What Is Your Yard Trying to Tell You This Fall

Why a Beautiful Spring Lawn and Landscape Starts in September

By the time September rolls around, your yard has been through a lot.

Hot days, heavy rain, dry stretches, kids and pets running across the lawn, mowing, weeds, insects, and a whole growing season of trying to keep everything looking good. And while we tend to think of fall as the time to clean things up and get ready for winter, it's also one of the best times to simply pay attention.

That's because some of the problems that were harder to see earlier in the year are becoming pretty obvious now.

So before you start cutting everything back or putting the yard tools away, take a walk around your property. You may be surprised by how much your yard can tell you.

Start With the Water

The next time we get a good, steady September rain here in Ashland, take a look outside. 

Where is the water going?

A little temporary pooling after a heavy downpour isn't necessarily a reason for concern. But if the same area of your lawn stays wet long after everything else has dried out, or water regularly collects near your foundation, that's worth investigating.

Start with the easy things. Make sure gutters aren't overflowing, and downspouts aren't dumping water right beside the house. Check whether soil or mulch has built up in a way that keeps water from flowing naturally away from structures. If you're seeing a washed-out path through a bed or lawn every time it rains, pay attention to where that water is coming from.

Sometimes extending a downspout or making a small grading correction can solve the problem. Other situations may require a more complete drainage solution.  At Ashland’s Dirt Doctor, we can handle the light excavation work to dry things out properly.

The important thing is not to ignore what you're seeing. Water has a way of showing us exactly where the low spots and drainage problems are.

If Grass Isn't Growing, Don't Automatically Blame the Grass

Bare and thinning areas are another good example.

The natural response is to throw down more seed. And sometimes that's exactly what the area needs. But if you've seeded the same spot more than once and the grass still won't cooperate,  there's probably another reason.

Look at what's happening around it.

If the area is under a mature tree, it may not be getting enough sunlight. If it's along the route everyone takes from the driveway to the backyard, the soil may be compacted. A low area may stay too wet, while a slope could be drying out quickly or losing soil during heavy rain.

You can keep putting grass seed on those areas, but until you address what's making it difficult for grass to grow, you're probably going to keep getting the same result.

That's a good rule for lawn and landscape problems in general: before you fix what you see, try to figure out why it's happening.

Take a Look at Your Mulch Before Adding More

Fresh mulch makes beds look great, so it's understandable that many of us get into the habit of adding another layer every year.

But your landscaping doesn't necessarily need more mulch just because it's fall. 

Dig down a little and see how much is actually there. If you already have several inches, adding another thick layer isn't helping. Too much mulch can hold excessive moisture and become particularly troublesome when it's piled around the trunks of trees or the stems of shrubs.

If your mulch has washed away or broken down significantly, adding some may make sense. If there's plenty there but it looks tired, you may be able to simply loosen and redistribute it.

And while you're there, pull mulch away from the base of trees and shrubs rather than piling it up against them. Those familiar "mulch volcanoes" around trees may look tidy, but they're not doing the tree any favors.

Be Careful With Those Pruners

Once plants start browning and dropping leaves, it's tempting to clean everything up at once.

This is one area where doing less can sometimes be better.

Not every shrub should be pruned in the fall. Some flowering shrubs have already developed the buds that will become next year's flowers. Cut them back now, and you may be cutting away the very blooms you're hoping to see next spring.

Dead, damaged, or diseased branches can certainly be addressed when needed, but don't assume every shrub needs a major haircut before winter.

If you don't know what a plant is or when it should be pruned, identify it first. A couple of minutes spent figuring that out can prevent a mistake that takes an entire growing season to correct.

Finally, Think About What Annoyed You This Summer

Think back over the last few months.

Was there an area that was always muddy? A spot where you constantly fought weeds? Did you keep dragging a hose across the yard? Is there a section that's difficult to mow? Did everyone cut through the landscaping because that's naturally where they wanted to walk? 

Those frustrations are telling you something too.

Maybe that worn path should actually become a walkway. Maybe a troublesome bed needs different plants rather than another year of fighting the same conditions. Maybe a wet area needs drainage work. Or maybe you've simply discovered that you'd rather have a lower-maintenance landscape than the one you currently have.

Those are good things to figure out now, while you still remember what you liked, and what drove you crazy this summer.

Your Yard Just Gave You a Year's Worth of Information

Before winter covers everything up, spend a little time looking around.

You don't necessarily need to start another big project. Just pay attention to what you're seeing and make a few notes. Take pictures of problem areas if you need to. Then you'll have something much more useful than a vague memory when you're ready to make improvements.

And if there's something you can't quite figure out, that's where we're happy to help.

At Dirt Doctor, we'd much rather help you understand why something is happening before you spend money trying to fix it. Sometimes the solution is something simple you can handle yourself. Sometimes it's a bigger lawn, drainage, or landscaping issue.

Either way, figuring out the real problem is always a pretty good place to start. 

Contact Ashland's Dirt Doctor for a free estimate, and together we'll turn this year's observations into a landscape you'll enjoy for years to come.