Lawns require special attention because they tend to demand more water, fertilizer, and care than other planted areas. We are not suggesting to eliminate your lawn space we are merely suggesting to minimize it.

People still want a green lawn, a garden; to escape the concrete jungle most of us live and work in on a day- to- day basis. Whether for open space or recreation a lawn and garden can provide us with a certain amount of tranquility in an otherwise hectic life.

Reducing the size of your lawn can benefit the environment while saving you time, energy and money. And it is well known that beautifully landscaped yards add to the value of your home.

With deep planting beds around edges, strategically placed native plants and good mulch. You may find that you now have more time to enjoy your yard and garden as opposed to continually maintaining it.

Expand your Planting Beds

Here are a few things to consider:

• When planning how to reduce the size of your lawn, lawn shape should be considered. Maintenance can be reduced and simplified by designing the lawn areas in continuous, easy-to-mow swaths.
• By eliminating corners, mowing becomes quicker and easier.Corner areas can be replaced with shrub or flower plantings.
• Borders can create a feeling of space, since they are along the perimeter of the yard and they leave the lawn open and uninterrupted
• Wide, flat borders create a mowing strip that cuts down on edging and trimming chores.
• Reclaimed bricks/concrete or stone will have a longer lifespan as opposed to plastic that may crack over time
• Recycled materials come much less espensively than buying new. Also an Enviromentally Friendly Plus as it keeps these materials out of our landfills.
• You may want to mix and match your border materials to add whimsy and personality to your garden. Come on a treasure hunt in our rubble pile. You’ll be surprised by what you may find and happy with the money you saved.

Building your Border

• Lay out the edge of the border with a garden hose or rope. Make curves gradual and smooth. The main considerations are visual appeal as well as reducing mowing time. In many yards, a curving plot might be more pleasing to the eye than a rigid line.

• Mark the outline of your flowerbed border you shaped with your rope, with spray paint and dig your trench. The trench should be about an inch wider than your border material.
• Cut landscape fabric to fit the bottom and sides of the trench and dump in about 1 ½ inches of TRY Recycled Chips and Dust or TRY Recycled White Sand

Chips & Dust -$17.70/yard

Used as a sub-bas for patio stones and interlocking bricks

White Sand -$21.24/yard

Clean light colored sand used in landscaping, golf traps, and playgrounds

• Smooth and flatten the sand with a block of wood.
• Set your bricks, concrete pieces, or stones tightly together and sweep sand into gaps for packing.

Preparing your soil

Remove the remaining turf and any weeds from behind your garden border then work in a 2-3” layer of TRY Premium Compost into your existing soil.

• TRY Premium Compost- $23.00/yard $4.45/bagTrying to garden in poor soil is a never-ending battle. Try Compost contains many available plant nutrients and these are released in small amounts over an extended period of time. This constant supply of nutrients helps plants grow and stay healthy. TRY Compost improves soil texture and moisture retention. In clay soils TRY Premium Compost will reduce compaction (loosen up soil) by increasing soil aeration and porosity. In Sandy soil TRY Premium Compost improves ability to retain moisture and provide a base to hold nutrients

Plant What Grows Naturally

• Proper plant selection is essential to the design process. The design will be a failure if the plants selected cannot physically survive in the site. Ask your local nursery to recommend native plants particular to our region.

• Plant fewer varieties. A few varieties can still make a big impact but with less cost and effort. With many varieties, you'll be preoccupied with the specific needs of individual plants. Keep it simple. That’s the whole point

• Choose low maintenance varieties - Ask your nursery to recommend varieties that don't need to be pruned, regularly divided or staked as they grow tall.

• Adding plants that provide food to birds and animals is another way to keep the local ecosystem in balance.

• Also keep in mind; just because you have a large flowerbed doesn’t mean you need to over crowd it with plants. Sparse plantings with well placed items such as; stones, sculptures, spheres, sundials, bird baths or other rummage finds may just be the ticket to let your personality shine through. Consider all the possibilities and focus on focal points but most of all Have Fun.

Importance of Mulching

Mulching with TRY Woodchips,$22.13/yard $3.53/bag, is one of the most important ways to protect and maintain healthy landscaped plants, shrubs and flowers.

• Mulching around all your gardens can reduce watering by 75%. Think of the time and water you'll save
• Mulch helps control weeds and soil erosion.
• Mulch to protect plants from summer drought and winter freezing.
• Helps the roots maintain an even temperature
• Adds to the aesthetic appeal of your landscape by making it look more finished

TRY Woodchips are made from clean, recycled wood; no treated or painted materials and the woodchips are processed to a uniform size.

For More tips on how to grow your lawn naturally visit…