Susan Ward – Denton Lawn Care & Landscaping

Expert Tips for a Healthy Lawn

August 20, 2020August 21, 2020
by Susan Ward

Keeping you grass looking green and healthy can sometimes be a challenge. Here are some top tips for keeping up with your grass, as well as things you can do to keep it healthy and weed-free.

Mowing

Cut your grass’s blades to the recommended height. This can vary from one species to the next. Some species thrive at a height of 2-3 inches, while others do best at 1.5-2 inches. However, the universal rule is to only mow about 1/3 of the length off.

The grass’s root system can be compromised if you cut the blades too short. This is because the overall plant system will focus its resources on re-growing the blades. That can leave the ever-important root system somewhat neglected, which can compromise the overall health of your lawn.

Make sure you mow the grass when it’s dry. Cutting your lawn when its wet can clog up your mower, as well as damaging the grass itself.
Mowing wet grass can pull up clumps rather than just clipping the blades. Not only is this unattractive, but the leftover clumps of grass can starve the topsoil of oxygen and water. This can cause damage to the surface as well as to the roots.

You want to keep the mower blades as sharp as possible. If the blades are dull, this will cause the grass to go brown due to the angle at which the grass has been cut. With a sharp blade on the mower, this will resolve that issue and keep the blades a healthy green without the damage caused by jagged, worn out blades.

Change the direction you mow your grass. Doing this can prevent compacted ruts that tend to develop from mowing the same direction each time.

Additionally, this practice will make the grass stand taller. Pushing the blades in opposing directions helps prevent “leaning,” resulting in a lawn bed that stands tall and proud.

Learn more about our mowing services.

Watering

Don’t water your lawn too often. Watering the grass to much will cause the roots of the grass to become shorter. When this happens, it ends up needing to be watered more often.

Why is that?

Having a longer period in-between watering causing the grass to grow longer roots, in search of moisture. This strengthens the entire root system and better equips your lawn for drought periods.

And of course, stronger roots mean healthier blades. You want to avoid “spoiling” it with a too-frequent irrigation schedule that doesn’t allow it to fortify itself. This Watering Guide by Grass Type, has additional information to offer.

Fertilizing

Sometimes you need to help the grass when it comes to things like providing proper minerals and nutrients. Fertilizing prevents things like germination of weed seeds, because it helps your grass grow in too densely for invasive plants to take over.

Products like corn gluten grass feed are a great organic alternative to common weed and feed. Manufactured products sometimes contain other chemicals that can cause harm to your grass over time.

Aerating

Spring and fall are both great times to aerate your lawn. This involves punching tiny holes all over the grass bed. The holes are not very deep, but are a great help for the grass roots to grow deeper.

When your grass crown and topsoil can “breathe” better, it allows for key nutrients to reach further into the soil to help the grass grow. This means a stronger root as well as a greener lawn.

Visit our service page for Aerating Services to learn more about how Denton Lawn Care & Landscaping can help!

Mulching

It’s a great idea to mulch your grass when cutting. What this means is, when you cut the grass, the cuttings are then shredded into tiny clippings. They act as a nutrient for the grass, as well as a good way of retaining water in the topsoil.

The grass cuttings – or mulch- are deposited over the freshly cut grass as you mow. This make it a quick and easy step to keeping on top of your lawn as you mow it. Additionally, the clippings can be gathered and redistributed to other parts of your yard, by using a bag mower.

Landscaping

Seeding and Planting in the Winter

January 2, 2020
by Susan Ward

Despite the cold weather, there are a few activities you can engage in this winter to propagate new growth in your yard. Die-hard lawn and garden enthusiasts either already know that seeding and planting are safe for mild North Texas winters- or they already know it!

It’s certainly true that not all plants will fare well if established in the winter time, but there are several trees and shrubs that do just fine. Additionally, winter overseeding is a great way to boost a bed of grass that was looking a bit sparse in the autumn months.

Planting Trees and Shrubs

Woody plants with bare roots are a great choice for winter planting. Bare-root plants are those whose roots aren’t packed in soil upon purchase or arrival. They’re slower to “take” to new soil once planted, but this makes them perfect for the winter time. The longer process of adapting allows them to remain dormant and “settle in” for a few weeks.

