Heading out this weekend?

Weather this week reminds us that we're at the jumping off point for another glorious season outdoors. We're deciding what to plant-more veggies, splashier annuals, more perennials for longer lived color.


Before we get busy and just go plant something, we need to pull back. Think big picture.

What do you want your landscape, your balcony, your front porch, your patio, your curb appeal to do for YOU? Where does your landscape meet your life and how can you make it better?

If your outdoor space is where you want to live (or want to live more) in the warm months, do everything you can to make it friendly for you, your family, your guests.

• Do you need an expanded lawn area for little soccer players to kick the ball around?
• Has the dog worn trails across the grass that need to be remedied?
• Would an outdoor food prep area make entertaining easier?
• If you added some color and greenery to your patio, would that draw you outdoors more?
• Could a real fire pit create a gathering place for the teenagers you'd like to keep closer to home?

Answering these questions is all about having a plan and in the landscaping world, we call that plan a landscape design. The design relates to how we want to live in our landscape in a very pragmatic way. It incorporates the details that make the pet happy, cater to the kids, create privacy and drive the outdoor ambiance we want to enjoy.

On the practical side, a new design can be a problem-solver. Creating the big picture perspective for your space (even a very small one) will also point out problem areas that could be solved. Screening off the AC unit or solving a drainage problem by the downspouts isn't as much fun as adding a fire pit. But solving those problems along the way will help your state of mind and safeguard your property.

This weekend, if you're out planting carrot seeds or pushing petunias into pots, get a fresh take on how you want your landscape to meet up with your life.




Tip of the Week reprinted courtesy of Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado (ALCC) of which Foothills Landscape Maintenance, LLC is a member. ALCC is the only only professional organization for Colorado's landscape contracting industry statewide. Tip of the Week is copyrighted by Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado and may be forwarded or copied by its members provided proper credit is given to ALCC

Sustainable lawncare is as easy as mowing the lawn!

Reduce, reuse, recycle is the sustainability mantra and it pays off for your lawn when you cut the grass with a mulching mower.

Here are some facts about grass clippings:

• 1,000 square feet of bluegrass lawn generates about 200 pounds of clippings each year.  
• Yard waste makes up 20 percent of all debris sent to land fills.  
• Hauling yard waste to landfills is labor, energy and emissions intensive.
• A mulching mower solves these problems by cutting up all the clippings as you mow and depositing them on top of the lawn.

Not only does mulching stop waste, it turns clippings into a green by-product that makes the lawn healthier.

Clippings left on the grass provide additional shade and green matter that helps keep moisture in the soil. Clippings are actually about 75 percent water.

Mulching is a water-saving process. If you change to a mulching mower, be sure to decrease the amount of water from what you've usually applied to the lawn. In some cases, this can be as much as half the amount. Monitor soil moisture and the weather and adjust accordingly.

Clippings are nitrogen-rich and will provide 25-30 percent of the nitrogen needs for the lawn. Since nitrogen is the primary ingredient in fertilizer, that means you will need less fertilizer to achieve the same results.

Clippings break down rather quickly and that process encourages beneficial microorganisms and earthworms which also promote lawn health.

  

Mowing tip: Unfortunately, many people sharpen their mower blade in the spring and forget about it the rest of the mowing season. Be good to your grass and sharpen the blade about once a month. A dull blade actually tears the blades of grass and can open the way to disease and other health issues. Keep the blade sharp--and keep mulching!
 
 
 
Tip of the Week reprinted courtesy of Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado (ALCC) of which Foothills Landscape Maintenance, LLC is a member. ALCC is the only only professional organization for Colorado's landscape contracting industry statewide. Tip of the Week is copyrighted by Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado and may be forwarded or copied by its members provided proper credit is given to ALCC