Caring For Your Lawn In The Summer

Recent rain showers have led to some beautiful green lawns in our area, and our crew are busy!  But, as you may know soon the dry summer months will be upon us and your lawn will begin to dull and dry out. If not properly cared for you could end up with a drab yellow, or patchy, lawn.

So here are a few simple tips to keep your lawn healthy this summer.

1. Don't continue to mow your lawn once the dry months arrive. Once the dry months of summer arrive, your grass will stop growing, and regular mowing is unnecessary.

2. Toward the end of the Spring rainy season cut you grass to a height no lower than 3 inches.  Cutting shorter than 3 inches will promote dryness, when the drought season is in full effect.

3. To help your lawn survive dry conditions and stay healthy all season, raise your lawn mower to its highest setting and leaving the cuttings on the lawn. The clippings also help shade the soil so it doesn’t dry out and compact this will also provide 50 percent of the nutrients your grass needs.

4. Also, keep mower blades sharp. Dull blades leave ragged cuts; moisture leaks out, disease enters, and grass turns brown.

5. You can allow your grass to go dormant which is a natural way to manage your lawn, this will create some browning of your grass.  Or, you can choose to water the lawn to maintain the green. 

6. If choosing to water your lawn, water it deeply at least 1 inch deep or run your sprinklers for at least 1 hour in the early morning or late evening when the sun is not high in the sky.  Watering in the middle of the day can cause your grass to burn and die. 

Follow these tips and your grass will thank you for it.  Not sure you want to spend the time maintaining a lawn year round consider new landscaping.  A new trend in the landscape industry is sustainable landscaping,  a lawn free alternative, requiring little to no maintenance using drought resistant plants and stone accents.  

Enjoy your summer! And, call us anytime for a FREE lawn care consultation (517)945-1204!

Outdoor Entertainment Areas

Spring continues on with it's usual chilly Michigan start, but it doesn't keep us from thinking about all of the great things we can do to the yard to make it more inviting and create a wonderful area to entertain in as we enter my favorite time of the year. Summer!!

When pondering an outdoor entertainment area you should consider a few things. First, you'll have to decide what you really want to do in your outdoor living space. Is it a relaxing space, where you can lounge and visit? Is it a busy space where you can play outdoor games? Do you intend to have an outdoor eating area? Do you have existing landscaping or features in your yard that you want to highlight or blend into the new plan, like a swimming pool, fire pit, fence line, or retaining wall? As you consider some of these issues you can begin to shape your plan for your outdoor space. 

Just like with a major interior building project there are lots of decisions to be made, and you'll want to go into the project with a couple of essential things.

#1 a budget, having an established budget is important because it's easy to over spend and dream big.  By establishing what you can afford to put into your project in advance it will help you and your contractor put together a realistic project plan. There is nothing more stressful than starting a project and getting over your head financially before the work has even started. So, be vocal about your budget; a great landscape contractor can help you create a beautiful landscape while respecting that bottom line. Many contractors can even create staged projects that you can add a new finished section to every year, and after 3-5 years you'll have an amazing outdoor living space that is the envy of all of your neighbors!

#2 there are many different mediums to choose from having a general idea going in can help to give direction to the project. Some people prefer a more rustic feel and like to use natural wood, and stone. While others may prefer the worry free look of vinyl. Maybe something more industrial  like poured concrete, or metal. Write down a couple of your favorite ideas or visit websites like pinterest.com and houzz.com (look for our company on these sites!) to really get your creative juices flowing. Print or cut out pictures of items you really like and share them with your contractor.

#3 be active in your project, evaluate the progress of your project, and if you have questions ask your contractor to make sure you are both remaining on the same page.  At the end of the day you have to live with the outcome, so build a partnership with the crew doing the work, most companies enjoy having the input of their clients, because it's an easy way to make sure that your customers are happy, and happy customers are often return customers. So, ask questions and evaluate progress, and easy step to ensuring the space is exactly what you had envisioned.

Our final piece of advice, enjoy the process, change can be challenging and there is always that initial shock when you see a contracting team tearing up your turf, but try to remember how wonderful the finished project will be, and how much more enjoyment you'll get out of your new outdoor living space.

