Should I Hire a Landscaper for Seasonal Yard Work?

Seasonal Yard Work

Spring

Many of us are familiar with “Spring Cleaning” as it applies to the inside of our homes but our home yards require seasonal maintenance as well.

The arrival of spring urges many homeowners outside to clean up any winter damage. They flock to home improvement stores and plant nurseries to purchase essential supplies.

• Mulch
• Annual plants and flowers
• Potted trees
• Tools
  • Rake
  • Shovel
  • Wheelbarrow

It helps if you have a truck of your own, but if not most places will deliver for a nominal fee. Cleaning up winter’s debris may lead to disposal problems. Can you burn or compost yard waste in your area? Will your refuse service take yard waste? Will the city provide curbside pickup? It is best to have a plan in place before there are 10 contractor sized garbage bags of lawn waste on your driveway.

Summer

Summer brings its own set of challenges and tasks.

• Mowing
• Edging
• Trimming
• Watering
  • Manual
  • Drip irrigation
  • Sprinkler systems

Depending on your level of commitment and your particular climate, you may even want to change out some of your fading spring flowers to something more seasonally appropriate.

Fall

The shorter days of fall is another busy time out in the yard. Some plants in your landscape may need specialized care to make it through the coming winter and present their best face in the spring. It’s time to consider another trip to the home improvement store.

• Mulch
• Pruning shears
• Organic fertilizer
• Fertilizer spreader
  • Hand crank
  • Push type
  • Pull behind mower

Fall is also an excellent time to plant perennials such as bushes and trees. The trick is to plant them after they’ve gone dormant but before you have to fight winter weather.

Winter

The short days of winter are the time that plants use to rest. Less sunlight means less energy for plants to use so many of them go dormant, drop their leaves and stop growing until spring. There are still some very important tasks that can be planned on as well as some emergencies that might arise.

• Pruning
• Moving existing landscaping
• Emergencies
  • Broken branches
  • Frozen irrigation lines

Ideally the better prepared your yard is going into winter will equate to less damage to clean up in spring. There are also fewer insects and snakes to be encountered while doing winter yard work.

DIY or PRO?

Some people really enjoy doing all this work themselves. They’re comfortable with the required physical labor and with the risk associated with trial and error when planting and caring for their landscape. However, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

Hiring a landscaper to help with seasonal yard work is a great way to have the yard you’ve always dreamed of without all the aches and pains associated with doing it yourself. A professional landscaper will work with you to decide on the best possible landscape for your climate and will develop a detailed plan for your yard. You can choose whatever level of support you desire going forward.

• Frequently monitor the landscape and adjust irrigation as required.
• Weekly or biweekly mowing
• Seasonal inspection
• Annual tune-up and report

Whatever avenue you decide to pursue has its perks. Do-it-yourselfers often find great satisfaction learning new skills and maintaining their yards with their own sweat equity. In fact, many wear DIY frustration as a badge of honor.  Hiring a professional landscaper will allow more time to enjoy the fruits of their labor and the cost trade may surprise you.

If you are interested in hiring a landscape professional to design, implement or simply help maintain your landscape feel free to contact us and we will work with you to provide a service you can count on.