Get Your Yard Ready for New Landscaping

When it comes to landscaping a yard, preparation is important to make sure everything is done efficiently and effectively. It helps you determine the project's budget, creates an ideal environment for introducing additional or new features, and lessens chances of delays when the project commences. Here's a guide from our real estate agents on things you can do to plan, organize and prepare for landscaping:

• Evaluate Your Yard
  Start with an evaluation of your yard and make an inventory of the permanent structure it and their placement. This helps you to focus on areas that will be most affected by the project and understand their preparation needs. For example, if you want to add a water feature, you need to know the proximity to an electrical power source or locations of hidden hazards. Also, mark hardscape and softscape features that do not fit into your landscaping plan.
  
  
• Clean it Up
  A simple but necessary step in prepping for landscaping is to thoroughly clean up the yard. This involves removing all organic and inorganic debris, dead plant life, weeds, rubbish and other things that might harbor pathogens. Start by removing trash and litter that has deposited into your yard. Make sure you wear a thick pair of gloves to prevent injuries from broken glass, sharp branches, or other sharp objects that have found their way into your yard. Then use a rake to remove all the leaves, twigs, pine-cones, acorns, and branches. Raking will also reinvigorate the clumped-up grass.
  
  
• Prune all Plant Life
  Pruning just before landscaping provides the best results for shrubs and trees. So prune all plant life that will be part of your new landscaping using lopping shears, bypass pruners, or garden shears. Dormant pruning improves removes dangerous limbs, improves your trees' health and helps shape the plants into a more attractive shape, which is important for keeping up with curb appeal.
  
  
• Turn the Soil
  Soil compaction is a common issue that you can face when preparing your yard for landscaping. As such, it's important to turn the soil to aerate it. Introducing compost or manure in the soli can help add structure. However, it's important to avoid working with wet soil because you're going to wind up with a bunch of clumps. Your goal is to get the soil broken evenly and malleable so it will have time to aerate and nutrients be distributed when it's time to plant.
  
  
• Apply Weed Killer and Fertilizer
  Before planting, use a combination of fertilizer and pre-emergency to feed your grass and prevent crabgrass. Then later, apply both products in addition to a weed killer. It's important to eradicate all diseases from infected plants in order to prevent transmission to new plants. So, remove the diseased plants and destroy them and treat the remaining with an appropriate fungicide.
  
  
• Edge the Lawn
  Now that your yard is clean and you've turned the soil, it's time to edge your lawn and "cut" your flower beds. Edging helps define the line between your lawn and landscape. Edging will ensure that grass and weeds don't invade plants and flowers, keeping everything looking neater. It also makes it easy to trim and mow the grass without damaging the plants. After edging, cut the flower beds if you want to create a new garden.
  
  
• Pick a Good, Heavy Mulch
  Mulching improves plant health by helping the soil hold moisture and preventing weeds. Mulch prevents the growth of weeds by keeping them covered and suppressed. On the other hand, it helps control moisture by absorbing water from heavy rains or irrigation and releasing it over time. Mulches from organic materials will breaks over time, increasing your soil's fertility and structure. Before you apply new mulch, get rid of the old and wait for your plants to sprout up so you don't prevent them from growing.

Now that you have your landscaping project all planned, it's time to get busy! And, if you're planning to put your home on the market among other South Bend homes for sale, we can help. Contact us today to get started.