Lawn Mowing
This is the most obvious part of making your property look fantastic. There are two types of lawn mowers: the rider mower and the push mower. You can determine which you should use by the size of your land. If you have an area less than an acre, a push mower should do the trick, but it is still your choice. For anything over an acre, a rider mower is a most have.
The Push Mower
There are two types of push mower. You have the ones with a bag and the ones without. Unless you have a very tiny lawn, which takes less than 10-15 minutes to cut, go with the one without a bag. It become just too much of a hassle to have to empty the bag every so often. You can choose whatever pattern to cut in and your lawn will look fantastic.
The Rider Mower
Again you have two options. You can choose the traditional and less expensive rider with a steering wheel or the much quicker but more costly Zero-Turn Mower. The Zero-Turn has two handle bars which you push back and forth to go forward, backward, left, or right.
Any lawn will look great with a simple trim every week (every 5 days in the spring). A turf builder can be easily applied at the start of spring to keep your lawn weed-free. But this is optional.
Weed-wacking
This is a must-have to get all those weeds you can't get to with the mower. The pros far outweigh the cons. The two only cons to weed-wackers are that the string-like wire that rotates to slice the weeds must be replaced when it runs out. Packages usually come in 180 foot lengths for about 4 or 5 dollars. You must be careful when using a weed-wacker. Projectile can be shot up and could harm you, so safety glasses are recommended.
Weeding and Mulching
If you want gardens you need to weed them every two or three weeks. For doing this, simple gloves and pulling the weeds will do the trick. For tougher areas that need to be weeded it is recommended that you purchase and use a garden trow and a garden hoe. This is essential to a good garden and does not take a lot of time, depending on the number of gardens you have. You can also buy mulch from your local garden store to ensure that the weeds don't take over again. Weeding is done 2 or 3 times a month and mulching only needs to be done about 3 or 4 times a year. NOTE: It is recommended that you mulch after step 4.
Planting
The most rewarding part is ready to be done. You have your nicely-trimmed lawn, free of weeds around the edges and tree. You have your garden empty of weeds and ready for plants. The key to a good garden is not about the quantity, but the quality. A good garden needs a diversity of plants. Mix in flowers with decorative leafy plants, spring plants with summer plants. The two types of plants should also be mixed in together. These are annuals (which last for a year and then die) and perennials (which last anywhere from 3-12 years). By mixing in these two types you limit your work from year to year. Start planting in the middle of spring and add on in the summer. A good fall plant is the mum which will rarely die due to a small lack of sunlight or water.
By mowing, weed-wacking, weeding and mulching, and planting, you'll have a garden that will make your neighbors jealous. After a year or two, it will be almost effortless to maintain and add to. Just follow these steps and before long you're garden and lawn will end up looking like this photo of a part of my property, pictured here.
