“Gardens are not made by singing 'Oh, how beautiful,' and sitting in the shade.” – Rudyard Kipling
The sun has finally decided to come out in Ohio, everyone is outside soaking in the rays. As the saying goes, with April showers brings weeds and yardwork. Hopefully, you have some help when it comes to pulling weeds, mowing the lawn, and planting some bright flowers. When it comes to checking your drain pipes and gutters, make sure the water is flowing away from the house. Built up water can cause erosion in the foundation and could end up in your basement. If you do have water coming into basement make sure you call a professional.
These tips will help when it comes time for you to do your yardwork as well.
- Consolidate your annuals to bigger pots or as decoration inside or out. Since you will have to replant them next year, it will save you time to focus on your perennials. Some of the best locations to place these pots are down by your mailbox, porch, patio, and even along your window seal. Pro tip- Make sure you know how much sunlight and water your plant needs before giving it a new home!
- When it comes time to clean up your trees and shrubs be sure to cut away any dead branches. Make the cut all the way back to the living stems. Some experts say using hand pruners and not electric pruners will provide more direct sunlight to your branch. Electric pruners tend to make a thicker outer layer of growth which makes it hard for sunlight to penetrate the living branch. If you have evergreens growing on your property, be sure to trim them all the way back to the direction you want the branch to grow in. Just cutting off the dead branch may not encourage the branch to move in the right direction. While pruning your trees and shrubs, look at whether or not the plant has died. If the plant has rotted over the winter it will be easily broken by wind and storms. The last thing anybody wants during the summer is a tree falling onto their home.
- Plants bed borders are also key when checking your yard work to do list. If a border is smothered with leaves and dead foliage, the living plants struggle to thrive. The plants can become diseased and die. When clearing out the borders you need to ensure the organic waste is removed from all living plants, this includes your grass. Then, to help your perennials bloom, add fertilizer around your bulbs and they will bloom and last longer.
- Mulching is always one of the bigger tasks when it comes to yardwork. The key thing to remember when it comes to mulching is to remove all the mulch that was previously there. If you leave the old mulch on the bed it causes water pockets. These pockets could seep into your home after a storm or cause foundation damage. Once the new mulch is laid down, rake through the mulch to ensure it is evenly distributed throughout the flower bed.
- Know the types of bulbs you have bought and when they need to be planted. Some bulbs flourish when planted in the fall while, others need to be planted in the spring. To get a better idea on what kind of plant would better suit your garden, click here.
What to do when your yardwork goes wrong?
Sometimes you do not know you have a problem until it is too late. Since you are outside and inspecting your home you may run across damages caused by the winter. If you run into any problems while outside this year whether that be water leaking into your home or any other structural damage, be sure to give Thompson Building Associates a call to assist you! We have a full service mitigation and restoration team that are ready to assist you.
Be sure to keep up with what we are doing daily on our social media sites!
Thompson Building Associates Facebook Twitter
