Sometimes life gets in the way and you’re busy with kids’ activities, work, or spending time with family and friends. It’s during these busy times landscapes tend to suffer due to lack of maintenance. Plus it is mid-summer and many of your vibrant spring plants are getting rather dull. When you find yourself with some extra time to spruce up your landscape, here are 5 tips to refresh your landscaping and bringing it back to life!
1. Weed, weed, weed
I don’t know about you, but even though weeding is a tedious task, it’s also satisfying. By pulling out those pesky weeds, your landscape immediately looks cleaner and tidier. Plus, your shrubs and other plants will grow much better without battling with weeds for water and sunlight. And just as importantly, your weed-free beds put the focus back on your flowers, shrubs, trees, and plants.
2. Refresh bed edges
Once the weeds are gone, refresh the bed edges with your half-moon edger. Dig a new line to freshen up the existing edge and trim the grass surrounding the edge vertically and horizontally so you have a clean and tidy cut!
3. Prune, trim and shape
Once the weeds are cleared and edges are refreshed, it’s time to prune your plants and shrubs by removing dead leaves and branches. Then next step is to trim the shrubs that have grown wild. Check online to see what the well-maintained shrub should look like. Then, get to work replicating it. Use your trimmer to shape the shrub so it looks well-rounded. This simple task will immediately make your landscape look better!
4. Cut back spring and early summer bloomers
By the time we reach the middle of summer, most plants have already bloomed. Irises, tulips and peonies are ready to be cut back. Now that we’re in July, remove the dead flowers. Spring and early summer bloomers can generally be cut back to roughly a third of their height. Hopefully you have planted your gardens so that there are flowers that are just starting to bloom. Rose of Sharon are beginning. Many lilies are blooming now. And soon the anemones will be providing color.
5. Add color
It’s true the maintenance tasks will make your landscape look better. But if you really want to instill some life into your yard, add some color by planting flowers! Grow some bright purple flowers in one section of your bed and then add some yellow to balance it on the other side. While choosing the right color flowers is important, it’s critical to plant them in the right places. For example, if one part of your flower bed gets more sun, be sure to plant flowers that need full sun in that section.
6. Spread mulch
The final step is spreading mulch around your tidy bed and vibrant flowers. All you have to do is pick the mulch color that will look best and start spreading. The most popular colors are brownish-red and black. The darker colored mulch will make your flowers pop and will add beautiful curb appeal to your home.
Now that you know the steps to refresh your landscaping and add some life back into your yard, get working. Or call an expert for advice.