Property Clean Ups in Spring Hill, FL

Your home's first impression is essential. If you’re wondering how to increase your home’s curb appeal, here are 7 landscape ideas you can do yourself or our professionals at Crystal Cut Lawn Care can provide that instantly make your house look better:

Remove Trash And Debris

The first step to increasing your property’s curb appeal is to remove any trash lying around. Exposed rubbish will instantly take away from your property's appeal, even for new construction properties.

If you can, we recommend hiding any trash cans. Getting rid of debris also includes disposing of garden trash and eliminating dead plants. If a specific plant didn’t survive the winter or is half-dead, removing it will instantly improve your landscape.

Trim Trees And Shrubs

Overgrown trees and shrubs can make even modern homes look dated and grimy. The good thing is that with some upkeep, your landscape can look instantly brighter and more inviting.

Although not all plants need trimming, it’s best practice to go around in late winter to survey your perennials. You should trim any dead branches or overgrown shrubs.

Non-blooming trees and shrubs, as well as conifers (evergreens), can be trimmed in late winter. For spring-blooming plants, you should wait until late spring after they’re done blooming. If you prune them before, you’ll probably sacrifice blooms. If you have never trimmed your plants, it’s best to our experts at Crystal Cut Lawn Care.

Refresh Your Mulch

You wouldn’t believe how different any garden looks after it’s been freshly mulched. There’s something very attractive about clean, tidy mulch that clearly designates the perimeter of your flowerbeds. Mulch also keeps weeds at bay, meaning your landscape will look great for longer and upkeep will be kept at a minimum.

In general, you’ll find brown, red or black mulch, and different materials (wood chips, straw, sawdust, bark…). It’s important to keep mulch type and color uniform throughout your property: using different colors in every flowerbed will make your landscape look unkept.

For Florida Residents, the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) recommends avoiding cypress mulch since it’s sourced from our endangered wetlands. Instead, IFAS experts recommend pine bark, melaleuca mulch, mixed hardwood mulch or eucalyptus mulch. https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/care/planting/mulch.html

Freshly planted flowerbeds look inviting and homey, so they instantly make your garden look better. On the other hand, it’s good practice to look at your plants with a critical eye. If a specific plant is looking tired, it’s ok to replace it in order to improve curb appeal. You can also freshen up your old plants by splitting them in early spring. This will give you more plants without needing to spend more, and the new plantings will have the entire season to grow and flower.

Eliminate Weeds

No amount of planting and mulching will be enough if you’re growing giant weed crops in your lawn and flowerbeds.

Depending on the location and type of weeds, you’ll have to treat them differently. Although your best option is asking our lawn professionals at Crystal Cut Lawn Care, here are some general guidelines to get rid of weeds:

· In the lawn: You can either hand-pull individual weeds or use a product to kill lawn weeds. If using chemicals, make sure to use products formulated for lawns, or you might end up killing the grass. Pairing weeding with a lawn fertilizer is also best-practice.

· In your flowerbeds: Using products in your flowerbeds is usually a big no-no, so hand-pulling is your best option. If you mulch, hand-pull weeds and fertilize the plants you want to grow, it will usually control any weeds pretty well.

· In your driveways and sidewalks: Where you really don’t want any plants growing, feel free to use harsher weed killers (the type you wouldn’t use in your lawn). Make sure to apply any products safely to limit damage to bees and other pollinizers (reference product label).

Clean-up Driveways And Walkways

Although it’s easy to focus on the plants, your home’s hardscape is just as important. In fact, when everything else looks good, a concrete driveway, walkway, or stairs that are in bad shape can negate your hard work with the rest of the landscape.

To improve your property’s curb appeal, the bare minimum is to power-wash all surfaces. This in-depth cleaning can transform your home’s landscape: everything will look as good as new.

If you have statuary or decorative pieces (like benches), make sure to clean them as well. We recommend moving any pieces beforehand so the high-pressure water won’t damage your flowerbeds.

Take Care Of The Small Details

Once the big projects are done, keeping up with daily maintenance will preserve your property’s curb appeal for longer.

It’s a good idea to walk around and blow-off any dirt from the walkways, rake the leaves from the grass and edge your lawn if necessary on a regular basis. These small details will button up the garden and make everything look fresh.

We’re sure these ideas will help you improve your curb appeal in no time. Of course, if you feel unsure, it’s always good to ask the experts at Crystal Cut Lawn Care. Call us today for a free estimate on all lawn services for Spring Hill, FL residents at (352) 675-2523.