Did you know that 79% of people still believe the lawn is important when buying or selling a home? If your lawn is imperfect, now is the time to make changes.

While it will take some time and work, your reward will be a beautiful green lawn. Also, don’t worry- you don’t have to do all the work on your own (more on that later).  

If you have been wondering how to get green grass that looks lush and beautiful, you have come to the right place. Here, you can find a few tips to help you get the greenest lawn in the neighborhood.

Tip 1: Choose the Right Grass

If you want a healthy green lawn, you must start by picking the right grass. Not all grasses grow well in every place.

Some like it hot, and some like it cool. Think about the kind of weather you have where you live.

In Chicago and surrounding suburbs, you might want to pick a cool-season grass like Kentucky Bluegrass. This type of grass likes the chilly winters and warm summers in Chicago.

Tip 2: Water Wisely

Water is like a magic potion for grass. It makes it grow tall, green, and strong. But you need to water it in the right way.

The best time to water your lawn is early morning when it is cool. This way, the water will not quickly evaporate before your grass gets to drink.

You also need to give your lawn just the right amount of water, not too much or too little. About 1 to 1.5 inches of water each week is perfect.

If you are not sure how much that is, try this trick. Place a small, empty tuna can on your lawn while you water. When it’s full, that’s about an inch of water.

Tip 3: Don’t Cut the Grass Too Short

Have you ever had a short haircut? It feels cool initially, but your head might get too cold or hot, right?

The grass feels the same way. If you cut it too short, it cannot protect its roots from the hot sun.

When mowing your lawn, you should aim to keep your grass about 3 inches tall. This might seem a little tall, but it is the perfect height. The taller grass creates shade for the roots, keeping them cooler.

Also, when the grass is a little taller, it is healthier and can fight weeds better. So, when you are mowing your lawn, remember to set your mower to a higher setting.

Tip 4: Feed Your Grass

Just like we need food to grow strong and healthy, grass does too. The food for grass is called “fertilizer.” Fertilizer is full of nutrients that help your grass grow tall and green.

You can buy many types of fertilizer, but one of the best is slow-release fertilizer. It is kind of like a time-release meal for your lawn. It feeds your grass a few nutrients at a time over several weeks.

But remember, just like overeating food is not good for us, too much fertilizer is not good for your grass. Always follow the fertilizer bag instructions to ensure you are feeding your lawn the right amount. When done correctly, feeding your grass with fertilizer is a key step in knowing how to get a green lawn.

Tip 5: Aerate Your Lawn

Aeration means making tiny holes in your lawn’s soil. These holes let air, water, and nutrients easily reach the grass roots.

A professional landscaping company like Martin John Company can do this for you or you can rent a machine called an aerator to do this job. This machine pulls out tiny plugs of soil from your lawn. It is like giving your lawn a bunch of little breathing holes.

Aerating your lawn is one of those lawn care tips that may seem strange, but it does wonders for your grass. After aerating, your lawn can eat, drink, and breathe easier.

Tip 6: How to Get Green Grass with Overseeding

Sometimes, our lawns can get thin or patchy spots where the grass is not as thick or green as we would like. That is where overseeding comes in. Overseeding is like filling in a coloring book page with extra color.

You take new grass seeds and spread them over your existing lawn. This adds more grass to your lawn and helps fill the thin or bare spots.

Before you start overseeding, mow your lawn a bit shorter than usual and rake it well. This helps the new seeds reach the soil and grow better.

Remember, after you overseed, you will need to water your lawn more often as new grass seed need lots of water to grow. Follow the watering guidelines for the grass seed you choose to use.

Tip 7: Control Weeds

Weeds are like party crashers on your lawn. They pop up uninvited and steal food and drink (or, in this case, nutrients and water) from your grass. Too many weeds can make your grass less green and healthy.

There are two main ways to control weeds. One way is to pull them out by hand. