Retaining walls are a popular landscaping feature that can add an interesting, attractive element to your yard while also serving a useful purpose. From an aesthetic point of view, retaining walls can break up a large, bland area into several smaller more interesting areas and lead the eye toward other landscaping features. They can mark…
Fertilizing your lawn and controlling weeds are both important parts of any lawn care and maintenance program so it is no wonder that many homeowners are tempted to apply a “weed & feed” product on their lawns. It certainly sounds great – a single product that takes care of both fertilization and weed control! Just…
Keeping weeds in check is is an important part of any lawn care program. If you have wandered through the aisles of your local home improvement or garden center, you have probably noticed the bewildering array of weed control products available. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that all weed control herbicides are the same. …
An effective weed control program is critical to achieve a beautiful lawn. There are three basic methods of controlling lawn weeds – keeping the lawn healthy, mechanical weed removal, and chemical weed control. Each of these methods helps control weeds, but the best results are achieved by consistently using all three methods. A healthy lawn…
Good watering techniques will help your lawn tolerate the hot summer weather and stay healthy all year long. In hot, dry summer conditions the lawn will go dormant if it does not get enough water. One option is to allow the lawn to go dormant, but you run the risk that some of the lawn…
Summertime lawn maintenance and care can be a challenge, especially this year with most of the country seeing record breaking temperatures already this year and no relief in sight. The hot weather not only keeps your air conditioning system running overtime, but it also puts a lot of stress on your lawn, especially for northern…
An irrigation system is a great way to keep your lawn an landscaping healthy and in great condition. An important part of any lawn irrigation sprinkler system is the irrigation controller. The controller automatically turns on the irrigation system according to how it was programmed by the homeowner. An irrigation system controller allows the homeowner…
Until recently, most irrigation system controllers available for residential use relied on timers for controlling the irrigation schedule. The homeowner could set the irrigation controller to start watering at a certain time and how long to water the landscaping. They can also be set to water different zones at different times and for different durations,…
Smart irrigation system controllers are the most recent innovation for sprinkler irrigation systems. Programmable electronic controllers are capable of executing sophisticated watering programs, but they are incapable of adjusting for the current local weather conditions. Unless the homeowner manually adjusts the program every time it rains and when the seasons change, a traditional electronic irrigation…
You have probably heard of low flow, water saving shower heads, toilets, and other plumbing fixtures, but did you know that there are also water saving landscape irrigations controllers? Landscape irrigation systems account for over 7 billion gallons of water used per day, and up to half of this water is wasted due to inefficient…
