Late Summer Landscaping Tips Every Homeowner Should Know

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    As the summer season winds to a close, taking with it the day-long sunshine and warm weather, the landscape in your yard and garden changes too. Flowers begin to dry and lose their petals, the trees shake off shades of green for yellow and brown, and the days shorten dramatically. Before autumn leaves a blanket of debris across your lawn, there are a few things to take care of.

    At High Prairie Outdoors, we help clients across Kansas City design, develop, and decorate their properties. Working in summer, fall, winter, and spring weather, we know what to expect in terms of landscape needs and changes. Here, we have compiled a list of tips for local homeowners who want to get ahead of the autumn weather and make the best of the late summer season.

    Tie Up Loose Ends

    One of the major tasks to take on as summer reaches an end is the completion of incomplete projects. Tying up loose ends ensures you do not lose plants to the winter frost or wind up with a partially complete build throughout the rainy season.

    When wrapping up projects, finish the biggest first. Small jobs are quicker to complete and leave less room for panic as the seasons change. If you are nervous there is too much on your plate to finish in time, call on family and friends to pitch in and get the work done fast or contact a professional landscaping team to get your landscape where it needs to be.

    Prune and Deadhead

    This is the time of year when flowers have bloomed their last and shrubs are looking worse for the wear. Deadheading flowers encourages growth and gives your garden a clean look before the leaves fall away.

    Throughout the fall you will still be able to prune hedges, but summer’s end is an excellent time to clean them up and enhance the look of your lawn before the season changes.

    Pick, Preserve, and Pickle

    This is also the best time to cut flowers for your vases, as they will soon be wilting in the frost. Snip flowers low on the stem, and trim as needed. Filling your home with flowers from your garden will help prolong the summer, at least inside your home.

    If you grow vegetables, the summer harvest should be ripe for the picking. The end of the summer season is a favorite for those who make jams, jellies, and pickles. Preserving summer harvests is an age-old tradition in Kansas and one which provides plenty of delicious summer flavors throughout the year.

    Service Landscaping Appliances

    Whether you use a push mower or a ride-on mower, the summer season takes a toll on gardening and landscaping appliances. At the end of the summer season, servicing your machine ensures it is ready for next summer and prolongs the life of your machinery.

    One of the biggest mistakes homeowners make with their lawn care equipment is servicing it only as it is needed. In other words, many people wait until they need to use the tool before bothering to clean, oil, and maintain it. This means your mower is left to erode and rust for months before its next use.

    Repair and Reseed

    The summer season is not just rough on lawn equipment, it is also rough on your lawn. If you are a pet owner, warm sun-speckled grass is the perfect place for a puppy to play. This can leave damage where pets dig and urinate. As summer ends, it is a good time to recover these worn areas, so they prosper in the spring.

    Remove yellow and brown grass, fill in holes, fertilize, and reseed. We often recommend over-seeding in these overly damaged areas as it provides a higher chance for a speedy recovery.

    Call the Experts

    Landscapers are usually called in before the summer season to improve lawns, support garden growth, and maintain the property. However, as the season comes to a close, landscaping professionals can also help you prepare your garden for the impending frost, clean up your lawn, and provide helpful services throughout the offseason.

    If you are interested in learning more about landscaping, and what you can do as a homeowner before the fall hits, we invite you to contact High Prairie Outdoors. An authority in our field, HPLG prides itself on offering our friends and neighbors high-quality services on every job. To speak to one of our experienced staff members today, call us at 1-816-398-2901.

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    About The Author

    Robyn is a 2009 Graduate of the Kansas State University Department of Horticulture. She grew up in South East Kansas where she graduated from Humboldt High School. She was a Kansas State University Leadership Scholar and President of the Horticulture Club. She married Bret in 2009 and they have a daughter Ellie, born in 2021. Their family is completed by three adopted dogs.

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