Casa Garden

The blanket of snow that we are used to in winter is being quickly pulled back by the springtime sun. Now that warmer weather is starting to set in across the country it is time to think about planting trees in your yard and landscape.

Planting trees at your house helps the environment, of course, but it also enhances the beauty of your home investment.

Here are 3 great trees you may consider planting in your landscape or yard.

River Birch

Clump river birch trees are the ideal popular anchor tree for any landscape. They have stately lines and a fairly fast growth rate that makes them fill in quickly. If you have areas of your landscape that are constantly retaining water, planting a river birch or two will help to sop up the soggy area and make that birch flourish.

The river birch can get some damage from Japanese beetles during the summer, so be prepared to spray them should populations get out of hand. In addition, you want to give them an iron injection is the leaves become pale yellow.

Crab Apple Tree

The crab apple is one of the most beloved flowering trees found in the Midwest and throughout the northern United States. In spring, they bloom profusely with pink or white flowers. Crab trees can be planted as specimen trees or stand alone and will rarely get larger than 20 feet tall, making them great for corner landscape anchors.

Crab apples that are not on newer root stock can develop apple scab fungus. Check with your local nursery for disease resistant varieties that are available in your area.

Rose Of Sharon

Very popular for parkways and commercial settings are the non-fruiting varieties of pear trees. The Cleveland Pear and Bradford Pear are two of the most popular with their spring white flower blooms and tight, upright growth habits. The pear varieties never need pruning and have almost no problems with diseases or insects.

These are just a few of the wonderful plants and trees that are available for planting this spring. What ever you do, be sure to add more and more greenery to your landscape each and every year.

It is almost time for spring chores and at the top of your list should be planting a tree or two.

Adding trees to your landscape and yard is a great way to help our environment, but it also makes you happy, believe it or not. Anything green adds joy to your investment in a home.

Here are three of the best trees for planting this season.

The Paper Bark River Birch

With its peeling, papery gold bark, multiple stems and ability to suck up tons of water, the river birch has become one of the most popular trees for landscapes. You can place them on the corner of you house for a shady but not too large anchor tree, or plant them in the side yard for a classy look. In addition, birch trees make great plantings for areas of your landscape that don’t drain well. They drink up a lot of water!

The river birch can get some damage from Japanese beetles during the summer, so be prepared to spray them should populations get out of hand. In addition, you want to give them an iron injection is the leaves become pale yellow.

Japanese Maple

The dark red or purple Japanese maple has made a large impact in the United States in the last 10 years. In fact, it is nearly becoming over-planted in landscapes in the Midwest. Even so, it still makes a nice addition to a semi-shaded area of any garden. The Jap Maple will grow slowly and can be easily pruned to keep it small for the site you choose.

The only concern with Japanese maple trees is to make sure the variety you choose can take the sunny conditions you plant it in. In other words, check with your local nursery pro on which variety will work for your particular situation.

Rose Of Sharon

Primarily known as a summer flowering shrub, the rose of Sharon is related to the tropical hibiscus plant. The Sharon can also be grown in an upright topiary form which makes it appear like a nicely shaped tree. Plant them in anchor positions around the landscape for later summer flower pop.

I certainly hope you are getting fired up to plant greenery this spring. Plant as many trees as you can and see what joy they bring to your house and home.

Before you know it, winter will be over, snow will be melted and the lawn weeds will once again rear their ugly heads. Will you be ready?

From my experience, most of you guys that read this article are just not prepared. But it is okay, you just need to take some of the simple advice offered here and you can have a nice lawn in no time. Stick to the plan!

First off, you need to consider the fertilizer you will apply. I never recommend super high nitrogen fertilizers as they do nothing but over-push the growth of the lawn. It is best to find something with a better balance of potassium and phosphorus to help the lawns root structure.

You definitely want to think about using organic lawn fertilizers in the summer time. They are heat activated and slow release, which will prevent any type of burning. I also like organics in the lawn because they are extremely slow release which means they release nutrients over a long long period of time and that is what we are looking for!

After we have chosen out fertilizer, we need to figure out how we are going to eliminate the impending weed infestation. Now, I really don’t want you guys to use over the counter weed and feed products like you can get at the home improvement stores. These are completely bad for the environment because spreading them just slings the weed killing chemicals everywhere. We need something with more control.

You should look to spot spray weeds using a pump sprayer. Mix concentrated weed product with water and only put it where necessary.

Finally come the finishing touches. You will need some sort of insect control and probably a fungus treatment for the later spring. I’d also recommend you get some type of product that contains an iron additive as that will turn your lawn dark blue, giving you the edge you are looking for!

Well guys, that’s it! You should be all set if you can get some good fertilizer, carefully spot targeted weed killer and a little iron. Throw in the insect treatment and you have the makings of a beautiful lawn this summer. Don’t worry, it’s not that difficult!