The first thing that most passersby will notice about a landscape is a nice clean design or some vibrant flower colors. These obvious design features jump right out for anyone to notice, as they should.

Color in the landscape is used for instant visual impact and designed to be the first thing noticed in most plantings.

Missing the connection

All too often, an important connection is over looked in most landscape plantings. This is the connection between turf grass quality and planting bed quality.

If your goal is to have a professional quality landscape, you can't have one without the other.

Think of it this way

Imagine spending time and money designing and installing the landscape of your dreams. When the work is finished, you step back to view your masterpiece, excited about the visual and mental satisfaction you are about to receive.

You look across to your perfectly manicured landscape beds and are shocked that there's no wow factor. Everything is new but something is still making things seem old.

You're disappointed, frustrated, something's missing. The planting beds look spectacular but the overall curb appeal is average at best. You realize then that the thin, spotty, off color turf grass is pulling your eyes away from the new installation. Your excitement is replaced by anger and a feeling of being let down.

Spending all the money on the design was supposed to eliminate any questions about how the finished product would look. What happened?

The installation definitely added value to the house and landscape, but as you see now, there is a huge connection between landscape and turf grass when talking about total quality or overall curb appeal.

When one part of the equation is lacking in care, the other part is brought down or close to the same level.

Now imagine this

Now, imagine this view, same new installation, this time looking over a lawn that has the look of a professional sports field; great color, thick density, quality maintenance; working together as one with the plantings, giving an overall visual of curb appeal and professional quality.

Green, thick grass, it takes too much time

Achieving a professional quality turf is easier than you would believe.

Every year you cut your grass every week anyway, why not achieve professional results by doing things the right way. The grass is not going to stop growing, help it help you.

Realize that the transformation will not happen over night, unless of course, you take out all your existing turf and replace with new sod.

Following proper techniques will start to change the look of your turf in about one month and get you up to professional standards in about 2 years. Lets get too it.

Follow to guaranteed results

Fertilize- in the mid- Atlantic, most turf grasses are cool season grasses - meaning they grow more when the weather is cool (March thru June and September thru November) While the grass is actively growing, fertilize. The plants use lots of their energy reserves when they are actively growing and we need to replace that energy.

Most cool season grasses will need between 3-4 lbs of nitrogen per year.

Fertilize with slow release nitrogen twice in the spring- late March into April and mid to late May and twice in the fall-mid September and mid November, slow release nitrogen also

Control Weeds-if you want a quality turf, weeds need to be eliminated. Most grow low enough that mowers miss cutting them allowing them to mature and develop lots of seeds. These are the seeds that germinate next year. Weeds rob turf grass of valuable fertilizer and which they use to grow and mature fast.

Weeds like hot weather and turf growth slows way down in the summer. If not controlled, weeds will choke out large sections of your turf in the summer, giving you more work in the fall.

Weeds grow uneven within turf. The finished mow never looks good on a weedy turf.

Mow Higher-mowing higher 3"-4" will make for a stronger thicker lawn. The longer blades shade the soil better, preventing the sun from warming and germinating the weed seeds below.

Longer blades above the ground are associated with longer roots below the ground. Longer roots make for a healthier plant and better survival in drought conditions.

Longer blades give more leaf surface to make food thru photosynthesis and add an overall better color to your lawn.

Sharpen Your Blades-when the mower blades are sharp, the grass blade is cut evenly and damage to the tip is minimal; leaving a nice overall healthy green appearance to the turf.

Mower blades that are dull tear the tip of the grass blade, ripping and shredding the surface, leaving a lot of damage. The tip will not heal properly and turn brown. Instead of leaving a nice green finish, the entire lawn will have a light brown color to it.

You can fertilize properly, mow high and control weeds in the turf, but if you cut with dull blades, your turf will always look off color and unprofessional.

Once you know what to look for, you will be able to tell on any lawn you go by when someone's blades are dull.

By simply following these tips above, you will see a difference in your turf quality in one month. The turf will still need seeding and aeration in the fall to thicken and fill in any bare areas but the consistent maintenance above is what will keep your quality.

The biggest challenge to get over is the raising of the mowing height. Give it a try and you will be amazed.

Todd Wessel

visit; www.landscapeproblemsolver.com