Are you itching to get out and enjoy this beautiful East Tennessee fall weather? Here are a few landscaping maintenance to-do list items that will have you out in the yard this fall:

For Your Lawn

It’s a perfect time to aerate and over seed your lawn. As we mentioned in this blog post back in the spring, renting an aerating is quite affordable and they’re fairly easy to operate. When selecting your seed, keep in mind that most people in this area have Fescue. My favorite Fescue seed blends are Rebel and Southern Supreme. You’ll want to avoid a general coverage seed such as Kentucky 31 because although it’s very affordable, the low cost comes with a higher percentage of weeds.

After germination of your grass seed (when you can see wisps of new grass growing), you can apply weed and feed to knock out any existing weeds and help provide needed nutrients to your lawn.

If you need a completely new lawn, now is also a great time for new sod. The warm days and cool nights keep sod from getting to scorched which will give you a higher percentage of success.

It’s not quite time to winterize your irrigation because you’ll need it regardless of whether your over seeding or opting for new sod. Keep in mind though that you’ll need to be prepared to do this come mid-November.

For Your Leaf Removal

You’ll soon start the raking if you have trees in your landscaping. Rather than raking it all to the curb or bagging them up, Neal Denton of the University of Tennessee Extension program suggests using leaves in your compost pile and in planting beds. At the Carex Design Group headquarters in the Fountain City area of Knoxville, Tenn., we use this practice not only to help return nutrients to the soil but also to save time spent raking leaves all the wait to the street for removal.

For Your Paver Patios and More

Because of the warm days we’re still seeing, now is still a good time to clean and seal pavers, but you’ll want to take care of this before the leaves start falling. Get more tips and advice on this in our recent blog post on late summer landscaping maintenance.

Now is also the time to plan big hardscape projects you’re considering. Contractors are much more available in the winter months for this type of work, and your new outdoor space will be ready for you to enjoy come springtime. I encourage you to fill out our contact form or call 865-765-5550 now to get the process started on your next patio or hardscape project.