First impressions are everything. Not only when it comes to people but when it comes to your home too. A well-maintained lawn can be the first impression that makes your home the envy of the neighborhood. Unfortunatly many people think that landscaping and upkeep can be quite expensive and tend to shy away from anything too complicated. Well, guess what? You are in luck because these simple ideas will bring life back into your front lawn without breaking bank this spring!
1. Plan Ahead
You may not have thousands of dollars to spare when it comes to sprucing up your lawn. In fact, you may have a massive lawn that needs revamping. Planning ahead will keep you on budget and on track, letting you narrow what is important and what you want versus what you need.
2. Design it Yourself First
You want it to be aesthetically pleasing. You can’t have an older Victorian home and tropical palm trees and bamboo. You see where I am going here, right? Plan it out on paper first so you can mix and match the “theme” and style of your home to your lawn.
3. Start with the Grass
Choose your desired grass seed and then use a turf builder (food for grass) the day after. Scott’s Turf Builder is very effective and is also child and pet friendly. Your grass, with the right watering, will soon become luscious and green.
4. Try Your Hand at Landscaping
It’s not as hard as you may think. You can line the grass with brick or decorative stone, section off an area lining the house and plant some bushes/thick flower plants or a few decorative small trees. Adding mulch protects the plants from too much damage either by vermin or pests.
5. Add Some Color
Similar to the previous point, go bold with flowers. Yellows, reds, oranges and so on. Pinks, purples and whites always go well together too. To save some money, don’t go racing to store right away to buy everything you like or think you will need. You might have a relative or friend who owns their own garden. Ask them for cuttings of their plants that you like. This way you can grow them from scratch and know that they came from a trusted source.
6. Lighting
Add some ambiance with some landscape lighting. I always love driving by houses that have awesome lighting that shows off their home and lawn not only during the day but at night. You can buy the lighting at the local home store and place them near the bottom of your small trees, in the corners of the lawn, by the base of the house and around the edges of your flower bed sections. Don’t underestimate the power of lighting, it works wonders and will make you feel not only like you are just coming home, but as if you were royalty arriving back at their castle. Hiring an electrician to install the lighting may be worth your time and money as improperly installed systems may cause more headaches in the future than they are worth.
7. Add a Focal Point
You can get creative here and maybe create a small fish pond or large ornament scene or design. These ideas, however, can be on the more expensive side so consider the cost when planning your lawn’s make over.
Conclusion
Keep in mind you do not have to do all of these. You do not want to feel overwhelmed. Revamping your lawn is hard work but with the right planning it can be fun and not put a big dent in your wallet. Recruit your spouse or friends to help you knock it out and turn it into a revamping party. You never know, you might just come up with some new, creative and awesome ideas.
This article was written by Rebecca Borchers, a first time homeowner with a knack for gardening. In her spare time, you can always find her toiling away in her garden prunning some of her award winning roses. She also is a professional writer for Bob Heinmiller, a certified Orlando electrician. To read more about Rebecca’s work, you can visit her Google+.