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Easy, Affordable, and Eco-Friendly Tips for Lawn Maintenance

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A healthy, luscious, and vibrant green lawn is very appealing for many homeowners. A green and healthy yard will not only enhance the aesthetic appeal of the property, but it can also increase its value if you ever think about selling your property in the future. Unfortunately, a green garden doesn’t always guarantee a healthy and safe environment. Your lawn may look healthy and vibrant, but it can still cause harm towards the environment. The best solution to this dilemma is to take care of your lawn the natural way.

Green gardening is a practice that improves the health and look of your lawn without emitting dangerous chemicals and other toxic gases into the environment. Doing so will help you save time, money, and help you conserve natural resources. The following are easy green gardening tips for lawn maintenance.

Alternative Natural Ground Covers

There are a lot of available ground covers aside from grass. You can use a few of these alternative ground covers, including clover, mosses, juniper, and periwinkle. If you want to lower your lawn maintenance cost and still be eco-friendly, you can use low-mow grass species or ornamental grasses. These native grass species do not need constant maintenance and can grow even without human intervention. Additionally, it still offers the same benefits of living plants, such as prevent soil erosion, absorb air pollution, and filter rainwater pollution.

Conserve Water

If you want to focus on eco-friendly landscaping, you must pay close attention to conserving your water. There are a lot of lawns that are over-watered. This will waste valuable and finite resource, and it will contribute to fertilizer runoff. This happens when the fertilizer from your garden spills over into the storm sewers, which will eventually add to the water pollution. Here are some tips to conserve the amount of water used in your lawn:

  • Spot signs of over-watering: You must check if you are over-watering your lawn. Some of the signs to look out for include: runoff after watering the lawn; pale green or yellow tint on the lawn grass; and there are moss or mushrooms growing around the area. If you spot any of these signs, make sure to cut down the frequency with which you water your lawn.
  • Avoid watering everyday: If you water your lawn infrequently, it will not only help reduce water consumption, but it can also make your grass healthier. If you avoid watering your grass often, the roots will seek water deep into the soil, and the shorter weeds will run out of water. The downside of watering too frequently is that it can lead to thatch buildup, or the dense layer of living and dead stems and roots. Thatch can prevent the grass from getting their much needed water and air.
  • Water your lawn early in the day. It is best to water your lawn between 4 am and 9 am. During this time of the day, the air is cool and the wind is very calm; thus, the water won’t evaporate easily. Additionally, consider getting a rain sensor. This device will immediately turn off your sprinklers when it is raining; hence, you won’t need to waste water.

Reduce Energy

Lawn maintenance can easily pollute the environment by increasing carbon footprint and toxic gas emission. For this reason, you have to consider using eco-friendly methods that are healthier for the environment, and are much more budget-friendly.

  • Avoid using gas- or battery-powered lawnmowers: Gas-powered lawn mowers can produce nearly as much pollution as driving a motor vehicle for 100 miles. According to studies, this type of lawnmower is responsible for 5% of the total air pollution across the country. Even battery-powered motors and electric lawn mowers leave huge carbon footprint. Thankfully, there are alternative types of lawnmowers, such as reel lawnmower which is much more affordable and easy to use.
  • Use a manual mower, rakes, and brooms: Instead of using electric and gas-powered lawnmowers and leaf blowers, get a physical work-out using manual labor. You can use traditional rakes and brooms to get rid of fallen leaves. It is also a good idea to leave the grass clippings on the lawn since it can still fertilize the soil.
Citations:
  • Gregs Landscaping.”bluestone walkway with belgium block “. Online Image. EveryStockPhoto. Nov 20, 2012
Attached Images:
  •  License: Creative Commons image source

The author, Kris Lim, is an avid gardener who offers tips and ideas for beginners on how to maintain the lawn. She also contributes her thoughts and ideas to lawn care and maintenance companies and websites, including newleafmaintenance.com.






How To Care For a Vandalized Garden

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Vandalism is difficult to prevent and control, most especially if your neighborhood is filled with youth looking for something naughty to do. Building walls, fences and public spaces are not the only places that can be vandalized because even gardens can be vandalized as well. Community gardens must be cared for by everyone in the community, most especially by those who live nearby and not just by the gardeners alone. Private gardens on the other hand, must constantly be populated and secured, but its beauty must also be shared by the community. Here are a few tips you use to help you care for your garden:

Always Maintain Your Garden

When your garden has been vandalized, you must not give up caring for it. It is important that you continue to care it regularly in order to bring it back to its original state. Spend some social time in your garden, talk to neighbors over the fence or hedge as you go about with your gardening tasks. You can also invite children who are interested in gardening to help you out.