A dry winter day provides a good opportunity to uproot old, failing plants and bushes you no longer want, which creates a convenient spot in the soil for new planting. Check with your local nursery or garden shop to find out which plants and trees do well for bare-root planting in your region’s climate and soil types.

Watering new shrubs and saplings right after you’ve planted them is important, as it will help the root system is established. However, encouraging immediate growth with a fertilizer is not recommended. Once again, these plants will naturally wait out the winter and “wake up” exactly when Mother Nature prompts them to resume a natural growth schedule.

Protecting Your Trees and Shrubs For the Winter has some additional advice on how to keep your garden green and healthy year-round.

Overseeding

This is a practice most often employed in late summer, but it’s also an option for January and February. Dormant seeding is when you spread extra seeds throughout your lawn while your established grass bed is dormant. While it may seem counter-intuitive, the cold air and ground actually encourages the new seeds to settle into the soil more deeply.

Just like with planting bare-root trees and shrubs, these seeds will remain dormant right along with the rest of your yard. If you noticed some thin patches in your grass last fall, dormant seeding is an effective method for filling them in come springtime. Just be sure you practice some patience, as new grass will take several weeks to germinate and emerge from the soil.

You can either use a broadcast spreader or a seed slicer for dormant seeding, depending on what is available to you. Broadcasters simply spread the seeds over the surface of the soil in a more even fashion than if you spread them by hand.

A slicer will provide greater success, as it helps the seeds work their way into the ground without getting picked off my hungry birds. As with most larger lawn care equipment, either of these can be rented from the lawn care store if you don’t own one.

Landscaping

How to Add Shrubs to Your Yard

October 20, 2019
by Susan Ward

Adding shrubs to your landscape is a great way to provide character and natural boundaries, or to make existing boundaries (like fences and external walls) more attractive. With the right tools and know-how, this is actually a project you can complete without help of a professional.

Would you rather leave it to the experts? Contact us for a free service estimate!

What is the Difference Between a Shrub, a Bush, and a Tree?

Shrubs are the manicured plants we use in commercial and residential landscaping. They’re generally shorter than a mature tree, but some can grow quite tall. Their trunks typically split off into branches much lower to the ground than what you see in a tree- but again, not always! Bushes are actually found in the wild, unpruned.

Confusing, right? Why do we call it a rose bush instead of a rose shrub? Likely because rosebushes are found naturally in the wild, yet we’ve cultivated them to become common landscaping fixtures because we love them so. This is true for many plants that we’ve “domesticated” for aesthetic purposes, but shrubs tend to be a bit shorter and denser than their wild counterparts due to popular pruning techniques.

How Do I Add Shrubs to My Landscape?

Your local garden shop will offer a variety of shrubs, at different stags of maturity. Due to the labor involved in planting one, a younger shrub will be easier to integrate into your own lawn. Here are a few things to consider:

Pick one whose needs are similar to the established landscape. That is, you want to consider shade coverage, fertilizer ratios, and irrigation schedules when choosing what you want to bring home. This way you won’t have to drastically alter your lawn care routine.
Pick a shrub that will still fit within the area you choose to plant it, even once it’s full grown. Do a bit of homework on how tall or wide a certain shrub tends to get, whether it sprouts lengthy vines like a rosebush, and whether it tends to be invasive. (Invasive plants simply need to be contained with barriers.)
Pick something that works well with your local climate. That exotic beauty you’re eyeing may be a tempting addition to your landscape, but will it withstand the yearly weather patterns without tons of extra care?

Once you’ve made an educated decision, you want to dig a hole at least as deep as the plant’s root system. It should also span 6 inches or more around the base of the trunk. Fresh soil, a bit of fertilizer, and frequent watering (appx. 2-3 times per week) will help fortify the plant.

However, you want to allow for occasional dry periods, as this encourages the root system to to reach further into the soil and establish itself in its new surroundings. After the first few weeks, you can reduce the watering schedule to maintenance-level recommendations for that particular breed.

Final Thoughts

Shrubs are a great way to add texture and personality, attract new birds, and enhance your landscape with low-need vegetation. For a more hands-on gardening project, Best Vegetables to Grow in Texas has some great ideas!

