Handling your own lawn care and maintenance can be a monumental task, especially if you have a large yard, hilly landscape or steep terrain. Even with a small yard, it takes a lot of time and effort to keep your landscape looking good year-round.
Maybe it’s time to hire a professional lawn care company who can provide expert landscape services in northern NJ.
A professional landscape company can save you time and provide many valuable services for your home. They have the knowledge, skill, experience and equipment to tackle even the most difficult landscape problems. Why not turn your lawn care and maintenance over to the pros and spend your time doing things you enjoy? Take a look at some valuable landscape services that a professional landscape company can provide for your home.
Regular Lawn Care and Maintenance
Regular lawn care and maintenance is essential to a healthy, green landscape. Without regular attention, your lawn can develop weeds and shrubs, plants can become overgrown and your landscape can be attacked by insects and diseases. Professional landscape services in northern NJ can keep your landscape healthy and well-manicured for maximum curb appeal all year. Most professional landscape companies have skilled crews that provide regular lawn care and maintenance on a weekly basis. Regular landscape services usually include:
- Scheduled weekly lawn mowing
- Regular edging for sidewalks, walkways and driveways
- Regular weed control and maintenance
- Cleaning of pathway, walkway and driveway surfaces
- Yard cleanup in the Spring to remove dead winter growth and debris and prepare for warm weather growth
- Yard cleanup in the Fall to remove summer debris and prepare the landscape for winter weather
Many professional landscape companies also provide valuable services that are outside the scope of regular care and maintenance, but just as important to a healthy landscape. These additional services may include:
- Fertilization
- Mulching
- Tree and Shrub Pruning
- Seasonal Planting
- Garden Design
- Organic Lawn Care
- Pest Control
In addition to landscape care and maintenance, a professional landscape company typically offers a basic maintenance program with property inspections throughout the year. Service reports that inform you of problems and solutions are an important part of these landscape services in northern NJ to prevent new problems before they occur and solve existing problems quickly. A landscape maintenance program can detect unwanted pests and diseases in your lawn and protect your home from dead or diseased trees and shrubs. In harsh Bergen County winters, large trees can pose a potential hazard if they fall during a snow storm. Removing a dead or diseased tree can be dangerous without proper equipment, so this is not a job you should tackle yourself. A landscape contractor can safely remove damaged trees and shrubs and haul them away from your home.
Fertilization
Proper fertilization is essential to a healthy landscape since most northern NJ soil doesn’t provide adequate nutrients. Fertilizers provide important nutrients – nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium – that create plant stability and strong roots. Both organic and synthetic fertilizers are available in dry and liquid forms, and although organic fertilizers work a little slower, they release nutrients over a longer time period. Hiring a professional to provide landscape services in northern NJ will ensure proper fertilization year-round for a healthy, green landscape. Typical fertilization schedules include:
- Early Spring (March – April) – After a long, cold winter, your lawn wakes up in the spring hungry to nutrients that were eliminated during winter. Fertilizing your lawn in early spring strengthens the root system that’s essential to healthy, stable leaf growth during warm weather.
- Late Spring (May – June) – During late spring, your grass is using up stored energy to grow and weeds are actively growing as well. Fertilizing with the right products in late spring provides nutrients for continued lawn growth and essential weed control.
- Summer (July – August) – Summer heat, as well as drought, foot traffic and insects put stress on your lawn. It’s especially important to fertilize warm-season grasses in the summer to encourage fall growth. Fertilizers can also offer added protection from summer insects.
- Fall (September – October) – Fall brings mild, warm days, cool nights and rainfall with morning dew, ideal growing conditions for your lawn. Fall is an especially important feeding time to strengthen your grass, so it can survive the upcoming winter.
- Late Fall (October – November) – With the approach of winter it is essential to give the lawns one last application of fertilizer that is high in potassium which will encourage root development throughout the winter.
There are a variety of fertilizers on the market, and it’s important to select the right one for your landscape. A professional landscape company can provide landscape services in northern NJ that include a property analysis of your lawn to determine your soil type, grass type and existing conditions. This analysis is an important part of choosing the best fertilizer for your landscape.