Call Greener Solutions Lawn And Landscape for a free consultation to upgrade your outdoor living space this summer! 517-945-1204

Andy and Courtney Bailey
Greener Solutions Lawn And Landscape
517-945-1204
www.greenersolutionslawn.com

Seasonal Lawn Care Tips

There are many steps that can be taken to help prepare and your yard and garden throughout the year for the change in seasons. Many people think of this in terms of the late fall season, and preparing your lawn and garden for the harshness of the winter cold and snow.  However, preparing your lawn for the growing season is equally as important.

I spoke briefly about de-thatching techniques in an earlier post and this is the first step in preparing your lawn.  Coupled with aeration your off to a great start.

Aeration is technique used to remove "plugs" of grass and deep thatch from your lawn. Each portion removed is anywhere from 1/2inch to 1 1/2inch in depth; depending on the equipments used to do the job.  The removal of these bits of grass, thatch and tight roots; allows water, air, and fertilizer to get deep to the remaining roots and ultimately creates healthier, stronger, greener grass to grow. 

As a quick tip for fall preparation that will help with these steps later, make sure to trim your grass to about two inches the late fall season.  This will help prevent deep thatch from developing over winter.  If your grass was quite long at the end of the season, you may end up with bald spots, fungus, and grass mold. Long grasses in the fall are breeding grounds for rodents too, like field mice. Mice can be particularly damaging to your lawn during the fall and early winter as they feed on the surface root systems of your lawn.

Once your lawn has been de-thatched, and aerated, allow the young grass shoots to grow out before cutting for the first time.  Grass should get to an initial height of 3-4 inches before trimming for the first time.  Then for the first 2-3 trimmings remove only 1/4-1/2 inch at a time.  Cutting too much, too soon, too fast can shock the grass and cause it to die! It's easy to forget that grass is alive, and can be easily damaged by "rough" care. 

After two or three regular trimmings, you can apply your first treatment of consumer grade fertilizer, and seed your lawn if needed.

If you want regular; worry free lawn care, and property maintenance consider hiring a professional many services are much more affordable than you may think.  Greener Solutions Lawn And Landscape hires and trains top quality individuals to know the best techniques for seasonal lawn maintenance. Let us take the work and worry out of caring for your lawn. Call today for a FREE, no obligation consultation.



Andy and Courtney Bailey
Greener Solutions Lawn And Landscape
www.greenersolutionslawn.com
517-945-1204

The Benefits Of Attending Your Local Home Expo

Spring is nearly here and it's time to start your annual home improvement wish list.  I love this time of year it inspires me to look at my home and property and look for opportunities to freshen things up, and make some changes!

There is no better place to become inspired than at your local Home Expo!  These home and garden shows are a great way for area homeowners to meet local contractors, interior design experts, and lawn and landscape companies. As well as learn about the newest trends for home improvement, and how to make those ideas a reality in your own home. Finally, these shows are entertaining, the companies and vendors who attend often put together unique interactive displays that are just fun to see and learn from.

The local home show can help you in selecting a great contractor. Finding the right company to take on your project is like choosing a doctor, this is someone you need to be able to trust to work in your best interests. Local home expo's are often times supported by your communities home builders association, so you can be rest assured that the contractors that you are meeting are quality, licensed contractors that you can trust.

A few tips to make the most of your Home Expo visit:

1.) If you have a specific project in  mind, bring some pictures or references for vendors so that everyone is on the same page
2.) Be open minded to the suggestions of the vendors, they are the experts!
3.) Be aware that many vendors may not provide pricing at the show but prefer to look first hand at the space and measure anything needed prior to giving any final price quotes for projects.
4.) The home expo is a busy place and you may have to wait to speak the representative, be prepared for short waits, the vendors try very hard to get to everyone.
5.) Be prepared to walk, Home Expo's are often held in large expo or convention centers that require a lot of walking.
6.) Have your calendar ready so you can schedule time for contractors to come out to prepare estimates if you have serious interest in getting your project started.

Now that you're fully prepared; come join us and the Jackson MI Home and Lifestyle Show, March 22-24 at the American One Fair Events Center! We'd love to discuss your ideas, and inspire you this spring!

Andy and Courtney Bailey
Greener Solutions Lawn And Landscape

Preparing For Spring

As we prepare for the start of a busy Spring season; I'm reminded of a few things that should be done on a seasonal basis for your lawn, gardens, and equipment.  Here are a few tips and reminders to prepare your outdoor living space this Spring.