Lawn Care

Preparing Your Lawn for Fall and Winter

September 21, 2019
by Susan Ward

All homeowners know that spring and summer lawn maintenance can be a fairly involved process. When fall settles in and Nature begins to calm herself down, it may seem easy to just lay off the lawn care and let everything relax into the cooler season.

But here is what you want to keep in mind: despite the robust growth your yard experienced in the warmer seasons, it may actually be a bit taxed from the excessive heat and sunlight. This is why autumn lawn care is important. This season is a great time to help your grass and garden rejuvenate from the blistering Texas heat, so they can bounce back vibrantly next spring.

In this article, we are going to explore the most effective ways to keep your landscape healthy as the weather cools down and winter approaches. As always, Denton Lawn Care and Landscaping is happy to assist with all your lawn care needs. For a free service estimate, contact us for pricing!

Raking Up Leaves

Whether you choose to rake them up or mow them into natural mulch, it is critcal that you don’t leave large piles of leaves accumulating on your lawn. Doing so creates a dangerous breeding ground for fungus (even algae!) A light sprinkling of leaves can look lovely in your lawn, especially as the rich colors of autumn set in, but be sure you don’t allow them to build up too much.

Aerating Your Soil

While residential lawns do not need to be aerated regularly, fall is the best time to address this landscaping chore. Aeration is a great way to make sure your soil isn’t impacted, as this condition deprives of soaking in adequate water, oxygen, and fertilizer. Aerating your lawn every fall ensures the health of your lawn’s topsoil and root system.

Mowing and Watering Schedules

During the final few weeks of Autumn, you want to lower your blades when mowing your grass. Doing so allows the waning sunlight to hit the crown- that is, where the grass blades and roots meet right at the surface of the topsoil. This practice allows some hearty penetration that benefits the growth process, which is critical for the coming months of dormancy.

Additionally, even though your grass and yard plants will be growing less, you still want to keep them hydrated. With cooler temperatures and more frequent precipitation in the autumn months, it may be reasonable to reduce your irrigation schedule. But stopping it altogether creates a risk of of letting the roots dry out.

Fertilizer Application

Speaking of roots and continued growth, you want to fortify your landscape with at least 2 treatments of pre-emergent fertilizer in the fall. Once again, this is in the interest of keeping your grass bed healthy so it’s strong enough to bounce back next spring. A dense lawn is also a wonderful preventive measure against intrusive weeds.

Avoiding Weeds

While your grass may be growing a bit more slowly during the autumn, that isn’t always the case for weeds. As the colder weather sets in and your lawn begins to grow dormant, this can create prime conditions for weeds to set it and proliferate.

We mentioned that pre-emergent fertilizer is a nice preventive measure, but we also recommend using spot-treatments where necessary to address new weed growth. Just be sure you space out your fertilizer and herbicide applications, in an effort to avoid chemical burns.

Conclusion

Just because plant growth is slowing down, that’s no good reason to lay off the lawn care altogether. Make sure you’re still taking the right steps to keep your garden and grass turf healthy throughout the cooler months, so they’re in good shape for the following spring season.

Lawn Care

Lawn Care in the Summer

August 2, 2019August 2, 2019
by Susan Ward

Summer is certainly not the easiest time to establish a lush bed of green grass in your yard. However, if you’ve got the right tools and information, it actually is a doable project.

Let’s look at some of the key factors in establishing and/or maintaining a healthy lawn in hot weather:

Do you want to achieve the same green lawn you’d find on a golf course during the hot weather? You’ve come to the right place. Follow these tips for your dream lawn, even under the sweltering summer sun.

Lawn Maintenance Is the Key

If you want to attain that dazzling emerald green ground cover, an effective lawn care routine is your key to success. You can do it on your own, or hire one of our lawn care experts to treat yourself- and your yard. Let’s take a look at the most critical components of good lawn care.

Put Your Mower on a Higher Setting

Although it isn’t the norm, keeping your grass at a height of 3 inches can keep it looking especially lush. The longer blades also provide a more thorough shield for your root system, which can help protect it from the summer heat.

