Land Scaping: Seven Steps to a Spectacular Lawn this Spring... Spring is the time for renewal; think of it as similar to getting your body ready for beach season. If you want washboard abs come July, you better start working out a lot earlier than that. If you want a lush, green lawn that's the envy of the neighborhood, you've got to be its personal trainer and break a little sweat on these seven steps to a spectacular lawn this season. 1. Soil Testing Made Simple Good lawn care starts with calling an agricultural extension agent to perform a soil test, Bob Richardson, soil scientist says. "Most people don't know what their lawn needs as far as nutrients go," he says. "The easiest thing people can do is take soil samples from two to three different sections of their lawn and have their local university analyze the results. They can tell you exactly what nutrients your lawn needs and in what amounts."   2. Aerating-Gone-Easy As lawns age or sustain heavy traffic, soil compaction can result. Soil compaction is most severe in poorly drained or wet sites. Roots require oxygen to grow and absorb nutrients and water. Compaction reduces the amount of air within the soil. This results in poor top growth and a deteriorating lawn. Aeration benefits your lawn by increasing water, nutrient and oxygen movement in the soil. It also helps improve rooting and prevents run-off. Until now, aeration was hard work, expensive, and time consuming. This spring there's a new liquid aeration product that you spray on your lawn with a hose. LazyMan Liquid Soil Aerator covers 100 percent of your lawn, is chemical free and actually adds nutrients, increases much needed airflow and boosts the earthworm population (nature's aerator) underground. 3. Mowing and Raking Regularly How often you mow your lawn depends on the type of grass you have and how quickly it grows. A good rule of thumb is the "1/3 Rule." Never mow more than 1/3 of your leaf blade off at a time. Therefore, if your lawn is 3 inches high, don't cut off more than 1 inch.   The raking process removes dead leaves and debris and actually helps control thatch. Leaves and dead grass will block air and sun and ultimately damage the grass. For an easy spray-on dethatcher, use LazyMan Liquid Lawn Dethatcher and it's 100 percent organic! 4. Watering Weekly Lawn experts say the type of grass you have will determine your watering frequency. Most grasses require a 1-inch watering about once per week along with one deep watering. For best germination, newly seeded lawns should be watered every day.   5. Weed Whacking, Bug Busting, Disease Fighting Do's! For upkeep's sake, be sure to watch for insects, weeds and any colored patches in your grass that can impair the health of your lawn. If you notice insect damage, spray with an all-purpose lawn insecticide. All weeds should be pulled immediately to prevent them from seeding and spreading. 6. Feed-N-Fertilize Frequently Grass craves periodic feeding and it is best to fertilize with a slow release fertilizer, which releases nutrients over time, rather than all at once. LazyMan Liquid Lawn Fertilizer is used to enhance plant growth, root formation, reduce water and heat stress. 7. Overseeding Solution If your lawn is riddled with bare patches due to pet spots, heavy traffic or neglect, you may need to apply grass seed to fill in those bare patches. The solution is commonly known as "overseeding." Overseeding is just what it sounds like -- you sow seeds right over your existing grass in order to fill in the bare patches. For a wide variety of seed for every region of the country as well as customized blends to meet your exact specifications visit www.outsidepride.com. Great looking lawns don't just happen, but if you follow these training tips you can rest assured your lawn will be a pumped-up, lean, mean, green machine this season!

Land Scaping: Grass That's Great for Your Lawn and the Environment...

(ARA) - If you're concerned about the effect of weed killers and fertilizers on your children, pets and the environment, you should know that a natural way to obtain a lush, green lawn is to plant zoysia grass.

Zoysia is a durable, spreading turf grass that grows into a permanent, perennial lawn that naturally resists insects and diseases. Zoysia's deep, vigorous root system rarely needs watering, staying green even in the heat of summer. With naturally dense-growing zoysia grass, crabgrass and other summer weed seeds cannot germinate, eliminating the need for the chemical-heavy weed killers. And its deep root system flourishes without heavy doses of fertilizer.  

Unlike other grasses grown from seed or installed as sod, Amazoy from Zoysia Farm Nurseries features zoysia grass and is sold as individual starter plants, or plugs, that can be planted into bare ground or bare sections in existing lawns. Amazoy zoysia grass plugs quickly send out roots and sprouts from which new plants take root. The densely growing zoysia grass spreads outward, choking out all other growth -- including existing turf grasses, crabgrass and other summer weeds.

Within two to three growing seasons in most climates, the grass plugs will spread to completely cover the lawn area. The result is a durable lawn that can stand up to playground punishment, animal waste, summer heat and drought while still looking green and feeling plush -- just like a golf course.

It needs no care or maintenance during the cold months. In areas that get frost, zoysia grass quietly goes dormant and stops growing. Zoysia grass is cold-tolerant, surviving temperatures as low as minus -30 F. When the weather warms up again the following spring, zoysia grass regains its natural green color and starts growing again.