Give Your Garden Sufficient Light

While gardens need sufficient light during the day, they also need sufficient light during the night for protection. Thought the sidewalk lamp may provide ample light for your garden, it is still essential that you have low voltage lights inside your garden. Not only will it keep vandals away, it can also help keep large pests away too.

Secure Your Garden

Locking your garden gates whenever you leave and even during the night is important. Sure, vandals may consider climbing your garden fence no matter how high they may be, but sometimes a locked garden discourages vandals from exerting too much effort just to have fun.

Plant Wisely

Visible plants, vegetables and even fruits that have attractive sizes and colors can tempt vandals to enter your garden. Plant your vegetables and fruits away from the pathway and other spaces in the garden that can be easily seen by passer-bys.

Celebrate Your Garden

Your garden may be your pride and joy, so why not share it with your neighbors and other community members? If your garden can hold quite a number of people, throw a simple garden party or potluck and invite some neighbors and their kids over. Make it a point to have youths invited as well because they are potential vandals in a community. You can also engage them in a gardening activity or just have some outdoor games.

Get Children Involved in Your Garden

If you have concern for your community, you can get the children help you beautify your garden. You can have them paint murals on your garden wall depicting the beauty of nature and its importance. When you get the young ones involved, they become concerned for your garden and even look out for it.

Have Troublemakers Pay The Consequences

It is understandable if you feel frustrated about having to repair or replace what has been damaged in the garden. This is why you can always get the vandals to pay the consequences by having them help you out each day in the garden and even chip in to cover any serious damages inflicted.

Valerie Clearwater is a freelance writer specializing in criminal law. She regularly contributes articles to legal websites where well experienced lawyers can be consulted about Massachusetts underage drinking and other offenses.

Ten Websites to Get Expert Tips on Gardening

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The internet is a valuable resource for all gardeners. Whether you have never planted anything before or are an expert gardener, there is always something to learn. The ten sites below offer expert information for gardeners of all levels. From plant databases to planting schedules to tutorials on a variety of subjects, there is truly something for everyone on these sites.

Gardening With Angus

A presenter for “Gardening Australia,” Angus Stewart offers helpful gardening tips, videos and articles about plants and gardening on his website. The site also offers the Find a Plant Database. This database contains information on many native Australian plants and flowers as well as high-quality photographs of these plants.

Aussie Gardening

This is a must-visit site for gardeners in Australia. In addition to expert articles, the site includes a forum, a seed exchange, an Australian gardening directory, a plant search database and information on plant identification.

Lifestyle.com.au

The garden section of this lifestyle site is a great resource for everyone from novice gardeners to well-informed gardening enthusiasts. Resources include information, gardening ideas, expert gardening advice, instructional videos and more. The site also has an active gardening forum where users can share gardening ideas and tips and find answers to questions.

The Global Garden

Australia’s first online gardening magazine, the Global Garden is a free resource serving Australia and all areas with similar climates. In addition to articles written by knowledgeable gardeners, the site features a variety of resources including a question and answer column, a gardening community and various helpful gardening guides.

Kitchen Gardeners International

A community of gardeners from over 100 different countries, Kitchen Gardeners International is focused on growing food. The site contains many resources including expert tips and multiple ways to connect with avid gardeners around the world.

Gardens Online

This popular gardening site includes a plant database, articles, an online store, calendars, a glossary and diagnostics for common garden problems. In addition to written content, Gardens Online offers instructional podcasts and videos.

Sustainable Gardening Australia

An extremely popular gardening destination, this site offers information and resources for sustainable gardening.

Dave’s Garden

Containing the largest plant database and reference guide in the world, this is a site that every gardener should bookmark. It has listings and photographs for 191,986 plants and helps gardeners understand which plants grow well in their areas and which ones they should avoid. The site also has information on birds, insects, landscaping and other garden topics.

The Royal Horticultural Society

While it is based in the UK, this site offers valuable information to gardeners the world over. Topics covered by gardening experts include gardening with children, community gardening, the science of gardening and plant identification and selection.

Extension

Based in the US, this site contains a wealth of information from university faculty and other scholars. The site offers in-depth articles, a section where experts answer reader questions, a resource section and online gardening lessons.

Jamie is a gardening enthusiast who loves to work with client on their backyard facelift project. One of his favourite landscaper in Brisbane is www.premiumpg.com.au. Like most other Aussies, Jamie loves to spend his weekends in the backyard with his beautiful wife, three boys and a golden retriever.

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