple steps in early-to-mid March this year, you’ll be off to a great start and be able to enjoy your lawn that much sooner.

Al Haneson has 20 years experience in the Green Industry. He is author of a lawn care blog for homeowners and DIYers: Life and Lawns

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Design landscaping is meant to create a setting for your home and garden areas that reflect your personality and make people feel welcomed into your world. Whatever landscape design you choose will create a sense of style for the grounds that surround your home and will set the overall tone for your visitors. Landscaping that is well-done can also significantly raise the value of your property.

There are many ways that you can improve the landscaping around your home. Some people worry that to improve their landscape design properly, they need to hire landscape architects or contractors. This can be wonderful if you can afford it, but many people very successfully undertake the landscaping design for their homes on their own.

If you would rather do your design landscaping yourself rather than hiring a professional, then the first step is to learn the basics of landscape design. Good design is actually quite simple if you know and follow the four following principles. Combine these landscaping principles with your own tastes and preferences and you will quickly be able to create a plan for your home and garden exteriors that will be a reflection of you.

The first element of it is the concept of balance. If you concentrate most of your new plants in one area, then the rest of your garden landscaping area will look rather neglected. Distribute the plants around the yard or the garden at least somewhat evenly and with a sense of flow. This will help draw the eye though the entire landscape design and engage your visitors.

The second aspect of great landscaping is proportion. The idea here is to make sure that any design feature you choose fits in appropriately, in terms of size, to the surrounding areas, fixtures and structures. Trying to wedge an huge gazebo into a tiny back yard will end up looking almost comical, and will not provide a great effect. At the same time, if you have an enormous front lawn, then you will need to add larger elements in plantings or features that will be noticed and not overwhelmed.

Transition is the third principle you need to know for your landscaping project and is closely related to proportion. Even though your design can include flowers, plants, large shrubs, bushes and even trees, the way to make them really work together in a beautiful way is with the use of transition.

It is the smooth flow from one type and size of plant to another. You want to lead the eye from delicate plants to larger ones with some in-between sizes. Color transitions can also be a very effective aspect of your overall landscaping design plan.

The last of the four concepts of landscaping is unity and it is the ultimate sense that you are trying to express with your design. All of the choices that you make in how you balance, proportion, and transition the various colors, sizes and textures of your landscape elements should be governed by a unifying theme. This is what brings the design together to work in harmony and create a spectacular home and garden.

It is best to choose a theme for your design landscaping and make sure you stick to it throughout. If you want the look of an English garden, then choose only elements that will fit with that theme. If you prefer the ambiance of a Japanese garden, then only choose features, plants and accents that reflect that theme.

Mike Selvon’s portal will expand your knowledge on design landscaping. Visit us and leave a comment at our landscaping ideas blog where a free gift awaits you.

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It is relatively easy to make your garden more beautiful by building a retaining wall, which has a lawn or area of flowers behind it. A retaining wall needs to be strong enough to withstand the pressure of soil weight behind it. It must also be porous enough to allow adequate drainage. Walls made of either dressed stone or rubble are the most popular. When using stone for your retaining wall, you can choose from between two kinds of construction. Dry-wall construction uses earth as filler between the stones. Mortar construction uses cement as the bonding agent.

It is important for the base of a retaining wall to be below the front line, or about six inches down in the northern parts of the United States. For a wall without buttresses or projections, the width of the base should be one-quarter the height of the wall. Walls can taper to a width of about one-quarter of the base width. Walls with buttresses should have bases that are one-quarter as wide as the wall is high. This measurement refers to the widest points of the wall where the buttress will be used. In narrower places the base can be of a thinner proportion.

Every 24 inches and approximately six inches from the lower ground level of the wall, you should embed drainage pipes. If the wall material itself is sufficiently porous, it may be possible to eliminate the need for the drains. In any construction that uses mortar, however, drainage pipes are critical. It is possible to begin at ground level with dry-wall construction rather than six inches below the frost line, but this is not generally recommended.

The cheapest way to construct a dry wall is to select local stone. You can pick larger stones for the main construction and smaller stones for the chinks. The largest stones you have should form the base of the retaining wall, with smaller stones rising to the top. The side of the wall that faces out should be as level as possible. Obstructions and edges of exterior stones should face inward. This allows the wall to hold the soil it is to retain and also makes a good appearance. Stones that have rounded surfaces should be eliminated because they do not form good walls.

All the stones should be placed in a good bond, which means that the edges of stones on one rose, or course, should overlap spaces in the lower courses, or rows. If a stone on an upper course does not fit firmly in place, earth and smaller stones can be packed in to improve the bond. There should be no vertical crevices.

The retaining wall itself should slope back, against the soil it is supposed to retain. This provides greater strength to the wall. The width of the base should be one-third of its height. This is a general rule, but in many areas, it is common practice to slope a wall as much as five to six inches for each vertical foot. This degree of slope is not required, however. The soil should be packed firmly in all the walls pockets and continued back in the soil that is being retained.

