If you are an avid DIY enthusiast, you’ve probably taken a stab at doing a little landscaping in your Nashville lawn. The upside of DIY projects is the satisfaction of learning new skills and using them in a hands-on project. The downside is when you discover your knowledge is an inch deep, but the topic is a foot thick. That’s when the mistakes start showing up.
While many of us grew up pushing a lawn mower and pulling weeds from our parent’s lawns, these experiences don’t really count as in-depth lawn care training. That said, the founder of The Parke Company graduated from his parent’s lawn to cutting grass for neighbors and started his business while still in high school. Thirty years later, he is a certified arborist and has a deep understanding of landscaping services and tree service issues.
Most of us don’t go in that direction.
All of us want our lawns to be attractive and nearly everyone will have a stab at landscaping. However, almost everyone will make mistakes in their efforts to beautify their outdoor space. Some mistakes can be costly, some can be time consuming, and others simply end up disappointing.
Lawn Care Mistakes to Avoid
With more than 30 years in the lawn maintenance business, the pros at The Parke Company have seen just about every type of lawn care and landscaping error possible. Listed below are some of the most common and how to avoid making them yourself.
Scalping the Grass
Everyone wants their lawn to look neat. Neat being defined as having that “just cut” look. Unfortunately, this perception of neat leads many homeowners scalping their lawns. How high or low you mow the grass determines how much moisture will evaporate from your yard, how healthy the grass plant is, how thick (or sparse) the grass grows, and impacts the habitat of both desirable and undesirable insects and pests. The solution is to know what kind of grass you have and what its optimum height is. Professor Google can give you the information with one or two quick searches.
Not Researching New Plants
Young plants and trees are not puppies. You cannot judge their mature size by the size of their paws. If you plant a new shrub or sapling without considering its likely mature size, you are in for a problem. Shrubs planted near the house could block a window in a couple of years. Worse yet, trees planted too near the home could result in roots invading the foundation. Before you plant anything, make certain you understand how big it can get. Consider how that mature size will impact the area immediately around it.
Go Easy on the Lawn Gnomes
Ornaments and hardscapes have a place in a lawn. But too many of these items will detract rather than enhance your lawn. Use ornamentation sparingly and you will succeed in drawing attention to it.
Forgetting that Hedges are not Self-Trimming
Hedges are a great way to gain some privacy from neighboring houses or to section off a part of your lawn. But hedges are not static. They grow. If you are not shearing your hedges on a regular basis they can quickly grow to a height where you will need a step ladder to reach the top. An electric hedge trimmer should be purchased at the same time you buy the hedge shrubs.
Pruning at the Wrong Time
If you have flowering bushes you absolutely need to know when to prune and when to leave them alone. Failing to prune a shrub such as forsythia at the correct time can result in the loss of the very buds that bring you the beautiful blossoms.
Do any of these situations sound familiar? We haven’t even touched on taking care of the soil. Landscaping and lawn maintenance takes on a whole new complexity than when you were a kid because now it’s your lawn and your investment.
Want help? Our fully knowledgeable professionals can take on part or all of your Nashville lawn maintenance tasks. Call us now!