Lawn Care Blog

Lawn-care season is just about in full swing in Maryland by now, and if you haven’t already made lawn mowing part of your busy schedule, make room before the grass is knee-high. Lawns across Harford County are looking green and manicured, and lawn care services are roaring to life throughout the area. Once a week grass cutting is about the most common schedule for lawn care specialists, if you are considering hiring out for this task. If you choose to do it yourself, then it’s time to break out the mower and get it ready for the weekly ritual.

Start your season off right by making sure your mower is in the best possible shape. Get your mower blades sharpened and clean the mower deck. Blades can be sharpened at a lawn care shop. The difference between a dull and a sharp blade can mean the difference between a lush lawn and lazy lawn. It can also save you time cutting the grass. The mower deck should be free of debris for safety purposes.

For a thick-looking lawn, set the blades to cut at a height of four inches. This height will also help keep the lawn from burning in the dry weather conditions Harford County has been experiencing. If the grass is too long or heavy and bunches up in the mower, double cut in the opposite direction. Finally, mulch your clippings instead of picking them up – it’s a great way to provide natural fertilization for other areas of your lawn and garden.

Have you ever looked out your window after a windy night and seen long, dry ornamental grass "blades" all over your lawn? If they haven't blown off yet, the strands of grass are probably dried and dead looking, like a shaft of hair with dried, split ends. They both look lackluster. Get a good haircut, and your whole head of hair looks fuller and shinier. Similarly, ornamental grasses will grow fuller and more vibrant if they are cut back before they begin to grow again.

Professional lawn care specialists in Maryland recommend that the best time to trim ornamental grass is just before new growth begins. You can do several things to prepare for the new growth. First, mulch around the base of the grass to protect it from freezing temperatures. Consider this a "leave-in conditioner" for the ornamental grass. Cut any falling or leaning blades frequently to prevent mold from developing under snow. The ornamental grass should be cut within four to six inches of the soil level. The sooner you cut it back, the sooner new growth will appear. If your variety of ornamental grass remains green year-round, just cut the old, dead foliage, not the whole plant. Finally, divide grass plants if they are getting too large. Lift them out of the ground and divide the root ball into two pieces. Replant them at the same depth as the original plant.

If you cut your ornamental grass early, the next windy day won't be filled with fly-aways.

You may be asking yourself if you should mow the lawn one more time this year?  Even though the grass isn't that long it can still benefit from a final mowing.  Especially if the lawn is covered with leaves and debris. Leaves can damage the lawn if allowed to get wet and smother the turf all winter.  If the leaf coverage isn't too heavy, you can get away with mulching the leaves with your mower so they can naturally decompose into the thatch layer.  You may not be cutting much grass this time of year, but the clean up aspect of a late season mowing can make your efforts well worth while.

With all of the rain and hurricane downpours this summer, the lawn mowing frequency has hit an all time high for August.  Usually you can get away with two mowings for the whole month, not this year. The lawns in Maryland are requiring weekly mowings. Some may welcome this, others may view it as an extra chore cutting into pool or recreation time.  The result will be better looking lawns this fall and an increased need for fertilizer and weed control applications. If your lawn has become weedy and thin this summer, now is a good time to jump start it with a fall program from HillSide Lawn Service. We can eliminate your weeds, fertilize the soil and aerate/seed the lawn producing award winning turf this fall and into the next season.