Summer is right around the corner. The spring season has already brought renewed life and plenty of much-needed sun and rain, all of which contribute to beautifying landscapes across the country. With the summer heat and potential droughts on the way, though, now is the time for homeowners to take action to protect their landscapes. Read on to find some tips that could help.
Retain Moisture In the Soil
The top challenge for most summer gardeners and landscapers is retaining enough moisture to keep watering to a minimum. The best way to retain moisture in both annual and perennial gardens is to find mulch for sale. For tree plantings, dyed mulch is just fine, but for veggie gardens, it’s best to stick to all-natural alternatives.
Bring In Some Extra Color
Summer-blooming flowers don’t just look amazing in any landscape. They also help to attract pollinators and beneficial insects to the yard, which can reduce homeowners’ workloads. Beneficial insects will help to keep populations of aphids and other common garden pests at bay, reducing the need for tedious hand-picking and using potentially dangerous pesticides.
Stay On Top of Lawn Maintenance
Whether homeowners mow their own lawns or contract the work out to local landscapers, it’s important to stay on top of this crucial maintenance task. It’s not just that a nicely manicured lawn will look better. Tall grass can also become a haven for slugs, snails, and other pests, so keeping it mowed is a good way to combat these problems naturally.
Set an Irrigation Schedule
All plants need water to grow and thrive, and summer tends to be the dryest part of the year. That’s great news for beach-goers, but it can become a serious problem for gardeners. The best solution is to install drip lines or a sprinkler system and use a timer that operates the system automatically. For those who don’t have the infrastructure in place, though, simply setting a reminder on the phone and heading out with the watering can is an acceptable, though tedious, alternative.
Take Advantage of Shade
Have a tall shade tree in the yard that’s stopping the plants underneath from getting access to the light they need? Turn the problem into a solution by putting out some lawn chairs and other comfy accouterments. If relaxing in nature isn’t appealing, there are also plenty of shade-tolerant plants that will thrive under even the biggest, bushiest tree.
Be Kind to Pollinators
The best way to attract not just pollinators but also other beneficial insects and animals to the yard is to keep things as natural as possible. That could mean creating pollinator gardens, installing a bird bath, or even just using organic products instead of chemical pesticides and herbicides.
Know When to Call the Pros
Most summer landscape maintenance tasks can be handled at home even if they sometimes feel a little tedious. There are, however, a few tasks that are always best left to the professionals. Homeowners should always call in arborists for tree pruning, maintenance, removal, or replanting.
