Landscape Design Loveland - Preparing Your NoCo Yard for Winter

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Preparing Your Northern Colorado Yard for Winter

December 3, 2020

Each year the seasons come and go — and in Northern Colorado, that means exchanging our warm, sunny summer for a chilly, potentially rough winter. While the seasonal change does not bother most people, the way that the winter months affect their yard might.

As a residential landscape design company in Northern Colorado, we spend most of our summer designing and creating beautiful outdoor landscapes for homeowners in Loveland, Fort Collins, and Greeley. While these outdoor living spaces might not be as usable during the winter months, there are things that you can do to “winterize” your landscape and prepare it for summer use once the cold winter months end and the spring thaw arrives.

In today’s blog post, we are going to discuss a few tips and tricks that you can use to prepare your beautiful landscaping for winter. Continue reading to learn more.

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Water Features

Depending on the project that we have designed for you, your landscaping might include water features like a small pond or an irrigation system to keep your lawn green all summer long. While these water features might be useful during the summer, it is important that you winterize them before colder temperatures develop in the area. If you have a small pond, be sure to drain it. If you don’t, the expanding of the ice formed in the feature can potentially damage the structure — leading to leaks when things thaw. If you have an irrigation system, it is important to have it blown out by a professional to ensure that the irrigation lines do not freeze and crack.

Leaf Litter

One of the most beautiful parts of fall is when the leaves change and fall to the ground. That said, if those large piles of leaves in your yard are not properly disposed of, it can be damaging to your lawn and other organic landscaping features. To prevent the leaf litter from smothering the plant life beneath them, rake the leaves into piles and remove them, or mow over them to break them down so that they can decay over the winter without smothering the life beneath them.

Lawn Care

In most cases, there isn't much that you have to do to ensure that your lawn grows back healthy and strong after the spring thaw. That said, there are a few things that you can do to give it a better chance at growing back thick and full. By aerating your lawn and fertilizing your lawn before the first snowfall, you can give your lawn the extra nutrients that it will need to get through dormancy. The aeration allows for the fertilizer to enter the soil quicker — establishing thicker root growth that will help the grass weather the winter.

Concrete Features

When most people think of preparing their landscaping features for winter, they only think of the living aspects of their landscape. While yes, it is important to prepare and protect your lawn, shrubbery, and trees before winter weather arrives, it is also important to prepare your concrete features. By power washing your concrete landscaping features, you can remove dirt and dust that has accumulated over the course of the summer before snow covers it for the winter. By doing this, you can reduce the amount of aging and fading that occurs.

Mark Your Driveway

Whether you live in a community that has an HOA that schedules shoveling and plowing or are planning on shoveling and plowing yourself, it is important that you mark the edges of your driveway and sidewalk to ensure that your grass is not damaged. By placing stakes or markers on the edge of the grass line, you can avoid shovels and plows damaging your grass by ensuring that the blades do not wander off of the concrete. In most cases, a stake only needs to be 6-10 inches long, but if you have an area on your sidewalk or driveway that is prone to accumulating snow drifts, you might want to consider using a larger stake or marker.

Contact Us Today for Your Landscaping Needs!

As winter approaches, the time for landscaping projects draws to an end. That said, it is never too early to plan for next year. Contact us today to schedule an appointment and discuss landscaping options with a member of our team. If you need assistance with snow removal this winter, our team would also be happy to help. Learn more about our snow removal services.