Grass is a natural element of our environment. It is a plant that is readily and easily available and provides for multiple uses around the home. Not only is it eco-friendly, but the vast expanses of green make our surroundings look beautiful. In fact nothing generates as much pride and joy in a homeowner's mind and heart as a rich landscaping with a thick, lush lawn. No doubt, creating a healthy green lawn is a challenging and perhaps a daunting task even, but once the end result is achieved, the efforts are worth it.

Turf grasses are ideal for a lush green carpet adorning our gardens and lawns. The basic idea behind lawn care is to grow grasses that are best suited for your climate. Once you have selected a grass type that will thrive in the climate that you are living in, then preparation and maintenance are key to success. Only those fertilizers that are meant for that specific grass should be used. Ensure that you follow label directions carefully and use pesticides only when absolutely necessary.

It is important to prepare and maintain the lawn grass once you have selected and planted the grass. Here are a few basic lawn care tips to help you resolve some minor problems that you may encounter while nurturing and caring for your lawn.

Basic Lawn Care Cleaning the Lawn - Before you begin the regular lawn maintenance in the spring, rake up accumulated leaves as well as other forms of debris that may have gathered on the ground. Accumulated debris and leaves block the sunlight and cause the grass to fail.

Lawn Mowing Grass is one of the few plants in the world that actually thrives from being cut and thus the lawn should be mowed regularly. Investing in a grass mower or lawn mower is a good idea if you are planning your own grassy turf. Make sure your blades are sharp and will produce a clean cut of about 2 to 2.5 inches. Avoid letting the grass get too tall, but if that happens it is better to shorten it gradually through several cuttings.

Typically, lawns should be fairly level for ideal lawn mowing. This means that the lawn should be as even as possible so as to avoid the mower from heaving up and down as it goes round the lawn. This uneven motion may sometimes cause the lawn to scalp off and can cause severe problems for the healthy growth of the grass.

However, if your lawn has high or low spots you could try doing the following:

Fill holes with topsoil and over-seed with a similar grass as is already growing in your lawn. Whether you are repairing a bare spot, seeding a new lawn or reseeding an existing one, grow only the right kind of grass suited for your climactic conditions. Remove bumps by cutting an X in the raised area with a shovel. Carefully peel back the sod and remove as much soil as necessary. Place the sod back as it was and water the spot. Also, ensure that you control excessive weeding as that will affect the health and overall appearance of the lawn. In order to have a thick, healthy green lawn, make sure that your fertilizing, irrigation and maintenance schedule is properly followed and is specific to your turf grass. Fertilizer should be typically applied in fall. Use a slow-release fertilizer that will spray nutrients at a slower pace throughout the season. If you've practiced good lawn care and maintenance throughout the year you might not need to water it much during the summer months. If you don't want to lose grass during extremely hot, dry weather, it's best to water it early in the morning.

Regularly inspect your lawn for disease, insects and weeds. Ensure that you watch out for such pests and problems while mowing your lawn. Learn to recognize and treat minor problems quickly and appropriately before they become big.

About the Author

William Brister - http://www.beautifulgardens.tv - Basic Lawn Care Tips.