1. Perform a quick maintenance on your mower in the spring.  Cold weather can effect the performance of your equipment and it's a good idea to take care of a few things before restarting your mower in the Spring. Change out spark plugs, oil and fuel filters.  Clean old clippings and leaves out from under the mower deck, and change the oil and fill with fresh gasoline before restarting.

2. Be patient with your lawn, it's not advisable to run out on the first warm day of Spring and attack your lawn.  It's been dormant for an entire season and starting lawn care too early can risk damaging the new grass shoots, causing bald spots to develop in your lawn. 

3. When you do start your lawn care regimen start with raking, or de-thatching.  Removal of dead grasses from past seasons can help aerate the upper crust of the soil and allow new grass shoots to flourish.

The thatch is the old dry grass remaining from previous seasons

Commercial de-thatchers pull the dead grass out leaving only the bright green healthy shoots

4. If you find a lot of areas that are not soft when walking, or are compacted from heavy snow; you can try aeration. This is a service that we recommend you have done by professional, improper aeration techniques can cause more damage than good.  Compacted soils can be loosened with aeration and roots systems will be stronger if performed correctly.

5. If you know your lawn is prone to weed growth, Spring is a good time to consider applying consumer grade herbacides.  It's much easier to try to prevent the weeds from cropping up than to deal with them once they have taken root!

We hope these tips help you prepare for the spring lawn and garden season.  Greener Solutions Lawn And Landscape can help too! We offer full scale lawn and landscape services including, de-thatching, aeration, grass seeding, and mowing. Call anytime for a free consultation.

Andy and Courtney Bailey
Greener Solutions Lawn and Landscape
www.greenersolutionslawn.com
517-945-1204

Let's Get Your Garden Growing

As March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb; it's time to start thinking about that spring and summer vegetable garden.  Growing vegetables from seed can be tricky, and there are a few that you should get started now so they will be strong enough for planting in about 6 weeks. For more information on what seeds to get started and when to start them visit the links below:

http://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-dates/MI/Howell

http://awaytogarden.com/when-to-start-what-vegetable-seed-calculators

Here is a very simple method for early planting that easily transplants into your garden at the end of the 6 six week indoor growing cycle.  Using old newspapers, and a soup can (full or empty from your pantry).  Cut the newspaper into strips approximately 4-6 inches wide, and the along the longest length of the paper, you may need to use a couple of layers of paper per container.  Roll the paper onto the soup can loosely, with an inch and a half overlapping the bottom of the can.  Tape the side together, and close and tape the bottom together as though your wrapping a gift.  This will create a paper "cup" that is completely biodegradable!

Use a sharpie marker to write the seed type on the side of the paper cup, fill with potting soil, peat, or composted soil, and add 2-3 seeds per cup.  Place the container in a larger box, or tray, water the seeds, and leave in a warm place until seeds sprout,then move them to a sunny spot in the house that won't be disturbed by pets.

This is a great, inexpensive solution for getting those seeds started, and after six weeks, you can plant the entire container into your garden with no fuss!

Continue to follow our blog via our website, or direct link for more vegetable gardening tips, and ideas. We have so much more to share! Happy gardening!!

Andy and Courtney Bailey
Greener Solutions Lawn And Landscape
www.greenersolutionslawn.com
www.greenersolutionslawn.blogspot.com

Home Expo 2013

Greener Solutions Lawn And Landscape is proud to be an active member of the Home Builders Association of Jackson MI.  Each year the Home Builders Association hosts a great event, The Home Expo, at the American One Events Center in Jackson MI.

We look forward to participating again this year, and  will be available for the full length of the event to answer any questions that you have, and help inspire you to make a few upgrades to your home and property this year.  Join us March 22-24th, 2013, at the Jackson County Fair grounds, fair events center.

Follow us on facebook, twitter, and pinterest for even more great ideas, and updates about upcoming events! We'll see you at the Expo!

Andy and Courtney Bailey
Greener Solutions Lawn And Landscape

New Website

We are so proud to present to you our new website! www.greenersolutionslawn.com,  this new website provides an over view of our business, and services. We will stay committed to keeping you updated on weather conditions and upcoming events, and new innovative ways to enhance your property residential or commercial. Thank you, and enjoy the new website!

Andy and Courtney Bailey
Greener Solutions Lawn and Landscape