A few years ago, a family in Edina was looking to upgrade their landscape. They had just finished a home addition and wanted a beautiful front yard to complement the work they had done. We worked with the homeowners to create a design to give them exactly what they were looking for – beauty and privacy with a golf course quality lawn.

To give them the type of lawn the family wanted, the Great Goats team stripped out the old lawn and meticulously graded the exposed dirt. Then we installed lush Minnesota grown sod. A curved border separated the lawn from the landscaped areas and gentle berms were added to give the family a rolling contour instead of the typical flat front yard.

We also landscaped the front entry and the foundation of the home and added an L-shaped garden with pine and birch trees, a flowering tree and lots of blooming shrubs and perennials. The final effect was a colorful screen that gave a sense of privacy from the street traffic in front of the home.

Two years later, the Great Goats team found themselves back at the same address. The family had recently build a new wooden deck off the second story, added a concrete deck around their swimming pool, and enclosed the back yard with a new fence. Once again the family’s main concern was privacy. The open fields that surrounded their backyard were slated for development and keeping a sense of peace and seclusion was a high priority.

We planted evergreen and birch trees along the fence to create a natural screen. We also carried over the contoured feel of the front yard by installing gentle berms and a curved border along the planting beds.  Flowering patio trees, blooming shrubs, perennials and ornamental grasses were planted to create natural and colorful points of interest around the yard.

Throughout the property, accent borders were added to enhance the naturalistic feel that the homeowners wanted.

Since first meeting the family, Great Goats has enjoyed maintaining and improving the landscaping of their property. We love taking a project from the very beginning and improving the site over multiple years to help homeowners create a yard that they truly love. We value our ongoing relationship with this family and have been thrilled to receive several referrals based on our work.

This is one of my favorite times of the year. With all the end of summer activities in full swing, I spend most of my time outside, trying to soak in as much sun before winter as possible.

Unfortunately, these end-of-summer days can do damage to your lawn. If your lawn is anything like mine, it’s starting to look worn. The heat, plus insects, foot traffic, and all those outdoor parties you’ve been throwing can easily leave lawns looking sparse and a little sad.

Fortunately, there are steps you can take to keep your lawn looking healthy and inviting throughout the summer and into fall.

Know your lawn type and geographic location

Before you dive into improving the health of your lawn, it’s important to know what type of grass you are dealing with. It also helps to do a little bit of research and learn about the plant zone that you live in. Knowing your plant zone will help you determine watering, soil and lighting requirements for your area.

Check your lawn and landscaping for signs of stress

Once you have a better idea of what your grass needs based on your plant zone, it’s time to take a look at the condition of your lawn. Watch lawn for areas that are lacking water or being attacked by seasonal bugs or disease. Shade trees, overhangs from your house and other buildings and the shade from you house can help plants that less hardy. Plants that tolerate heat and dry conditions should be planted in direct sun.

Get your soil tested

If you notice that your lawn isn’t growing like your neighbors, there could be many underlying factors. Testing your soil can tell you a lot about what your grass and other plants might be lacking. Improper nutrients, PH levels, and other natural balances could all affect how your yard performs. You soil might also need aerating periodically to bring air into your soil and stimulate growth.

Prevent next spring’s problems now

A lot of problems that lawns face in the spring can be addressed in the late summer. Late summer pests can take a toll on plants that might not show up until next summer. Be vigilant and address any insect problems promptly. There are many pest control options on the market, but chemical-free solutions will always be the safest for you, your family, and the environment.

Choose the right fertilizer for late summer applications

Lawns require different fertilizer based on the time of year or maybe you are trying to build tuft or address a particular problem in a certain area of your lawn. Whatever you are hoping to improve about your lawn, seek advice before buying and spreading fertilizer. Your local nursery should have a variety of fertilizers and will be able to help you select the right one for your needs.

Trim bushes and shrubs

It doesn’t matter if your landscape is neatly manicured or has a more rustic look. Flowers and shrubbery should be trimmed and kept tidy to keep your yard from looking overgrown and unkempt. Never trim more than a third from bushes and shrubs. Bushes and shrubs should be trimmed in late summer, rather than in late fall so that any new growth has time to harden before the harsh cold of winter.

If spring is all about getting your lawn lush and healthy, summer is about keeping it that way as temperatures soar and rain becomes a distant memory. Plus, with all the time you’ve been spending outside, I bet your lawn is starting to show signs of wear in high-traffic areas.

