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Landscaping takes part in cycles throughout the year. Generally, spring is the best time for prepping and planting flower beds, and beginning hardscaping projects (e.g. retaining walls, paver patios etc). The summer construction season is when the majority of large landscaping and hardscaping projects are done. Summer can also be a great time to overhaul your entire landscape, whether its the front or back of the house. Fall is then a great time for planting trees and bushes since temperatures are lower. Hardscaping also continues through the fall until the ground freezes or it begins to snow.

One example is of a past project that began in late summer. All the hardscaping work including the patio, sittings walls, and fireplace were built, and trees and shrubs were planted as well. Then the following spring is when we got the perennial and annual plants in the ground, as they thrive in the spring.

To ensure your project gets done in the desired time frame, start contacting landscaping companies during the winter months. It’s much better to get on their schedule before spring when their season starts than calling in late summer when crews may be booked out to the end of the season.

Modern landscaping refers to the designing, planning, and construction of gardens and other features that both create useable space for outdoor activities, and enhance the appearance around a home. Landscaping includes hardscaping and softscaping, although many people refer to them softscaping and landscaping interchangeably. Hardscaping would be the aspect that includes non-organic materials such as stone and woodwork, retaining walls, decks, firepits, and more. Softscaping would then refer to planting designs, creating burms and grading, and mulching. Landscape and Maintenance by Mike does both landscape and hardscape design in the greater Waukesha, WI area.

Irrigation systems are not necessary for maintaining the health of your lawn or plants, but can be helpful. Irrigation does much of the hard work that watering entails so that you don’t have to, and it hits the parts of your lawn you might miss. A hose and sprinkler can be a money-saving alternative, but require you to set timers and manually move the sprinkler around your yard. With either option, though, it’s easy to waste water. Ultimately, you have to decide if an irrigation system is right for you.

Annuals grow for one season, and then die when the weather gets cold. Perennials grow for multiple seasons, and regrow every spring after being in dormancy during the winter. Examples of popular annuals in Iowa are pansies, snapdragons, petunias, geraniums, salvia, California poppy, violas, and many more. Some perrenial examples are daffodils, phlox, peonies, purple coneflower, daylilies, black-eyed susan, Virginia bluebells, coral bells, hostas, and more.

With a few DIY techniques

• Keep your garden clean. Pick up plant debris, remove dying stems or branches, weed the area regularly, and toss the debris in the garbage.
• Fertilize just enough to keep your plants happy – too much fertilizer promotes weak growth which is susceptible to disease.
• Wait to plant until the soil is warmed up. Planting to early will put extra stress on your plants and make them more susceptible to disease in the soil.
• Use mulch to keep weeds at bay and harmful fungi in th soil away.
• Inspect and remove infected stems and leaves. As soon as you notice signs of disease, carefully remove the leaf o stems and throw it away as soon as possible. y removing disease early on, you can help your plants to continue to grow healthily.

This is a tough one. The conditions that are good for plant growth are naturally good for weed growth. Honestly, you will never completely get rid of weeds, but there are steps you can take to prevent weed growth early on, and remove weeds if they do appear. Mike does not recommend using a weed barrier fabric unless you really want to, because weeds can still grow on top of the fabric. Plus there are other cons to using weed barier fabric, such as it causing compaction to the soil. So first, use a weed preventer, such as Snapshot (can be fond on Amazon) or preen, to further discourage weed growth. If weeds do appear, pull the entire weed, including the root, early on to prevent it from coming back. For cracks in concrete and pavers, use a commercial herbicide to kill weeds that appear. For a more organic method, try using vinegar in a spray bottle. Be warned, herbicides, including vinegar, will kill all plants they touch, not only weeds

The basics of watering are simple. Water immediately after planting, let the water soak into the soil, and then water again. During the first week, it’s best to continue frequent watering — either daily or every other day. Following the first week, you’ll only need to water two to three times per week depending on the weather conditions in your area.

There are many benefits, including:

• Helping the soil retain moisture
• Contributing to soil health as the breakdown of the mulch happens over time
• Blocking the sunlight to pesky weeds, helping to keep them at bay
• Repelling insects, depending on the type of mulch used
• Controlling soil erosion

We recommend mulching leaves, as they will add nutrients to your soil and make for a healthier lawn and garden, but you must also pay attention to how much you add. Raking up the leaves will not harm your lawn or garden, but you’ll also be missing out on the benefits leaves provide. One note of caution, do not ignore blankets of full leaves or mulched leaves on your lawn, raking may be the only option. If you don’t, the leaves can actually do more harm than good since they’ll block sunlight and air from getting to the grass. This problem can be compounded when it rains, eventually leading to turf diseases or dead grass.