How To Best Manage Your Lawn In Summer

Hot Weather Landscaping - Westchester County NY

Felice Landscaping can help you plan for a gorgeous year-round garden and teach you how to care for your landscape throughout the year. Here are six tips for hot weather landscaping.

Prolonged exposure to the sun and hot weather can wreak havoc on beautiful landscapes. Westchester County is well known for its scorching summers. While drought is not generally a concern in this area, there are other considerations for protecting your plants over the summer. Felice Landscaping can help you plan for a gorgeous year-round garden and teach you how to care for your landscape throughout the year. Here are six tips for hot weather landscaping.

#1 Water Early
This is perhaps the most important thing you can do for your plants during the summer months. Temperatures are coolest during the early morning hours, which enable the water to soak into the soil before it has a chance to evaporate. Watering during the day causes the moisture to evaporate before it even reaches the plants, which means water is just going to waste and the plants are not benefiting from the effort.

What about water in the evening? While the temperatures do drop in the evening, it is still warmer than in the morning hours. Further, it is important to avoid leaving your plants soaking overnight, as this will cause damage.

If you are not able to get up early to water your landscape, talk to us about installing an automatic sprinkler system.

#2 Use Drought-Tolerant and Native Plants
Drought-tolerant and native plants are better adapted to hotter weather and consume less water. Their root structures dig deeper into the soil or they know how to conserve water compared to other plants. That said, it doesn’t mean that they can just be forgotten about during the hot summer months! It simply means that they will perform better in hot weather and require less maintenance.

#3 Create Shade
For more heat-sensitive plants, consider putting up shade to protect them from the blaring sun. This could look something like erecting an umbrella or temporary shade to keep them cooler. Felice Landscaping is happy to work with you on some creative ideas on how you could turn the shade into a lounge area for residents or clients so they can continue to enjoy the outdoors, even when the temperatures soar.

#4 Don’t Forget to Weed
Plants tend to grow like crazy in hot weather and weeds are no exception. If you don’t manage them during the summer months on a regular basis, then your beautiful landscaping will become overgrown with plants you don’t want. They will take away nutrients from the plants that you do want to continue flourishing, so be sure to keep the weeds at bay.

#5 Add a Layer of Mulch
Mulch is your friend during the hot summer months because it adds a protective layer that will keep the temperatures down in the garden bed. The extra layer helps retain the moisture from watering, keeping your plants from getting thirsty more often. All that is required is placing a couple of inches of mulch over your plants, which has the bonus of making your garden look like it just got a little makeover.

#6 Refrain from Cutting the Grass Short
Keeping your lawn short during the summer months actually causes it to burn. Allowing it to grow at least three inches tall in hot weather will provide shade for the roots and new growth. Further, keeping it a bit longer is the key to maintaining a beautiful green lawn all year long. If you prefer the look of short grass, feel free to resume cutting to your desired length once the temperatures cool come autumn.

Westchester Landscaping Services

Felice Landscaping offers professional landscaping services to Westchester County and Long Island all year long. Our designers will work with you to create a landscape that fits your needs and looks beautiful.  Contact Us today for more information.