6 Weekly Maintenance Tasks To Keep Your Landscape Looking Beautiful

A beautiful yard doesn’t happen all by itself, unless you’re one of those lucky people visited by magical lawn and garden sprites during the night. (And if you are, you’re probably not telling anybody about it.)

It takes some work! So, to keep your New York or Connecticut landscape looking its tidy best, tend to these six tasks weekly — or, better yet, ask your landscape maintenance contractor to

Landscape Maintenance Task #1: Deadhead Flowers

Deadheading is the removal of flowers that have already put on their show. Nearly all flowering plants benefit from at least a little deadheading. When blooms start to fade, brown, curl, or just look yucky, pinch or trim them off.

Bonus: Many perennial plants will re-bloom, giving you another burst of beauty, if you pinch or cut back the flowers once they’ve bloomed.

Maintenance Task #2: Mowing

Mowing the lawn not only makes it look nice; it’s actually good for the grass.

Cutting the grass higher — typically the top third — shades roots and promotes a deeper root system. Deep roots can reach water that is deeper in the soil, giving grass reserve power to get through dry spells.

Mow in the morning, after the dew has dried. And mow often — once a week is best.

Maintenance Task #3: Trimming

Most lawn mowers do a poor job of cutting grass along the edges of the lawn. Trimming is the finishing touch. It accentuates the lines of the lawn and planting beds and gives the whole scene a well-manicured look.

Trimmers come in a number of different types, from simple handheld clippers to gas or electric models.

Trimmers leave some clippings on paths and driveways, so don’t forget to sweep up.

Maintenance Task #4: Weeding

It’s amazing how fast weeds can sprout. One minute your garden beds are lovely and weed free. Pop in the house to whirl together a margarita, return for an evening garden stroll and…weeds!

Nobody wants to spend precious weekend hours weeding. So tug a few weeds every time you’re in the garden.

Weed often, and the roots won’t have time to grow big and ornery.

Maintenance Task #5: Watering

In midsummer, most lawns need between 1 and 2 inches of water a week.

Water to the proper depth: Moisture should penetrate to about 6 to 8 inches deep. Watering less deeply results in a shallow-rooted lawn that dries out quickly.

On the other hand, applying water that penetrates much deeper than 6 to 8 inches is wasteful because most grass roots don’t grow longer than that.

How to tell? Check how deeply the water penetrates your lawn by probing the ground with a stiff metal rod or long screwdriver. The rod moves easily through wet soil and then stops, or becomes difficult to push, when it reaches dry soil.

Allow the lawn to partially dry out between watering. The lawn will show you when it’s getting dry and needs water: When you walk on the grass, you can look back and see your footprints.

Early morning is the best time to water. That gives the lawn a chance to dry before evening, which can protect your lawn from disease and pests.

Maintenance Task #6: Tidy Up

Tree branches fall, flowers shed their petals, the neighbor kids might drop their bubble gum wrappers in your front yard.

Take a few minutes to run a rake over the lawn, hit the walkways and driveway with a broom or a leaf blower to neaten things up. The prettiest lawn and garden look shabby if littered with debris.

Leave It To The Professionals

You say you’d rather read a good book under the gazebo? We don’t blame you. Give Neave a call. Neave Group offers weekly residential lawn and garden maintenance.

When you contact us, we’ll schedule a visit from one of our lawn maintenance specialists who will survey your property and research your needs.

If you’re in the Hudson Valley, call us at (845) 463-0592. If you’re in Westchester County, call (914) 271-7996; from Connecticut, dial (203) 212-4800. Or, fill out our simple web form, and we’ll contact you about setting up your free consultation.

It’s the next best thing to having your own crew of magical lawn and garden sprites.

Image credits: Landscape, mowing lawn, watering lawn