Discover ways of maintaining your yard this year to keep it looking great, including services you can receive from garden maintenance companies

It’s official! Summer has arrived and with it the gatherings, grilling and activities everyone will enjoy in your outdoor areas. Most homeowners consider routine lawn maintenance a normal part of summer tasks. But what about your flowers and bed areas? What needs to be done to keep them looking their best? Here are a few general guidelines that garden maintenance companies share to help you make the most of your garden – and spend time enjoying it rather than tending it.

Keep Plants Pretty

Annual flowers look their best when they are regularly deadheaded. While we like to think that plants bloom for our pleasure, the true purpose of the flower is to produce seed and guarantee a future generation. Deadheading refers to the process of pinching or cutting off the flower stem below the spent flower and just above the first set of full, healthy leaves. This process removes the fading flowers and seed pods which in turn encourages the plant to continue growing. It also grooms the plant, keeping it clean and attractive. A bonus: While you?re doing this work, ?you?ll notice what plants might benefit from supplemental fertilizer or other care.

Offer the Right Support?

Perennial plants generally bloom for a short period of time but provide some type of foliage for the entire season. Many perennials have heavy flowers or large clusters of flowers. It?s natural for those flowers to lean over and out of view without some temporary supports to keep them upright and make them last as long as possible. ?Once the stems bend and the blooms get covered with garden dirt, very little can be done to bring them back to their best appearance. Remember that the more those plants are cleaned of spent foliage, the better they will look and the longer that foliage will last through the summer.

Weeds! Need we say more?

It?s safe to say that weeds are the single most frustrating part of gardening. Did you know that not all weeds grow at the same time? Weeds are no different than the plants we grow in our gardens in that each has its own time during the season to sprout and grow flowers – some early and some late. That?s why it seems as though weeding is a never ending job- it truly is. Knowing what weeds are about to become a problem and the best way to deal with them is key to keeping weeds to a minimum. And what you?ve heard is true: having weeds now does lead to more weeds in next year?s garden.

Waiting for work to build up before you act can lead to plants that no longer want to flower and beds that look less than ideal for long periods of time. In general, it?s much easier, more effective and more economical ?to keep your plants healthy and beds clean through regular maintenance, ?conducted by yourself or professional garden maintenance companies.?

Maffei landscape is one of the top garden maintenance companies that offers regular service through its Extra Care program. Our experienced gardeners arrive on a consistent, agreed-upon schedule throughout the summer to provide complete maintenance for your yard, or supplement your gardening activities.