Spring is just around the corner so now is the time to get your seasonal yard care into action. Many items you can easily take of yourself, however, it can be helpful to have a team of landscape maintenance and irrigation professionals take on the work.

Here are items you should address for a beautiful spring landscape:
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• Mowing your lawn
  Lawns should be mowed almost year-round but one of the differences between a healthy and damaged lawn is making sure your grass is cut at the appropriate height for each season. As the temperatures become more consistently warm, you'll start seeing your grass grow very quickly. This means it's time to start mowing weekly or bi-weekly, depending on the type and amount of grass you have for your lawn.
  
  
• Fertilizing your lawn and plants
  In case you missed doing this last month, it's not too late. Fertilizer helps your lawn stay healthy and lush, as well as promotes big, beautiful blooms for your plants. It's a simple step that makes a big difference. But, if you're not familiar with which fertilizer is best for your yard or plantings, bringing in an expert can save you time, money, and frustration.
  
  
• Checking your irrigation
  All winter long you've seen us write about the importance of winterization for your irrigation. But, now is the time to check and make sure your system is ready to fire up. Double-check your pipes, connections, heads, etc. and look for breakage, errant spray directions, and if there is enough output to reach all areas that need watering. If you're noticing any pooling of water or low pressure at the ends of your lines, you might have a leak. Knowing how your system is functioning now can save you from the headache and the expense of restoring/replacing dead lawns and plants later on.
  
  
• Thinning out and pruning your plants
  While a bit more tedious and time-consuming, thinning out and pruning your plants is an important part of keeping them healthy. Thinning and pruning plants helps promote growth and keeps them looking great. With this task, you want to look for thin, spindly branches with little to no leaves or blossoms, off-shoots growing from lower portions of the main stem, and any dead or diseased branches or buds. When you remove these portions from your plants, you help them put their energy into growing the healthy limbs and buds. But if the thought of doing this yourself makes you feel uneasy, it's much better to bring in the experts than damage your plants from over or incorrectly trimming and pruning.
  
  
• Cleaning your pavers, decks, and walkways
  It's not uncommon for hardscapes to feel a little neglected during the winter months. But, now is the time to make them shine! A little power washing and moss removal can make all the difference (and make those slippery surfaces safer). If manual labor is not your "thing" you can bring in your landscape maintenance team to the rescue. Not only do they have the tools to manage moss more effectively, they also have the treatments to help prevent unwanted future growth.

Taking this all on by yourself can be overwhelming and too much especially if you have any physical limitations. However, our maintenance and irrigation experts are here to help you prepare your yard for spring's beauty. Please give us a call at 541-729-8029 or email us.

Moss in a lawn can make or break a homeowner's dream of the perfect landscape. It is important to understand what causes the growth of moss and what conditions in your yard are contributing to the problem. Once you are armed with this knowledge, you can create a maintenance plan to tackle the problem head-on. Some causes of moss are simple to fix, and others may require more work and professional assistance. Let’s look at some of the most common causes of moss in lawns. 

Soil conditions
The condition of your lawn's soil is one of the biggest factors in the determining why moss is growing. For instance, acidic soil creates a perfect environment where moss can grow and thrive while your grass dies. In addition to the acidity, it is essential to ensure that your soil is fertile. You can test for these conditions at home and develop a maintenance plan to treat the soil and create an environment that is conducive to grass growth rather than moss. 

Moisture
Too much water? Too little water? Drainage? Knowing how much water your lawn needs is a critical step in the fight against moss. Too little water causes grass to die, and it then leaves open soil for moss to grow in. Too much water and poor drainage both create soggy soil which is a perfect breeding ground for moss. A straightforward way to ensure you are only watering as much as you need is by using a rain gauge. In addition, watch for areas of pooling which can be an indicator of poor drainage — something you will also want to address. 

Other causes
Many other causes lead to the growth of moss in lawns. Some causes include limited sun exposure, too much foot traffic, animal urine, and mowing grass too far down. All of these factors have the potential of killing your lawn and leaving behind conditions that allow moss to develop and grow continually. 

Every lawn is different and is exposed to different household and environmental stresses. Knowing the conditions that promote moss growth allow you to create a plan to fight it. Contact us as Graham Landscape & Design, and we can work together to decide on the best course of action for your lawn. You can give us a call at 541-729-8029 or contact us here. With years of experience in the landscape industry, we can help you have the lawn that you have always dreamed of. 

Graham Landscape and Design LLC designs, installs, and maintains residential and commercial landscapes in Junction City Oregon. Pictured below is a complete landscape in Junction City, Oregon designed and installed by Graham Landscape and Design LLC.

The Problem: Thistledown Farms in Junction City Oregon needed a landscape make-over for their courtyard landscape that customers look at while checking out at the cash registers. There had been a pond and landscape there before, but it had fallen into a state of disrepair and had become a large, prominent eyesore from the natural produce store. Randy and Pam Henderson of Thistledown Farms in Junction City decided to hire Graham Landscape and Design LLC, a professional landscape design build company, to draw up plans and install a landscape to match the scale of their amazing, historic farm.

The Solution: Graham Landscape and Design LLC created a multi-faceted landscape design to complement the look and feel of Thistledown Farms. We designed a decomposed granite walking path to leisurely stroll the grounds around the water feature and landscape in Junction City, Oregon. Knowing that many families and young children enjoy purchasing their fresh produce from Thistledown Farms and spending a half day or day there, we decided to increase the size of the lawn for impromptu picnics. Graham Landscape and Design LLC completely re-designed and installed the water feature that faces the check-out stands and plays the prominent role in this courtyard landscape.

Graham Landscape and Design LLC chose decomposed granite and Pro-steel edging for the pathway material for a number of reasons. The decomposed granite material drains really well, compacts nicely, and has a nice tan/gold color to it. The black Pro-steel edging, barely visible, keeps mulch and lawn separated from the pathway.

Knowing that the lawn would receive a lot of foot traffic from kids and families romping around in the courtyard, Graham Landscape and Design LLC decided to install a Fescue sod lawn for Thistledown Farms in Junction City. Fescue sod is more wear-resistant, requires less water than Perennial Rye, and also requires less fertilizer on a regular basis.

Thistledown is known for its earlier-time charm and Graham Landscape and Design LLC wanted to honor this with the water feature re-design. We decided to incorporate the water-wheel into the water feature and we also added some select pieces of driftwood to help with that old-time feel. We increased the water output and installed a new filtration system to make sure the water stays clear. Now Thistledown's customers are drawn to the site and sound of moving water while they are checking out with their fresh produce.

Graham Landscape and Design LLC even added the finishing touches of a hollowed out tree trunk found on the property and planted a Huckleberry in it, just like you might find hiking the forests of the Pacific Northwest.

The end result of the landscape design created by Graham Landscape and Design LLC is the finished product Thistledown Farms can be proud of. The automatic sprinkler system in Junction City Oregon, also installed by Graham Landscape and Design LLC, makes landscape maintenance easy. Managing farm operations and making sure the crops are watered properly is enough work in and of itself, let alone making sure the landscape will receive the right amount of water.

Problem solved in a very aesthetic and functional way!

Graham Landscape and Design LLC specializes in creating and maintaining beautiful outdoor living spaces. We are well-versed in making your property more usable and valuable.