Whether you’re selling your house soon or planning to live there for the rest of your life, improving (or maintaining) your front yard should be a priority.
During the summertime, maintaining your yard can be difficult. Rainfall is rare, so the sun can easily dry out your plants, resulting in a brown lawn and wilted flowers. Along with lawn and garden maintenance, you can do several other things to improve the physical appearance of your front yard during the hot summer months.
Here are a few simple ideas for increasing your curb appeal:
- Take care of your lawn
- Add some flowers to your property
- Consider adding garden decor
- Update your windows
- Paint your front door
Basic lawn care
The lawn is often the largest part of the front yard, and it needs regular watering and mowing to stay healthy. Mow the lawn about once a week, and water your lawn regularly to keep it green.
Installing an automated sprinkler system will help make watering easier. When setting up watering times, you need to know how much water your sprinklers give. You can then use that information to calculate your watering time and frequency. In spring and fall, your lawn needs about 1 – 1.5 inches of water each week. In summer, your lawn needs 2 – 2.5 inches of water each week. To encourage deep root growth, it is best to water the lawn less frequently but for longer periods of time. For example, rather than watering every day, try watering for an hour once or twice a week.
In spring, sometimes the lawn receives enough water each week from rainfall that you won’t need to start watering until later in the growing season. However, you’ll need to pay close attention to how much rainfall your lawn absorbs and determine if it is at least 1 inch of water each week.
Fertilizer treatments will also keep your lawn green and healthy. Apply fertilizer starting in spring and periodically throughout the summer and fall. Stewart’s offers a lawn spraying program that includes regular applications of specialized fertilizer, weed control, and grub control. Every product we use is top of the line and EPA-approved safe to spray around kids and pets.
Add some flowers
One great way to improve your front yard is by adding a small flower garden. Consider building a small, raised flowerbed or adding some curbing to create clear areas of separation between your grass and flowerbeds.
Another creative way to add a garden to your yard is by building a garden box under your windows. This works well in small yards with limited space for gardening.
Try to plan a deliberate color scheme for your garden to give it some personality. When building your garden, you should also consider the plants you’ll grow. Make sure you pay attention to the size and shape of the plants and arrange them in a balanced, attractive way.
Consider adding garden decor
A simple birdbath or small wooden trellis can turn a mediocre garden into a more beautiful, interesting space. Consider adding garden decor here and there to accent your garden.
Be careful, though, because too much decor can distract from the focal point of your garden: the flowers. Strategically place your decor to enhance the natural beauty of your landscape and to draw viewers’ eyes to the desired focal points.
Update your windows
Replacing your windows can be expensive and time-consuming, but if your windowpanes are outdated, changing them can dramatically improve the look of your home. A uniquely shaped window, a long porch, or a small balcony can also add some beautiful contrast to the front of your home. Consider changes like these when renovating.
Paint your front door
Painting your front door a different color can add a spot of color and interest to your front yard. This is especially helpful when your flowers are between blooms. However, make sure you choose a door color that complements your space. The changes you make to your home and yard should come together to form a beautiful, unified whole.
Do you need some help fertilizing your lawn or keeping weeds out of your flowerbeds this year? Stewart’s lawn care and flowerbed weed control services are for you! Text or call 801-226-2261 today for more information and a free quote.