I’m so glad that spring is finally here. It means I can send the kids outside to play when they get home now to burn off some of that built up energy from being at school all day. They set up the cutest little picnic area with their playhouse where they can eat their afternoon snack. Now they spend their afternoons playing in the grass and having a picnic together. After their snack, they jump into the hammock and relax in the sunshine. Soaking in all that vitamin D!
I’ve partnered with We Seed America to talk about some of the benefits of having a natural lawn. One of the main requirements, when we bought a house, was that it had a grassy yard that we could play and fence in. The dogs can go out and run around, and the kids have a safe area to play away from the street. Having a natural grass lawn is great for the environment as well. It can prevent erosion, reduce your carbon footprint, and provides a natural cooling effect. Living in the South, I can attest to this. Standing near a road or sidewalk, you can feel the heat radiating up. Sitting in the grass, it is always cooler. A Mississippi State University study showed that when the temperature of a sidewalk is 100°F, the temperature of the lawn next to it will remain around 75°F.
We broke out the lawn mower for the first time this past weekend and gave it a tune up by replacing the oil and cleaning everything really well to make sure it was in top working condition. There are a few patches that I will need to seed to fill some holes that my little digger likes to dig up. Some other things to remember about lawn maintenance are raking the leaves and dead grass away. Aerating your lawn helps the heavy traffic areas or areas that had a lot of heavy snow on top of them. The soil gets too compacted, and water and air can’t get to the soil.
We can’t wait to have some backyard BBQ’s and fires. We have a bunch of firewood cut. I know it sounds crazy to build a fire when it’s warm out but it helps with the chilly nights and keeping the bugs away. Plus, there is something to be said about hanging out in front of a fire with friends and family. Especially when I can talk my husband into making s’mores.
What are some of the ways you like enjoying your yard?
We just aerated this week! It always helps our bermuda grow into the patchy places, but we need to trim our trees to help the sun shine a bit more!