To find more tips about gardening the use of retaining walls visit http://complete-gardening.com

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If a tree is planted and fed right, it will last for decades, maybe more than a hundred years. It is well worth while following the guidelines below, to make your trees almost indestructible.

In planting or transplanting a tree, and in building on a lot where you wish to preserve the trees, the gardener’s chief consideration must be to protect the root structure of the tree. The big roots near the stem anchor the tree to the ground, while the fine root hairs at the ends of the rootlets absorb the water from the soil.

Planting

In planting trees, their mature height and spread must be considered before a selection is made. Tempting as are the nursery catalogs, it is necessary to choose carefully, especially on the average lot, because crowding spoils the growth and appearance of trees, particularly specimen trees.

Today you can plant trees when in full leaf with the aid of new wilt-proof sprays that seal the leaves against moisture loss until the roots are established. This, however, costs money and entails greater risks than buying your tree and planting it in early spring( the best time) or late fall or winter. If you are planting a tree over 6 feet tall, it will suffer less setback if moved with a bur-lapped root ball.

To plant a tree dig a hole 2 feet deep and at least 1 foot wider each way than the full spread of the roots. The bottom of the hole should be broken up with a pitchfork and thoroughly mixed with peat, leaf mold, loam, etc. Manure should be used sparingly and only on the top of the hole as it burns the roots. The deeper you can cultivate your hole, the better for your tree.

If you are planting a seedling that is not balled and burlapped, you will want to protect it by “heeling in” a vacant flower bed where it may be kept before planting as long as dormant. This means laying it on its side and covering the roots with good soil. When you take it from the soil, give it a mud bath or “puddle” it. Puddling protects the roots from exposure to air before planting and also from any air pockets which may exist after planting.

Having filled the hole to the depth required by the roots of the plant, flood it with water to settle the soil at the bottom; when this has drained away, place the tree in the position in which it is to grow and settle the soil about it.

Use a stick or shovel handle to work the soil around the roots, and make certain there are no air pockets. Spread the roots out naturally, planting the tree at about the same depth as in the nursery or its former location. When the hole is two-thirds full, trample it down and again fill with water. Don’t firm down the remaining soil, so that the water will drain towards the trunk.

Feeding Trees

When trees grow naturally in the forest, the leaves fall around them, decay and form a good soil. The leaves also preserve moisture in the soil. On a lawn, however, the tree must compete with the grass for moisture and nutrients, and the leaves are raked up to prevent grass disorders, so that the successful gardener finds it wise to supply nutrients every two or three years.

Feeding should be done when the ground is workable, in the spring or in the fall.

An easy method is to drill holes 2 to 3 feet beyond the outer branches, 12 to 18 inches deep and spaced about 15 inches apart. Fill each hole with a commercial fertilizer (made up of bone meal, tankage, peat moss or humus) plus chemicals, in a formula containing 10% nitrogen,6% phosphoric acid and 4% potash.

With the above information you can plant trees successfully, feed them satisfactorily and have a beautiful garden.

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As Spring approaches many people start thinking about getting their gardens in order for the Summer. The garden is often seen as a place to escape the stresses of everyday life and leave the cold winter behind them. Thinking about a design of patio is a great idea if you want to enjoy your garden to its fullest. Not only having the pleasure of designing your outdoor paradise, but also seeing it come it life.

Where to Begin

Ultimately you need to decide what you want from your patio. Do you want to entertain lots of friends and family? Do you want to BBQ? Do you want decking or pavers?

By drawing a plan of your patio area you’ll have a better idea of how many pavers you require. Also include in your plans other details such as plants, cooking area or built-in seating.

After you have decided what your new patio will look like, you will need to think about materials. Garden supply centers are a great place to start because you can see first-hand what they look like. Also find out if there are any “how to” classes on how to install the pavers or wooden decking.

Different Options

You will find that there are many different options when it comes to patios. You can have a concrete patio, bricks or wood decking. Each have their pros and cons.

Wood decking can look stunning when newly laid but the elements – sun, rain and snow – can take its toll. The wood decking will need to be re-stained and sealed every now and again to keep it looking good.

Concrete is another option for a patio. Concrete is strong however it can crack over time. Concrete is the most affordable choice.

Natural stone is ideal for outdoor use because it’s durable, low maintenance and looks great. Unfortunately it does cost a bit more to buy. However you may think it’s worth it due to the low maintenance and the fact it retains its beauty.

Extras

There is more to creating a patio that deciding what to lay on the ground. You’ll also want to think about plants, lighting and seating. There’s more to creating our perfect outdoor haven than a picnic table. You might also want an outdoor fire to give you some extra warmth in the evening.

Color should also not be forgotten. Plants, herbs and flowers can make your patio come alive. They not only create a relaxed ambiance but they’ll smell great too.

April often writes articles for home improvement site which also has articles relating to patio covers and deck railing ideas.

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