It’s springtime! You come home from work, check the mail, and then you see it: the sad, brown landscape that is your lawn. And you think, “What happened to my beautiful green lawn?!“
Between the cold temperatures, wind, and dry air, our lawns tend to take a beating during the winter months. But don’t worry! Those blades are still alive and well, they just need to be revived come springtime. Here are a few ways you can breathe life back into your lawn.
1. Get rid of those weeds
You can use a weed killer or you can just start pulling them up by hand. Either way, getting rid of weeds will help heal your lawn. Weeds need nutrients to live too, but they need the same ones your grass and flowers need. So be sure to get rid of the weeds before you do any other rehabilitation efforts.
2. Use fertilizer
Fertilizer is like giving your lawn supplements. The lack of sun and moisture (or too much moisture) throws your lawn’s “diet” out of whack, so you have to replenish those nutrients its been missing all winter. You can buy an organic fertilizer or you can save kitchen scraps for compost and make your own.
3. Go easy on the mowing
Your lawn needs some time to recoup, so don’t get too enthusiastic with your mowing. Give it a nice little trim, setting your mower to the tallest setting the first couple times you mow.
4. Hydrate
By the end of winter, your lawn is dehydrated. Don’t drown it, as too much water can do more harm than good! But give it a good inch of water on a weekly basis. If you forget to water one week, don’t try to “catch up” and overwater to compensate. Just pick back up where you left off, watering 1 inch per week.
5. Plant spring flowers
Once you’ve done the basics, add an extra touch by planting some spring flowers! Planting flowers is a nice way to have some instant gratification and enjoy the changing of the season. After all, it may take some time before your lawn looks the way it did before winter came along. Try not to get too discouraged, though, and reach out for help if you need it.