Category: Lawn Care
Lawn & Landscape Care While You’re Away
July 11, 2018Summer is here and it’s time to get away! When you’re working through your list of to-do’s before and during your vacation, be sure your lawn and landscape gets the attention it needs. A few simple tasks now can mean the difference between coming home to dead plants, brown grass, and unruly weeds, or your lawn and landscape appearing like you never even left.
Preparation is the key to success when it comes to your lawn and landscape. Whether your vacation lasts for a week or it stretches beyond two weeks, one of the best tips for keeping your lawn and landscape cared for while your away is some simple prep work.
Preparing your Landscape for Summer
May 17, 2018Summer will be here before you know it- will your landscape be ready? Hot summer days and dry weather can really stress your lawn and landscape. Without proper preparation for summer, all the money, time and effort you invested in your landscape this spring could be in jeopardy.
To keep your lawn and landscape looking great as the summer heats up, follow these tips from the landscape professionals at Hively.
Spring Soil Preparation Tips
April 24, 2018Some of us want to grow the best looking plants each year, ones that will flourish and become the envy of the neighborhood. Others don’t share that dream, but if you’re one of those who does, we have some tips from the landscape professionals here at Hively to help transform your garden into something special. Follow these guidelines and your landscape will be on its way to being the best-looking property for miles around.
First, Test the Soil
The most important thing you can do for your landscape is a simple soil test. A soil test will help ensure landscape success by revealing pH and nutrient levels in your soil. With this information you can correct soil abnormalities, improving the effectiveness of fertilizers, helping the grass grow, and improving long-term resistance to pests and diseases. Spring is a great time to get your soil tested and corrected.
Essential Spring Lawn Mower Maintenance Tips
March 23, 2018Spring has arrived here in PA, and despite the late snowfall it will soon be time to dig out those handy lawn mowers and start your mowing routine.
Before you jump right in and discover your lawn mower isn’t quite as ready to start the season as you are, check out these spring maintenance tasks that can help your mower engine to run strong and keep your lawn properly trimmed.
Here are four simple lawn mower maintenance tips for gasoline-powered mowers.
The Fight Against Crabgrass: You CAN Win!
March 8, 2018Every year we receive dozens of calls for help eradicating crabgrass. The problem is that by the time you see crabgrass, you’re already well behind in the battle. You can win the fight, though, with some thoughtful planning and action.
Today we’ll take a look at why crabgrass appears in your lawn, and offer a few suggestions on how you can control it.
Why does crabgrass appear in my lawn?
One of the most common weed problems in lawns here in Pennsylvania, crabgrass releases seeds each summer and then emerges the next spring. Crabgrass seeds are particularly tenacious, as the amount of seed produced is extremely high, and they can stay dormant in the soil for several years before germinating.
Top 5 Things to Ask Your Landscaping Company
February 23, 2018Great landscaping companies do far more than just routine maintenance. While there are countless projects you can hire a landscaping company for, there’s not an unlimited number of companies capable of doing a great job.
How well you research and qualify these companies can mean the difference between a great looking landscape and one that can actually end up costing you MORE money. Picking the wrong landscaping partner may just mean a bad trim job, but in the worst case, you can be stuck with expensive legal bills should an accident occur.
Fortunately, you can screen out the bad apples with a bit of effort. We’ve taken some time to put together a simple, straightforward list of questions you should ask.
- Are you licensed and insured?
Benefits of a Lawn Care Program
February 2, 2018It won’t be much longer until the Hively Landscapes team is out in full force in order to ensure our clients’ lawns are the greenest on the block. Can you believe winter’s on its way out already? Yay!
If you’ve recently considered a lawn care treatment program for your home or business, but haven’t yet committed, let us help make your decision a little easier by reviewing a few of the benefits our customers receive from their treatment programs.
January & February Landscaping Tips
December 14, 2017Happy New Year! With 2018 just around the corner, it’s time to start preparing your landscape to look its best in the spring. While it is easy to hide away from the cold winter weather here in Pennsylvania, be sure to spend some time in January and February knocking out some simple yard work- beyond taking down the decorations you put up for the holiday season.
Not sure where to start? Here are a few helpful suggestions:
January
Believe it or not, January usually has a few nice, sunny days that provide the perfect opportunity to work on your landscape. It is the ideal time to inspect flowering trees and shrubs for broken, diseased, or weak branches and carefully prune them out. It is also the ideal time to prune flowering trees for shape but be careful, pruning is a skill that takes years to learn! You can also trim your fruit-bearing plants to encourage new growth and fruit production.
