Finally, it’s here—summer weather! After a seemingly interminably wet June, July has given us a good share of sunny, warm days. As you take advantage of the nicer weather to enjoy more time out in your yard, it’s important that you also keep up on some maintenance of your lawn and flowerbeds to keep things looking their best. Here are a few easy tips to keep your yard looking great. 

First, with warmer temperatures come weeds. Actually, weeds will grow in just about any weather (if only your flowers would too, right?), but sunny, warm days will promote faster growth. If you’re not careful, weeds will quickly reseed themselves—and then you’ve got a real problem! 

In your flowerbeds, there are a couple of simple fixes to weeds: regular hoeing or bark mulch. If you like the look of bare dirt, grab a Hula-Ho and get to work. Unlike traditional hoes, you’ll find a Hula-Ho much more effective in killing weeds—and with a lot less work, since you won’t find yourself dragging dirt around with every pass. Check out the Hula-Ho at Vander Giessen’s–for just $15.99, it’s a great deal on a great tool. If you choose bark mulch, not only will you have fewer weeds to pull, the bark will help your soil hold more moisture as well.

For a good portion of the year, maintaining your yard serves only to benefit the view from your front windows, but in summer you can finally enjoy playing on a thriving green lawn. To keep your grass looking great, water every other day, keeping in mind that less frequent, deeper watering is better than frequent but shallow irrigation. Additionally, the best time to water is at sunrise to minimize evaporation. Lawns watered at night tend to stay damp until morning and will be susceptible to diseases that thrive on cool, damp grass. 

With summer vacations and fun activities keeping you busy, you may not think to fertilize your lawn; however, grass should still be fed to keep it lush underfoot. Store-brand or generic fertilizers may be attractive in price, but without the proper blend of micronutrients, they can’t deliver the same results that a professional-grade product will. For a healthy lawn, apply Scotts fertilizers—at Vander Giessen’s, we can advise on the blend to best suit your needs. 

Speaking of lawns, you may have noticed that with all the rain in June, your yard has developed, let’s say, a little more “biodiversity.” In short, you’ve got weeds. At the nursery, we’ve grown to love the Bayer line of garden products for quality and reliability, and their lawn weed killers are no exception. Compared to granular weed control products, the Bayer liquid sprays are much more effective in killing weeds. For the best weed-killing results, spray weeds a day or two before mowing to maximize the amount of leaf surface area you spray—the bigger the weeds, the easier they are to kill!

Now, for plants—after all, this is summer, so you deserve to have some fun finding homes for new treasures. But is summer safe for planting? Of course! Given adequate water, plants will root out quickly in the warm soil. Make watering easy by building a small dam around the base of newly-planted shrubs and trees so that when you water, you fill up a reservoir at each plant that can slowly soak into the ground. Additionally, use Vitamin B1—available at Vander Giessen’s for just $3.99/quart—to reduce transplant stress and promote rapid and healthy root development. In no time you’ll have flourishing, well-established plants. 

With July’s long days and abundant sun, make the most of this great month to enjoy your garden and the beauty it provides.