Your Lawn - Time and Labour Issues!

Lawn care.

Time

The time you will be able to devote to your lawn should determine the types of plants and flowers you fill it with. Some plants require pruning, watering, added nutrients than other plants. If you do not have the time to take care of these plants, then you should buy plants and flowers that can basically take care of themselves such as shade plants, perennials, and moss plants.

As you can see, this lawn thing is a lot complex than hauling out the hose on Sunday mornings or during the evening. Plants and flowers need your constant care in order to grow and survive year after year. Since there are many plants and flowers to choose from, you should be able to find the ones that will suit your lifestyle.

TIME AND LABOR

At this time, you have two choices: do a lot of this lawn stuff yourself, or hire a landscaper. While there are pros and cons of each, you should hire a landscaper if you plan building a drain, or want to add a patio or gazebo. As mentioned before, do not dig too deeply in your lawn, because you never know what could be under there.

You should first determine how much your new lawn is going to cost you, labor aside. Include the following in your calculations:

Materials and equipment
Plants and flowers
Soil testing
Grass
Ornaments
Pest control
Drainage

Then you should calculate the labor. Call a few landscapers to see what they charge. You should consider using a landscaper for the following:

Removing heavy thatch
Drainage
Rock placement
Tree placement
Tilling the soil
Aeration

Even though there are other lawn care tasks that have to be done, you could easily accomplish them.

The bottom line is how much time you will have to spend on your lawn. If you hire a landscaper to do all of the groundwork, plant trees and flowers, fertilize, and other tasks, you will still have to mow the lawn, aerate if needed, remove thatch, and reseed if necessary. Of course you could have a landscaper complete these tasks also, but then you wouldn’t be reading this book then, would you?

Hire a landscaper only if you need one. If, after a few seasons, you find you no longer have the time or the patience to work on your lawn, then consider hiring a landscaper or a mowing service that will mow your lawn every few weeks.

While certain landscaping projects can be expensive, in the long run it is more important to get the job done right instead of having to redo or start a project over again.

Placement of Plants

The placement of your plants should also be a concern. Many times, certain plants will invade the personal space of other plants. Be sure to leave enough room between plants and do not place vine plants next to other plants and flowers.

Region where you live

The region where you live is another concern you should be thinking about. If you live in an area that sees a lot of rainfall, then purchase plants that enjoy a lot of water. Moss plants love the water and will probably thrive better in it. If you live in an area that is plagued with drought for months at a time, then drought-tolerant perennials are your best bet.

Other decorative ornaments

This is another space issue. If you are planning on using rocks, sculpture, and other items to decorate your lawn, you should include less plants and flowers. Vine plants work well with rocks and can give your lawn that old-world feel.

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Terry Blackburn. Internet Marketing Consultant, living in South Shields in the North-East of England. Author and Producer of blog http://www.lawnsurgeon.blogspot.com Author of "Your Perfect Lawn," a 90 Page eBook devoted to Lawn Preparation, Lawn Care and Maintenance. Find it at http://www.lawnsurgeon.com

I would be very interested to have your comments on this Article.

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Terry Blackburn - EzineArticles Expert Author

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