Summer Lawn Care Tips

Summer lawn care doesn’t have to be a big chore. While you might not have much luck growing new grass in the middle of the summer, but you can take some simple steps to care for the lawn that you have. Here are some tips for keeping your lawn looking it’s best through the summer months without relying on harmful chemicals or abundant watering.

Smart grass selection

The first step in summer lawn care is choosing the right grass for your lawn. If you’re replacing or reseeding your lawn, first do a little research to make sure the grass you plant will do well in your yard. Consider your area’s natural average rainfall and the amount of sunlight your yard receives. You’ll also want to choose a type of grass that will thrive in your soil.

Wise watering

No matter where you are or how much rain you’re receiving, it’s always wise to water as little as possible. The amount of water lawns need varies by the type of grass you have and how hot it is. To keep track of how much water your lawn has been receiving, keep a rain gauge out to measure water received from rainfalls.

If your lawn needs to be water, water deeply and less frequently to encourage drought-tolerant roots. Early and late in the day are ideal times to water because you’ll lose less to evaporation.

Also, consider adding a rain barrel to your yard. Rain barrels capture roof rainwater that can be used for watering lawns and flowers.

Proper mowing

It seems people either love or hate mowing the lawn. No matter how you feel about it, when you mow, you should be doing it in the way that is healthiest for your grass. Raise your mower blades to keep your grass drought-tolerant. Longer grass also develops deeper roots and provides shade to prevent weed seeds from germinating.

Instead of bagging your lawn clippings, leaving them on the lawn to keep moisture levels steady.

Keep your blades sharp so that they cut the grass instead of tearing it, and mow regularly to prevent cutting more than a 1/3 of the grass at one time.

Protect high-traffic areas

If you’re starting to develop paths in your lawn in high-traffic areas, consider installing stepping stones or a sidewalk to reduce damage to your grass.

Control those weeds!

Summer is the time that weeds love to start blooming. Keep them under control and do you future-self a favor by removing them before they have a chance to disperse next year’s seeds. As tempting as it is to use chemicals on weeds, in the hotter months, chemicals can be damaging to already stressed lawns, and it’s better to pull any weeds that pop up.

With organic lawn care, your grass will be signing your praises.

What would your grass say if it could talk? If you’re like most homeowners, your grass would be begging you to lay off the chemical fertilizers and pesticides and start taking care of it a little more naturally. Organic lawn care is gaining popularity, and it’s easy to see why.

A lot of homeowners assume that if they give up their standard lawn care products, they’re going to have to spend at lot more time working in their yard and still won’t be able to get the results they want.

That simply isn’t true. With natural, organic lawn care, homeowners can grow a lawn that doesn’t rely on chemicals and is much more sustainable in the long run.

Why bother?

With the amount of time your children and pets spend playing outside in your lawn, you want it to be a safe place for them. Chemical based fertilizers and pesticides might show quicker results, but with the harm they can cause to people, pets and the environment, many homeowners are moving to natural lawn care. By going organic with your lawn care, you can create a healthy, lush lawn that is more sustainable over the long term.

Make your lawn sing your praises using organic lawn care

1. Do a soil test
   A quick soil test will tell you what nutrients your soil is missing and which organic microorganisms you should add.
2. Start composting
   Spreading a thin layer of compost over your lawn will have a huge impact on the quality of your soil and the health of your grass. Use either store bought compost or compost you’ve developed from kitchen and yard scraps. If you add a layer of compost to your lawn every year, your grass will be singing your praises from now until fall – promise!
3. Look for a better grass
   All grasses are not created. If you’re replacing your lawn or interested in overseeding, choose a native or organic grass seed that will thrive in your area. Chat with your local extension office or with the staff at your local garden store to see what they would recommend for your area and soil conditions.
4. Managing weeds
   I hate to admit it, but switching to organic lawn care might cause an increase in weeds the first year or two until your grass gets strong enough to fight them off itself. In the mean time, try spreading corn gluten meal over your lawn in the spring for organic weed prevention, or if you just have a few isolated weeds popping up, get rid of them quickly by pulling them by hand.
5. Care and maintenance
   When it comes to mowing, know what length your type of grass prefers and resist the temptation to cut it shorter. If it’s too short, it won’t be able to develop the strong, healthy roots needed to fight off weeds and disease. When it comes to water, water infrequently and deeply to encourage root development.