| Bought our first home this November and the landscaping clearly needs help though I have no idea where to begin. The lawn in the backyard is pitiful (lots of patches and minimal grass. Where do we begin with that? Also, we wanted to plant some flowers / plants at the base of our deck on each side of the center stairs (10' x 3' space on each side of the stairs). I'd like something that flowers that a good chunk of the summer. The entire backyard gets sun in the morning through about 2:00 and then it is shady there on out. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Kim |
| With the lawn, you can rake and seed the bare patches using a patch kit. Then plan on doing more serious lawn work in late summer to early fall which is the preferred time of year for that. In the meantime, run some basic soil tests and check fertility and whether or not you need to lime to adjust the pH. During the season, mow often so you never remove more than one third the grass height at a time. Correct mowing can go a long way towards keeping a lawn healthy. With sun all morning through 2:00 you have what would be considered a full sun location. For all season bloom, you would plant annual flowers such as marigold, salvia, geranium, or petunias. These will bloom from spring until fall frost. Enjoy your new home! |