Frequent Watering

The secret to green grass in hot weather is an efficient and thorough watering schedule. Deeper watering- that is, providing about an inch of moisture- allows it to soak in deeply.

Well-saturated topsoil is less likely to lose moisture due to evaporation. While sprinkler systems are convenient, using a hand-held attachment is a sure-fire way to get hard-to-reach areas, or to spot-water any dry patches.

Water at the Right Time

The perfect time to water your grass is early in the morning, specifically between 5 and 8 AM. Why so early? Morning is typically the coolest part of the day, allowing your ground to fully absorb the water.

Early morning watering may not work for your routine if you tend to water manually. But if you’ve got a below-ground irrigation system, you can simply schedule an early watering time.

Fertilizer Application

Grass require adequate nutrition to thrive, especially when the long days and summer heat promote accelerated growth. May is typically the best month to apply fertilizer and weed control products, because your grass and other outdoor plants are growing rapidly at this point, but it’s not yet too hot to risk chemical burns. Talk to an expert to find out the specific fertilizer needs of your grass breed, including when and how often to use it.

Visit our service page to learn more about how we can help you with fertilizing and weed control.

Pest and Disease Control

Most of the insects and diseases that threaten your lawn are more active during hot weather. It is important to regularly monitor on your grass for irregularities.

The most common irregularities that indicate a problem area are brown spots caused by insects or fungus. If these spots are not gone after several waterings, this is a sign that you’re not simply dealing with a dry patch. At this point, it is advisable to get an expert to check for lawn pests or disease, and to treat accordingly.

Minimize Foot Traffic

Kids playing, outdoor pets, and large stationary objects (such as a kiddie pool) can damage your lawn over time. The good news is, you can repair a trampled turf with a method called overseeding. Treating a dry, brittle patch of grass with a fresh sprinkle of seedlings can easily revive it as long as you water thoroughly afterwards.

If you follow these steps, you’ll be enjoying a lush green lawn all summer long.

Default

Hardy Plants for a Rock Garden

May 30, 2019June 2, 2019
by Susan Ward

A rock garden refers to the technique of planting several plants in a hard-scale area that uses rocks and stones as intentional components of the landscape. They’re also sometimes referred to as rockery gardens, or as alpine gardens when created at high altitudes. They include the use of sand, boulders, decorative rocks, and gravel.

Rock gardens provide texture and elevation to one’s landscape. They are a great way to mix various forms of vegetation with other organic materials, adding earthy grays and browns to a bed of ivy or a cluster of flowers in bloom. and provides a unique outlook with its different flowers or plants.

However, if you’re working in an already-rocky terrain, you want to be sure and plant things that can thrive in sandy or rocky soil. Here are a few plants that work well in a rock garden:

Creeping Phlox

This kind of plant will perfectly suit your plans to create a rock garden. As a creeping plant, it effectively soaks up standing rainwater between the rocks, and does a great job of spreading along the ground as it grows. As a plus, creeping phlox blooms year-round, so your rock garden will always be colorful.

Alyssum

Also called as the Gold Basket, this perennial plant can give an inspiring yellow ambiance to your rock garden. Alyssum is perfect for boulders and rocks, and provides a bushy yellow blooms. But keep in mind that its blooming season will end as hot weather sets in.

Irish Moss

The rainy season can be a challenge for many rock garden plants, as they tend to favor fairly dry soil. However, Irish Moss produces a traffic-hardy mat-like carpet that with thrive in the wet weather. In addition to its rich green appearance, Irish Moss also produces tiny white spores that look like blossoms.

Euphorbia

Also known as a spotted spurge, this plant has become one of the favorites for rock gardens. Due to its drought and heat resistance, euphorbia does great in this terrain. They come in varying colors, sizes, and shapes, and are easily transferable to a pot if you want to bring them in before a freeze.

Candytuft

Candytuft produces small white blossoms that mainly bloom in the Spring. It is also a drought and heat resistant, making it another great fit for rock gardens. The white blooms often turn bright pink as they mature, and the stems can reach up to 16 inches in length. As the blooms die, you can simply prune them and still enjoy the deep mossy-green ground cover.