Mulching
Mulching is a simple landscape service that provides numerous benefits by adding a protective layer of material on top of the soil. Organic mulches (bark chips, straw and grass clippings) help to improve soil conditions since they decompose and deposit natural matter into the soil. They also provide a natural source of nutrients and a perfect environment for beneficial earthworms and other organisms. Inorganic mulches (brick chips, stones, pebbles and plastics) also work well, but they don’t put nutrients into the soil. Both types of mulch provide numerous benefits for your landscape:
- Retains more moisture in the soil and reduces the need for frequent watering
- Maintains more even soil temperatures
- Prevents erosion of the soil
- Keeps the soil aerated to reduce compaction from foot traffic and rain
- Prevents weeds from growing through the top soil
- Provides a well-manicured appearance to your landscape
Tree and Shrub Pruning
There’s a lot more to tree and shrub pruning than you realize. Knowing proper pruning techniques and the best time of year to prune are essential to healthy trees and shrubs. Hiring a landscape company who understands proper pruning landscape services in northern NJ will ensure healthy trees and shrubs. Tree and shrub pruning is necessary to promote plant health, improve appearance, change size and shape, encourage new growth and prevent hazards from overgrowth. However, improper pruning can cause damage and force growth in unwanted parts of the plant.
Pruning of tall trees or shrubs with large branches can be dangerous and should be left to qualified tree care professionals who have the proper equipment. Hand saws are often used for cutting branches over 1 inch in diameter. Special pruning saws with razor-like teeth are typically used to cut through branches from 1-inch to 4-inches thick. Pole saws with long handles are best for extended reach cutting, but they must be used with skill and precision to get clean cuts. Small chain saws are typically used on large trees and shrubs with large branches, but they require protective clothing and should be used with skill and extreme caution.
Seasonal Planting
To ensure proper plant growth, it’s important to choose the right plants for your landscape. Healthy growth depends on proper soil conditions, proper watering, sun and shade requirements and adequate nutrients. Qualified landscape professionals have extensive horticulture knowledge and experience to help you select plants that will thrive in your specific landscape conditions. By using professional landscape services in northern NJ, you can have plants and flowers blooming year-round at different times throughout the year.
Garden Design
Whether you want a front yard garden with stunning curb appeal or a backyard garden that provides lots of color and texture, many landscape companies offer garden design services through a qualified garden designer on staff. Garden design services may include:
- Garden Design Using Annuals and Perennials
- Plantings in Containers and Window-Boxes
- Seasonal Bulb Planting
- Existing Garden Renovations
- Displays and Plantings for Fall Season
- Holiday Decorating and Lighting
- Specialty Gardens
Organic Lawn Care
Organic lawn care is a great way to provide a safe, chemical-free environment for your family and pets. It focuses on using natural, organic lawn care products to promote green living and protect the environment. Organic lawn care promotes natural aeration, root growth and weed control by improving soil conditions with organic nutrient mixtures. Healthy soil will increase plant stability and provide protection from insects and diseases that can invade your landscape. Organic fertilization will add nutrients to your existing soil and create a healthy ecosystem for plant growth and beneficial insects. Strong plants are less susceptible to insects, fungus and diseases, and tolerate environmental stresses like heat, cold, drought and foot traffic much better. Organic landscape services in northern NJ typically include Spring, Summer and Fall applications for best results.
Pest Control
All trees, shrubs and plants are susceptible to insects and diseases. Without proper pest control, your landscape can be invaded by all types of pests including tiny, hard-to-see insects like aphids, mealybugs and caterpillars, as well as underground pests like grubs, slugs, wire worms and fire ants. Even small animals like squirrels, rabbits, birds and rodents can cause significant damage to your landscape.
An Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program is often part of landscape services in northern NJ as year-round prevention against unwanted pests. It focuses on organic solutions to address existing pest problems, as well as prevention against future problems. Talk to your landscape contractor about the benefits of a pest control program for your northern NJ landscape.
