Yard maintenance is not often at the top of anyone’s list of how they’d like to spend their time outdoors. Here are 5 easy tips that really make an impact without much effort…
- Set your mowing height to allow taller grass. This helps shade out weed seeds, encourages grass to have deeper roots and slows down evaporation so it overall requires less work from you.
- Using a half-moon edger creates clean, crisp bed edges in minutes. Just set the edger on the line you want to create (or tidy and existing line), step straight down and then remove any chunks of soil that come free and then continue. If you’re not sure where to make a bed edge, you can set out a rope or garden hose beforehand.
- Mulching makes an instant impact. Fresh mulch makes everything look tidy, however, there is such a thing as “too much mulch”. One to 2 inches of mulch is often sufficient, with 3 to 4 inches at the high end for high traffic or special use areas, any more than that makes it hard for water to penetrate to waiting roots below. If you currently have enough mulch, it can be raked and made tidy again without a need for more.
- Stand-up weeders are great for when you only have a few minutes to makeover your garden. A scuffle hoe or stirrup hoe can be scraped along the surface of your garden to scrape out small weed seedlings in seconds. A stand-up claw weeder is great for removing dandelions and other weeds with long tap roots. It’s almost fun and your space will be transformed in minutes.
- A container filled with annual flowers can be moved around to draw the eye or hide a blank spot in the garden. Make sure it’s not too heavy to move and keep it regularly watered and fertilized.