Conclusion

Creeping phlox blooms year-round and soaks up standing rain water in your rock garden.
Alyssum is a blooming perennial that fares well in the Spring and Fall seasons.
Irish moss creates a lush green carpet and produces lovely white blossom-like spores.
Candytuft is both drought and heat resistant with small white flower bunches.

If you are planning a rock garden and want to be sure you’ve chosen plants that will thrive on a rocky or sandy surface, these are all great options to consider. Check out more helpful tips in our gardening blog.

Gardening

Best Vegetables to Grow in Texas

May 2, 2019June 2, 2019
by Susan Ward

Texas, being the second largest state in the US, holds a variety of climates and landscapes. Due to this diversity, its topography is suitable for planting many different kinds of crops.

America values its agricultural industry, as it supports the economy and provides an array of foods. As a suitable environment to several different types of vegetation, Texas is home to a large portion of the nation’s agriculture.

Whether you’re looking into farming or simply planning a small vegetable garden, our north Texas region is a great place to begin. Based on the local climate, what are the best vegetables to start out with? Let’s explore some seasonal options and important preparatory steps.

Seasonal Vegetables

Winter

Green cabbage, carrots, and tomatoes are some of the vegetables that can be grown year-round in Texas, including winter. Because of this, they’re broadly referred to as annual plants or annuals.

Texas cultivates a wide variety of cabbage in the winter, such as Chinese cabbage, Savoy cabbage, and Red cabbage. Savoy cabbage does well between January and March, while Chinese cabbage is best planted between January and April, and Red cabbage enjoys the broadest planting season of January to May.

There are also several cold-hardy breeds of lettuce, so long as you’re facing a fairly mild winter. These include varieties that will be familiar to most, such as Iceberg, Romaine, Bibb, and loose-leaf lettuce.

Spring

Early spring is a nice time to plant peas, beets, and spring onions. Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower also fare well early in the season.

Spring is also a good time to plant lettuce, but many other leafy vegetables also do well this time of year. Kale, spinach, chard, and arugula will thrive when planted between March and May. For a few non-leafy options, you might consider planting squash, peppers, or cucumbers.

Summer

Summer heat hits pretty hard in Texas, making it a more challenging season for vegetable gardening. Because they grown underground and are protected from direct heat, root vegetables are a safe bet. Carrots, turnips, and a variety of potatoes can thrive in the summer.

Autumn

Many spring vegetables also do well in the fall, if you live in a region where the two seasons offer a similar range of temperatures. Spinach, peas, and broccoli are two examples of crops that do well both times of year.

For more autumn options, consider sprouting some of the bolder veggies. Garlic, radishes, lemon, and coriander are all flavorful options.

Prep, Planting, and Harvesting

Soil Preparation

Before your start planting, good soil preparation is important to support a high crop yield. Soil is composed of organic matter that provides nutrients, and it can be further enriched with composting and fertilizers. Our experts are happy to help out with pH testing and recommendations for the best products to nourish your vegetables.

Pick the Right Breeds

All vegetables have a variety of subspecies available, and nowadays you can often opt for a hybrid that may give a higher yield with good pest resistance. Just like healthy soil fortifies your crops, there are some crops that enhance each other’s growth when planted adjacently. Ask for more info on this if you want to optimize the layout of your vegetable garden.

Well-Timed Harvesting

Harvesting your vegetables either too early or too late can significantly decrease the overall quantity. There’s a lot of variance from one to the next when it comes to the length of time between planting and harvesting. Be sure you educate yourself on the best time to pick your vegetables, to guarantee ripeness and optimal flavor.

Conclusion

With the right information on when to plant and how to care for your crops, you can easily enjoy a gorgeous, delicious vegetable garden every season of the year. For help planting a veggie garden or any other lawn care essentials, our professionals at Denton Lawnscapers are always happy to help.

Lawn Care

Quality Herbicides For Lawn Care

April 10, 2019June 2, 2019
by Susan Ward

Let Denton Lawnscapers help you keep your lawn beautiful by eliminating pesky weeds. We offer several herbicides that combat weeds in a variety of ways. Here are a few good choices, with a bit of information about how they work:

Triclopyr, 2, 4-D, and Dicamba all work by mimicking the plant’s natural hormones, causing rapid growth that the weed can’t ultimately keep up with. This creates a nutrient deficiency that causes the weeds to die within a few weeks.

