A manicured lawn might seem like the only way to complete your picture-perfect home, but it’s best to be cautious about the lengths necessary to achieve that ideal. Here are some important considerations to ensure that your lawn practices are sustainable in terms of your workload, your wallet, and your plants’ health.
Not All Weeds Are Your Enemies
It’s easy to fall into the trap of spending countless amounts of money on weed killers to achieve pretty green grass. While a weedless lawn may look good, the excessive use of weed killers results in an unhealthy environment for your grass.
Here are some “good weeds” that help produce a healthy soil culture for your grass:
Wild Violets
These violets are not just pretty; they are also good for the soil, good for your grass, and good for any wildlife that may frequent your home, such as deer or rabbits.
Clover
Clover is a nitrogen-fixer that helps fertilize your soil. This means you can naturally fertilize your lawn with a plant that grows easily and freely, reducing the cost and liberating you from a restrictive lawn-fertilizing schedule.
Reduce the Size of Your Lawn and Replace it With a Garden
You can reduce the size of your lawn by killing grass in certain areas. This can be accomplished by simply laying down some newspaper.
Once you decide where you want to add in new features, you have a variety of options to explore. If you have kids or pets but don’t want to ruin your natural lawn, lay down some landscape fabric. This will help keep your yard looking good while giving your children or pets a place to play that won’t harm your natural grass. Add some mulch on top to make it softer. To spruce it up, add in container gardens and drought-tolerant plants to save on watering costs.
Additional Tips
- Water plants early in the morning during the summer to minimize water loss due to evaporation and heat.
- Choose easy-to-grow plants to save money on fertilizer and pesticides.
- Don’t become alarmed by the occasional chewed leaf; a few insects won’t destroy your garden, and many actually help control pests or perform other essential biological functions.
Landscape By Design Meets Your Needs and Surpasses Expectations
Everything might be bigger in Texas, but that doesn’t have to include the cost of lawn maintenance. With our special background in native plants, we can help you save time, effort, and money while also helping your piece of the great state of Texas flourish. If you feel like your thumb is more brown than green, or you just don’t feel quite comfortable with botany, there’s no need to worry. Our team at Landscape by Design is happy to help you make sure that your lawn becomes the best version of itself, so make sure to give us a call today!