Being a homeowner in these modern times is quite fulfilling, but you can add to this fulfillment with a lovely yard. Getting acquainted with the outside of your home is vital in ensuring good landscape management skills. Maintaining a healthy and beautiful landscape is no easy task but one worth your while.
Landscape management techniques have not changed much but evolved to fit the needs and abilities of homeowners. The best part yet is that you do not have to break the bank or spend outrageous amounts of money maintaining an impeccable lawn. Keep reading for a modern homeowner’s guide to the best landscape management techniques.
Work with a budget
We live in times where almost everything comes with a price tag. Landscaping has its cost implication, which you can efficiently control. Having a landscaping budget is the first point, as it dictates all other landscape management techniques for all homeowners. As you plan to embark on landscape management, you must prepare a budget to control your expenditure. The budget should cover necessary expenses such as landscaping tools and materials such as fertilizers and pesticides, including an expert’s fee if required.
Choose the right plants for your site
To easily hack landscape management, you must have the right plants for your environment. This begins with understanding your immediate and local environment, including local weather, wind, soil type, and resource availability. With a good understanding of these vital aspects, it is easier to pick the right plants for your front or backyard. You can begin with a thorough soil test to match the right plants with the soils and growing conditions. Plant diversity provides a stunning landscape and easily attracts wildlife, such as birds, which add to the beauty of your landscape.
You can easily embark on other aspects of landscape management with suitable plant types.
Water wisely
Efficient watering is key to ensuring the optimum growth and development of plants in your landscape. Different seasons present different weather conditions for your plants. Watering your plants accordingly, depending on the current season, is a vital landscaping technique for the modern homeowner. You can irrigate your landscape only when the plants need water, that is, during summer. You can incorporate modern irrigating techniques to easily regulate the amount of water you supply to your plants, depending on the season. Do extensive research on your plants’ water needs or invite an expert’s opinion for the best results.
Fertilize appropriately
Fertilizer is beneficial to plants but can be quite harmful if not done correctly. You can create salt problems in your soil and burn plants or make plants grow excessively if applied in excess. It’s only wise to consult with an expert on the correct type of fertilizer for your plant types, the right amount, and the perfect time to fertilize your landscape.
Mitigate water runoff
Excess irrigation or rainwater that runs off the soil washes off debris, fertilizer, and pesticides which are necessary for the healthy growth of plants. While trying to understand your local environment, you must understand the local terrain to mitigate a problem like this quickly. If your land is relatively flat, it is wise to add drainage to prevent waterlogging. For sloppy areas, it’s vital to dig several water drainages channels to control soil erosion from rainwater and irrigation water runoff.
Mulch properly
Mulching is a very effective water conservation technique. It moderates soil temperature, prevents soil erosion and weed growth, and retains soil moisture. By mulching, you will use less water to irrigate and have fewer weeds. The best mulching technique ensures it’s not more than three inches thick. Deeper mulching robs plants of root water which encourages shallow rooting. Shallow rooting is harmful to plants during drought and when it is windy. Additionally, try to use natural materials such as grass cuttings to mulch.
Encourage wildlife
Plants and animals exist in perfect harmony, complementing each other’s life. Providing your landscape plants with adequate water and growth conditions allows for healthy plants which attract birds, butterflies, and other insects. These organisms promote natural growth processes such as pollination and pest control.
Invest in pest control
Yard pests are a constant menace to most modern homeowners but you can control them effectively. Integrated pest management is ideal for managing pests and can work wonders in your favor. It involves understanding the life cycle of the pests on your landscape, including the effects of the pesticide on your plants, and finding the ideal pesticide to apply. Pesticides provide an effective management technique when presented with a severe pest problem, but they can also be harmful if used often or indiscriminately. Improper use of pesticides or the wrong pesticide can lead to pest resistance. With no expert knowledge on this, it’s wise to seek the guidance of an expert on:
- The right kind of pesticide to use for your yard pest problem
- The right type of applicators to use to prevent the use of excess pesticide which burns plants.
Recycle yard waste
Waste disposal can, and is still, a problem for some homeowners, even in these modern times. However, instead of stressing about how to get rid of your waste, you can use it to provide nutrients to your yard plants. Consider recycling your yard waste, such as leaves trimming and grass clippings, and organic kitchen waste, such as fruit peelings, vegetables, and eggshells. This waste is helpful for soil regeneration and nutrient supply to plants, which promotes growth. By recycling your yard waste, you cut down on the cost of buying packed fertilizer and the cost of garbage disposal.
Conclusion
Landscape management can be more than just a routine but a fun activity you enjoy and yearn to undertake. With the current tech advancements, you can learn a lot about landscape management, not enough to make you an expert but to make you well-equipped to begin. Put the above techniques into practice and enjoy landscape management and the endless benefits of having an impeccable yard resulting from proper landscaping practice. Are you a little overwhelmed by the words “landscape management?” We can help. Contact Cortada Landscape today.