Carfentrazon-ethyl and MCPA work by disrupting the growth process on a cellular level, resulting in tissue breakdown. Triclopyr, 2, 4-D, MCPA, Dicamba, and Carfentrazon-ethyl and are effective as post-emergence treatments, meaning they can be used on mature weeds.

2, 4-D and Dicamba work well as pre- and post-emergence herbicides because they are effective at stopping the growth of young weeds. Therefore, they are safe to use proactively as an early treatment.

All 5 products offer strong weed-killing action that has been proven safe for spot treatment without harming your grass. Contact Denton Lawnscapers to find out which herbicide works best for your lawn care routine, including when and how to use the treatment to ensure optimum effectiveness.

Lawn Care

Lawn Care Essentials

April 10, 2019June 3, 2019
by Susan Ward

Denton Lawnscapers is here to make sure you’ve got all the essentials covered for excellent lawn care this Spring. Knowing the basics about mowing, watering, and fertilizing can make all the difference between a lackluster lawn and a gorgeous bed of grass.

Mowing

In the Spring season, most breeds of grass look best when mowed at about 1.5-2 inches from the ground. Be sure you leave behind those nutrient-rich clippings to fortify the soil.

While a regular mower does a great job with most grass, there are a couple of types- like Bermuda grass- that respond best when cut a bit lower to the ground. For projects like this, a reel mower is the way to go. If you’re not sure what to use on your lawn, let our experts help you pick the right equipment.

Watering

We all know keeping your yard watered is essential in drought-prone regions like north Texas. However, did you know that less is more when it comes to your irrigation schedule?

You can get away with watering as little as twice per week, as long as you water deeper. This means you either leave the sprinklers on a bit longer, or take some extra time with your hand-held sprayer, to be sure the soil is thoroughly saturated.

Fertilizing

Speaking of hand-held sprayers, they not only give you more precision for hydrating dry patches, but they can also be used to fertilize your lawn. Liquid fertilizers and insecticides can be mixed in with the water as you spray.

This is a great way to spot-treat weeds and ant beds, or to add some nutrients to a pallet of new grass. Be sure you’re fertilizing mid-season, when your grass is at the height of its growth cycle.

If you’ve got questions about which tools and products to use to care for your lawn, reach out to Denton Lawnscapers. We’ve got your landscaping needs covered.

Gardening

Keeping Your Garden Free of Weeds

April 10, 2019June 26, 2019
by Susan Ward

Denton Lawnscapers is ready to guarantee that your flower garden is healthy and weed-free. We’ve got some great tips on how to get rid of harmful intruders without compromising your beautiful buds.

Applying Herbicides and Fertilizers

Effective herbicide treatment is easy if you choose a fertilize designed to feed your flowers while it combats weeds. Many fertilizers are made specifically to discourage the growth of intrusive species without harming the greenery you want to flourish. There are also several types of weed killers that can be used for spot-treatment in your garden, as long as you’ve got a safe amount of space between the weed and the flowers.

Off With Their Heads (and Their Feet)

When it comes to flowering weeds like dandelions, simply chopping off the head (that is, the flower itself) effectively prevents pollenization. But keep in mind that, in order to prevent the plant from returning, you need to pull it out by the roots. Weeds are a hardy bunch, and they’ll grow back soon enough if you leave behind the root system.

The Power of Spot-Watering

Another handy do-it-yourself method of weed treatment is simply making sure the flowers are getting watered, but not the weeds. Just like with herbicides, this is most effective when there’s a bit of room between the two. If you’ve got a few weeds in the outer regions of your garden, use a watering hose to target only the flowers, and the weeds will eventually wilt and dry out.

The Magic of Mulch

If applied early, mulch can serve as a great preventative against the spread of weeds. Sprinkling the ground cover in your garden with wood chips prevents unwanted plants from sprouting by depriving the topsoil of water and sunlight. Mulching is an attractive, affordable option for preventing weeds from developing.

Denton Lawnscapers offers great products, service and advice for your gardening needs. Let us know how we can help you keep your flower bed flourishing.