Maintaining Your Yard and Gardens

Many people who like working in the yard often dread the maintenance to keep it looking well. Some are so particular about it that they grow nothing but green colored plants just to hide the extra work they do not want to mess with. Mowing may not be such a burden along with the trimming involved, but the maintenance of weeding and preventative maintenance can be time consuming and costly if it is not planned out well. A manicured yard and gardens will bring pleasure as long as one looks upon the outcome from proper maintenance.

Let's start with the trimming of your bushes and trees. Trim your trees first so that you can take the time to cut down the large branches and cut them up in four-foot lengths for easy disposal. If you do not know how to trim a tree there are many books at your local plant nursery or library that can help you out with understanding the basics. For the most part, take a look at the trees and see if there are any branches that are dying or diseased. If so, cut them off. Do the same with your bushes.

Secondly, if you are going to have a sculpted garden (yard) you may want to take the time to plan it out in your head how you want to trim the bushes. Do not worry about cutting off some of the larger branches because the new growth will eventually fill in the empty spots. You will need to trim them back enough to allow for the new growth. If you have plants such as Boxwood, Cottonwood, Autumn ferns, or any other plants that send out leaders or easily propagate, you will need to keep a watchful eye on them as you will find then growing up in places you may not want them.

By now you are thinking how much work is involved, which there is, but if you keep up the work on a weekly or four day increment you will find the up keep much less time consuming.

Weeding is an ongoing process that most people do not like. Go ahead and weed out those un-welcomed weeds, trees, bushes, and grasses as soon as you see them coming up. The sooner you get to them, the easier it will be to pull them out. If you have an existing issue with bushes, trees, etc. you will need to take extra measures to rid your yard and garden of them. One of the easiest ways to deal with them is to buy some stump remover liquid.

The thinner unwanted growth can be taken care of the same way. Use a funnel to keep the solution more directed where it should go. If you have vines and narrower growth, buy a syringe and use it the same way. Mark it so that you can remember what it was used for. This will surely stop that unwanted growth in those luscious gardens.

Once you are done with all of that you will want to trim the edge of your yard and around anything the mower will not get all the grass around. This will allow the mower to cut up all the remnants thrown into the yard allowing the cuttings to become mulch if you do not want to rake up the clippings. Once the trimming, weeding and mowing are done, you can sweep up your walks and patios for a cleaner look to your yard. You will find it easier to use hand clippers to clean up around water meters, cable and phone boxes and fence lines to prevent the ugly marks that will dull them.

Mowing can be joyful or burdensome depending on one's viewpoint. A yard with squared edges and few trees, bushes and gardens to mow around will take less time to mow than one with all sorts of stops and goes. Of course, the first thing you want to do before mowing is to walk the yard to make sure you are not mowing over something that could be flung out at you and cause harm. This means picking up rocks, twigs, and whatever else could be launched out from under the mower.

One of the most used ideas of landscapers to prevent future unwanted growth from the ground is to use grass and weed "plastic" to place down over the ground, and then cover it with about two to four inches of mulch. One of the most preferred mulches is the cedar mulch for the aroma that comes from it. Although the scent may not last as long as you may hope it would. It is usually a good idea to build up the mulch to about six inches deep before winter sets in to keep the plants' roots from getting frost bitten.

If you are new to gardening or not sure of what tools you need for it, here is a general list of tools that will come in handy.

Gardening Gloves (protection against briars and wild roses)

Hand Pruner

Hand Clippers

Hand spade

Hand tiller

Leaf rake

Electric or gas powered mower

Electric or gas powered clippers for bushes

Electric or gas powered weed eater

Electric or gas powered edger

Make certain when working out in the yard that you are dressed for it, too. If it is hot outside, take many breaks and make sure you have on long pants/jeans with shoes and socks to protect your legs and feet from flying debris. A short sleeve shirt is fine, but wear eye protection. If you are allergic to some of the items in your garden, you will definitely want to wear a mask over your nose and mouth.

The more thought you put into the maintenance or your yard and gardens the fewer headaches you will have over them. A regular routine to keeping them maintained will definitely reduce the time you spend working in the yard, and more time enjoying it. Having the right tools for the right job is always a great thought. Understandably, not everyone has the budget for all of them. Therefore, take your time in accruing the tools, and resort to the old way of yard and garden maintenance.