Amazoy zoysia grass is available by mail direct from the grower at www.zoysiafarms.com.

Land Scaping: Grass that Stays Green, Even When Mother Nature Goes Dry...  Up to 80 percent of water used around the home during the summer is for outdoor use -- primarily to irrigate gardens and lawns. To keep lawns green and lush during the long, hot summer, most people pull out the hoses, turn on the sprinklers and pour on the water. Household water consumption has increased drastically in the past 30 years, and the combination of increased water demands, rising water bills and drought-induced watering restrictions has prompted many homeowners to rethink their approach to lawn care. But there's an easy and permanent solution to this problem. Instead of being held hostage by Mother Nature or the local water utility, many homeowners are replacing thirstier grasses with water-thrifty zoysia grass. Zoysia's vigorous root system is so deep and extensive the grass rarely, if ever, needs watering. In fact, Zoysia Farm Nurseries' grass (product name Amazoy) requires up to 80 percent less water than other grasses. Zoysia is a durable, spreading turf grass that grows into a permanent, perennial lawn that also naturally resists insects and diseases, and it doesn't require chemical-heavy weed killers or heavy doses of fertilizer. Unlike other grasses grown from seed or installed as sod, Amazoy is sold as individual starter plants, or plugs, that can be planted into bare ground or bare sections in existing lawns. Amazoy zoysia grass plugs quickly send out roots and sprouts from which new plants take root. The densely growing zoysia grass spreads outward, choking out all other growth -- including crabgrass and other summer weeds. Within two to three growing seasons, in most climates, the grass plugs will spread to completely cover the lawn area. And because zoysia grass actually prefers summer heat, it doesn't need gallons and gallons of supplemental water during the warmer months to keep it healthy and green. The result is a durable lawn that can stand up to playground punishment, animal waste, summer heat and drought, while still looking green and feeling plush. Zoysia also needs no care or maintenance during the cold months. In areas that get frost, zoysia grass quietly goes dormant and stops growing. Zoysia is cold-tolerant, surviving temperatures as low as minus-30 degrees Fahrenheit. When the weather warms up again the following spring, zoysia grass regains its natural green color and starts growing again. Amazoy zoysia grass is available direct from the grower. Log on to www.zoysiafarms.com for more information. Copyright © 2007, ARAnet, inc.

Land Scaping: Turning your vision into plan...

Land Scaping: Want to Save Money on Your Spring Plantings...

There's a spring frenzy going on at garden centers nationwide. If you're already dreading the idea of dealing with crowds, and the disappointment of not being able to find what you want, make this the year you get a head-start on everyone else.

Shop online at American Meadows.com, one of the largest and most respected suppliers of flower seeds, plants and bulbs in North America, and your plants will be delivered in time for spring planting. Best of all, you'll get them all -- bulbs and perennials at a significant discount. AmericanMeadows.com has a falling discount that begins at 50 percent off, then falls to 35 percent as spring approaches, then full price when spring is here.

Not sure what you're going to want to plant? The site can help you there, too. There's a wealth of information about spring planting, including a Quick Guide to flower bulbs that will tell you how to store your bulbs before planting, how to prepare them to go into the ground and how to care for them once planted.

The site also offers a good supply of bulbs available for purchase. The three most popular bulbs for spring, the gladiolis, dahlias and lilies, come in a wide variety of colors.

If you want to create towers of lavish color with almost no work at all, gladiolus bulbs are the way to go. You can use them to create instant clumps of color between other plants. Want a garden with a lot of interest, how about planting some dahlias! When they flower, multiple buds open into some of the flower kingdom's most spectacular blooms, some up to 10-inches across. Lilies are also extremely popular, and not just in the springtime. They add lavish color from late spring right into fall. They take almost no ground space, since you can pop the bulbs in between other plants, and have fabulous blooms above it all.

For those gardeners who want to go above and beyond the expected, American Meadows also carries specialty bulbs you won't find for sale anywhere else. The company is the exclusive Internet distributor of Biltmore Bulbs, cultivated by the garden staff at North Carolina's famous Biltmore Estate. Truly magnificent dahlias, unusually beautiful gladiolus, and of course, exquisite lilies are included in the select group, deemed fine enough to grow at Biltmore House... and now at your house, too.

The site also offers wild lilies for sale that range in color from shimmering white to brilliant pinks, orange and red; and all the perennials you can imagine, from A-to-Z.

Not only will shopping online save you a lot of hassle, but money too. Right now, the company is having a 35 percent off sale on all spring bulbs, perennials, ornamental grasses and ferns, berries and asparagus plants on the site; but you better act fast because it won't last long.

"The sooner you order, the more you'll save," says company President Ray Allen. "Right now we are able to get our bulbs directly from Holland, but there is a cutoff date, and once it arrives, no more plants will be shipped overseas. As supplies dwindle, prices will, of course, go up."