Maintaining Your Landscaped Yard

Writen by Bill McRea

You have just finished landscaping your yard and you are pleased with the results. The flowers are blooming magnificently, the trees are giving enough shade and your kids are busy playing in the area you provided them for. It sounds peaceful and you are content with your own masterpiece. Like an art piece, though, without proper maintenance your landscaped yard will slowly fall apart.

In a perfect world, everything you've planned for your yard would be just that, perfect. It is not a perfect world, though, and there are several things to consider after you have finished the landscaping. Here are some simple maintenance tricks that might have escaped your mind.

The first thing that you should think about is the safety of your own kids. Weeds will grow and some of these weeds are harmful not only to your other plants but to your own children as well. You should check regularly for weeds and be prepared to immediately remove them from your garden.

Your kids are naturally curious and you make sure that thorns from your flowers (roses, etc.) are not problematic. You must also consider a tree's branches, as big frail branches could easily fall, or may so low that they are easily a hazard. Prune them. Be sure that rocks and pebbles are not in your child's way as they could stumble on them and hurt themselves.

After thinking about your kids, you must care for your plants. Plants need regular watering as they will wilt or die if not given taken care. Play areas that are too close to the play area can be destroyed by a stray ball or trampling.

Another thing to consider is making sure that the soil is suitable for growing plants. Fertilizers and/or constant tilling of the soil will make it more fertile and will enhance the growth of your plants.

Make sure that your yard is properly cleaned and that the grass is kept mowed. Trash can ruin the aesthetic value of your yard and can also be harmful to your health. Be sure to take out the trash at least every few days. You might also watch out for stagnant water areas as they are the favorite breeding places of mosquitoes.

Creating and landscaping your yard and garden does not end there, the work starts at this point and you must realize that every masterpiece needs proper care to maintain it's beauty.

Bill McRea is the publisher of Garden Facts also Garden Decor and Landscape Trees Landscaping and Gardening with information and products.