DIY Yard Work
- 1). Mow the lawn. Pick up stones, toys and other items that could damage your mower. Find out the recommended height for your type of grass and try to stick to it. As a general rule do not cut more than one-third of the blades of grass. Mowing to the correct height will encourage the grass to spread and thicken, and in hot weather the roots can burn if the grass is cut too low. Use an edger or trimmer to cut clean lines along the edges of your lawn. Leave the grass cuttings on the lawn as mulch.
- 2). Trim shrubs. Use hand or power shears and first pick out any dead or diseased limbs. Shrubs should be thinned whenever they look too bushy or untidy. Trim straggly branches but try to keep the natural shape of the shrub so that it will not be obvious that it has been trimmed. Pruning is a drastic trimming method done in spring to encourage new budding and to control wild and unruly growth. Some gardeners like to cut the branches off the lower stem to make the shrubs look like small trees.
- 3). Rake up leaves. Depending where you live you may have falling leaves all year round or they may fall seasonally. Leaves are not easy to get rid of unless your trash company picks them up. They do make excellent composting material, though. Rake them or blow them into a pile to create your compost heap. In forested yards pick up sticks, pine cones and other debris all year round. Make a pile close to your firewood and use them for bonfires or barbecues.
- 4). Seasonal yard work includes planting spring bulbs toward the end of winter when the worst of the cold weather is over. Till the ground with a shovel or hoe and add mulch or compost and plant the bulbs. Be sure to water them regularly. Spring yard work includes planting and watering summer perennials and vegetables and pruning shrubs and roses. Apply fertilizer to plants and lawns. Lawn mowing and trimming is the most time-consuming task in summer. Rake leaves in fall and remove all dead plants. Cover delicate plants to protect them from the frost in winter or move them to a hothouse if possible.
