Your Complete Summer Yard Care To-Do List

Timely Attention to These Details Will Keep You Happy.

Keep the Lawn Green

If your grass should die, it can be costly to replace.

One way to achieve peace of mind is by applying lawn fertilizers on a set schedule

Tune up Your Lawn Mower

Do-It-Yourselfers can save money and perform a lawn mower tune-up, themselves.
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Sharpen Your Mower's Blade

You'll probably have to do it every other month or so during the mowing season.

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Along with performing a lawnmower tune-up, one of the best things you can do to ensure that your mower does its job right is to sharpen its blade as needed.

Control Moles and Voles

Moles can be trapped, poisoned, or discouraged with repellents. The best way to beat voles may be to grow vole-resistant plants.

Photo: Peter Freitag / EyeEm / Getty Images

If you want to have things your way, then you need to stop the moles and voles. A positive identification is the first step, as moles and voles look rather similar to the untrained eye but are not controlled in the same way.

Control Groundhogs

If you grow only ornamental plants, try to take the path of least resistance and simply grow plants that groundhogs usually don't eat.

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But that's no solution if you have a vegetable garden. In this case, you will have to take measures such as fencing the critters out or repelling them.

Automatically Irrigate

The frugal can save money on their water bills in the long run through watering lawns with irrigation systems if they ensure the settings are at their most efficient.

Plant Drought-Tolerant Perennials in Sunny Areas

Use plants that can stand up to hot, dry conditions and you can achieve a low-maintenance landscape that still looks appealing, providing plenty of flower color.

Photo: David Beaulieu

There are many examples of plants that resist drought, including several that offer great beauty, too.

Plant Shade-Tolerant Plants in Shady Areas

Don't let those shady spots on your landscape go bare another year: Plant them with shade-tolerant plants.

Photo: David Beaulieu

Shop around this summer for shade plants you like, then plant them after the worst of the August heat has subsided.

Control Mosquitoes

Take away breeding habitats for mosquitoes.

Photo: Jaxbeachaddict / Twenty20

That means common-sense sanitation, plus eliminating areas where water would puddle.

There are some unlikely sources of standing water that you may never have thought of.

Control Ticks

Plant deer-resistant plants. If the deer don't come to eat, there's that much less chance of your being bitten by a deer tick.

Photo: Andrey Zharkikh / Flickr / CC by 2.0

Planting deer-resistant plants also saves you money, lest your garden become deer-food. An example is the Carol Mackie Daphne

Prepare for Fall Plantings

You need to plan for fall color in the summertime if you wish to save money.

Photo: Taco Witte / Flickr / CC by 2.0

Your first act should be to get annuals on the cheap and nurse them along till fall arrives. There are many plant choices for fall color, including some you may not think of at first.