With summer almost here, I can only assume that everyone is working extra hard on maintaining their lawn and gardens. I know that we are! What with all of the outdoor parties – the pool parties, BBQs and family celebrations – having my lawn and home look nice is even more important during the summer months.
In celebration of Spring and Summer, TruGreen, the nation’s largest professional lawn care service provider, just launched a series of “Grow Curb Appeal” webisodes (that’s like a television episode only available online) starring TV Host Jason Cameron. The Grow Curb Appeal webisodes will provide simple tips that anyone can follow to enhance their home’s outer charm. The seasonal webisodes show how healthy lawns and landscapes help boost the first impressions of your home.
According to the National Association of Realtors, “Curb appeal sells 49 percent of all homes.” But of course, these webisodes aren’t just for those looking to sell their homes! Everyone wants their home to look just as welcoming outside as it does inside, especially if you do a lot of entertaining!
When we purchased our home in 2009, we knew that there was a ton of work that needed to be done to the 50 year old house, and we were prepared to spend the time and resources necessary to make it beautiful again. What we didn’t consider was the work that also needed to be done outside the home – namely, the lawn!
Last summer, my husband uprooted about a quarter of our backyard that was mostly weeds, and planted new grass seed. It was a long and tedious process, but the outcome was definitely worth the effort…well, perhaps that is easy to say, coming from me, because I wasn’t the one who did it! Now that my husband travels for work, I am the one that mainly takes care of the home and lawn. We are still working on updating the inside of the home, but the lawn and garden have become more important to me, as honestly, I am a little tired of being embarrassed when people pull into my driveway!
I wanted to share some of our tips on how to make your lawn and garden beautiful, just in time for all of your summer festivities!
Mow Your Lawn Regularly – I find that regardless of the state your home is in, your lawn speaks volumes as far as first impressions go! Due to a lot of travel and heavy rains last month, we went four weeks without mowing our lawn – and it looked atrocious! A well manicured lawn looks tidy and neat, and will make up for a lack of extras, like flowers, bushes, etc.
Kill Those Weeds
Our biggest problem with our lawn is weeds! Sure, they fill in the bald spots that passerby would see from the road, but really, they are an eyesore. We have started using weed killer to reduce the amount of weeds in our lawn, and it makes such a huge difference! It will take a while to get them all, but I can already see a difference. My grass is a little high right now due to it raining every day this week!
Plant Foliage
One of the easiest things to do to increase your curb appeal is to plant pretty flowers or shrubs in your lawn, or even add potted plants to your patio an garden.
I definitely do not have a green thumb, so most of my efforts thus far have been in vain…but I haven’t given up! Even simple things like non-flowering plants make a difference, and I am still experimenting with plants that do well in our climate – and can survive my thumb of doom!
A simple plant can make a big difference!
Water and Fertilize Your Lawn
This is a lesson that we have learned the hard way…each rainy season (which is right now), we spread grass seed through our lawn to fill in the spots where there used to be weeds. During the winter, we water the lawn on occasion, but due to a few years of drought in South Florida, we have very restricted times when we are able to do so. A green, lush lawn looks so pretty! While it’s raining every day during the summer, we try to spread as much seed as possible to make up for the dry season.
Of course, the professionals have much better tips than I do – and they provide all of the services necessary to grow that curb appeal!
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