Up Your Curb Appeal with Professional Landscaping Services
September 28, 2017It’s no secret that curb appeal landscaping can increase the value of your home and the likelihood that it will sell successfully. However, moving is already a stressful time for any homeowner and you may not have the time to sort through curb appeal ideas, let alone implement any of them.
Fortunately, hiring an experienced landscaping company can be an easy and affordable way to quickly increase your curb appeal and your home’s value. These are the services we recommend to homeowners looking to put their house on the market.
Get Your Lawn to Make Some Green
A healthy lawn is one of the most attractive features a home buyer wants to see – and the first that they see. A healthy lawn signals to the buyer that the house has been well maintained during your ownership.
Proper aeration and overseeding can assist in ensuring a lush, green lawn that buyers will adore.
Color a Buyer’s Perspective
Green isn’t the only color that can add value to your home. Curb appeal landscaping that includes colorful flowers, shrubs and trees will add some wow-factor to your yard. Buyers will perceive your home to be more welcoming if there are lively, colorful plants surrounding it.
To make your gardens and flower boxes stand out, request that your landscaper use darkly colored mulch. A darker shade of mulch will add to the perception that the soil is healthy, while also adding a great visual contrast to all of those colorful plants.
Providing a Clean Slate
Hardscaping is an important factor in curb appeal. Begin with a thorough pressure washing of your decks, patios and walkways. Once clean, inspect your hardscaping for any cracks or deterioration. Repair, replace and repaint as necessary. Having your hardscaping looking new and pristine will drive value into your home.
Light It Up
While most buyers will only see your curb appeal landscaping during daylight hours, installing outdoor lighting is a smart, inexpensive way to highlight your home. Landscape lighting helps reassure buyers that your home is located in a safe, desirable neighborhood.
Does your curb appeal need an upgrade? Contact Hively Landscapes about any of these services. Our experts can help you enhance your curb appeal so that your home is ready to sell.
Prepare Your Landscape For Winter with Fall Lawn Care
August 31, 2017Cooler weather will be here before we know it! And while it’s tempting to assume that the change of seasons means you can take fall lawn care off your to-do list, this isn’t the case. Continuing upkeep and maintenance on your landscape is essential during the cooler months, especially if you want to have a healthy, lush lawn by the time spring rolls around. Here are some simple steps to winterize your landscape.
Soil Testing
Soil testing your yard is one of the easiest ways to determine the overall health of your landscape. Measuring the pH and nutrient levels of your property allows us to prescribe the best fall and spring lawn care plan for your soil’s specific needs.
Mowing and Maintenance
Cool weather grasses will continue to grow in Central PA in the fall. It’s important to continue to cut your lawn until the first frost of the season. You may even want to cut the grass slightly shorter than usual. This makes it easier to aerate and fertilize.
Aeration and Fertilization
This is the best time to aerate and fertilize your lawn. Fertilizing the grass now will ensure it has the nutrients it needs to thrive in the spring, while aeration will allow the roots easier access to those nutrients. The aeration and fertilization one-two punch is one of the best ways to prepare your lawn for the winter ahead and the spring to follow.
Removing Dead and Dying Plants
Pruning and removing dead trees does more than improve your landscape’s appearance. It also prevents possible property damage from falling limbs and branches. As an added bonus, removing smaller dead plants from gardens and composting the remains is a natural way to give your garden beds a boost for the spring.
Remove Leaves and Debris
Ailing limbs and branches aren’t the only dead things that need to go when prepping your lawn for winter. Removing leaves, which prevents bald spots on your lawn and reduces cleanup after a snowfall, is essential for a healthy lawn in the spring.
Mulching
As temps cool in mid to late Fall covering temperature-sensitive plants with mulch will help insulate your garden from the dropping temperatures of the season. It will also help reduce weeds come springtime.
Herbicide
It may seem strange to worry about killing weeds in the fall, but using a well timed pre-emergent herbicide now will leave grass with more room to grow and minimize early germinating weeds in mulch and planting beds
Ready to prep your lawn for winter? The experts at Hively offer fall lawn care services so you can have a beautiful landscape by spring. Contact us today.