Landscaping That Includes Lawn Care, Seeding and Fertilizing

Maintaining landscaping will often include lawn care, weed control, seeding and fertilizing. While these can be time-consuming tasks, they make a positive difference in your home's value. In fact, a weed-free lawn and an attractive landscape design can raise your property value by 14 percent, according to the Florida Growers and Landscape Association. Whether you need a new lawn or you need to regenerate an old one, use these landscaping tips to improve your curb appeal.

Landscaping Tips: Use the Right Grass

There isn't a perfect grass type for all situations and regions. Some grasses grow better in hot climates, while others thrive through the hardest winters. Aside from knowing your planting zone, consider how you will use your grass. If you want nice color with low maintenance and the area has low traffic, use a ground cover like moss, dwarf pennyroyal or clover. If you want grass, look at popular sod or grass seeds for specific regions.

• Kentucky Bluegrass – This type of grass is common for the Central and Northern U.S. It is dense and rich in color, but it is not drought or shade resistance. Kentucky bluegrass requires higher maintenance than other grass types.


• Perennial Rye Grass – This grass grows best in cooler climates like those found in zones 2 – 9, and the grass seeds have a fast germination rate. You can use perennial rye grass in high-traffic areas or for reseeding other lawn types. For example, you can fill brown spots in bluegrass with rye grass seed.


• Bermuda Grass - Many landscape companies in the South use Bermuda grass because it grows well in tropical climates. Additionally, the grass is drought resistant and likes sun. This type of grass can be invasive, so you'll have to balance its use with your landscape design. Many people who want the look of Bermuda grass without its problems use a hybrid Bermuda grass.


• Saint Augustine – This turf grass will handle heat well, but it needs mild winters. This grass is the most popular grass in Florida and coastal regions. While the grass type can require maintenance to control pest issues, it can grow in a wide range of pH levels. This reduces the need to add potassium, phosphorous and nitrogen.

Landscaping Tips: Overseed Your Grass

Golf courses maintain beautiful greens in part by overseeding, and so do homeowners. To overseed a lawn, you spread grass seeds over existing lawns or turfs. The process not only brings life back to dead patches, it also makes the entire yard look and feel healthier.

The best time to overseed your grass is in the fall. The new grass seed will be able to germinate before winter in most places, and the seeds won't have as much competition during germination as seeds do in the spring. If fall isn't an option, spring is the next best seeding time.

While many homeowners use the same types of grass seeds each year, others prefer to mix seeds. Using the same type of grass will ensure an even and consistent look and feel. However, mixing grass seeds has advantages, too. A hybrid yard will handle different seasons and conditions better than yards with only one type of grass. In some cases, overseeding with a new grass seed will increase your yard's natural weed control and disease control. A mixed blend can also overcome common pest problems.

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Before spreading grass seed, mow the area. Most gardeners recommend using a lower setting on your mower than you would normally use, even if that means scalping the grass. Overseeding will work even if you leave the mower on its highest setting, so pick the option that works best with your landscaping plans.

If it has been a few years since your last lawn aeration, consider doing that now to help reduce soil compaction. The next step is to rake the area to remove obstacles, such as thatch and grass clipping, so the seeds can penetrate the soil.

Once you have the area cleared, use a spreader to distribute the grass seed across the yard. Be careful around flowerbeds and gardens or you may create more work for yourself when new grass takes over your landscape.

Landscaping Tips: Fertilize Your Landscape

Fertilizing your lawn, whether it's a new lawn or an old lawn, is something you should do at least once per year. If you're only going to add nutrients once per year, do so after the third mow of the season. For the best results, you may need to fertilize your yard two to four times per year, depending on how thick and green you want the grass to be.

Fertilizing not only helps the grass, flowers, plants, shrubs and trees grow, but it also helps you keep a weed-free lawn. Look for fertilizers designed for certain times of the year and see what other tasks the product will do. Scotts Miracle-Gro will help a variety of landscape elements flourish, whereas other products may combine chemicals like a pre-emergent weed control with fertilizer.

Maintaining a Beautiful Yard

The correct lawn care requires a little bit of work, but most good things do. If you use these landscaping tips, you may have the best yard in the neighborhood. Regardless, you will enjoy the beauty of your outdoor space. For more landscaping tips, check out our DIY blog.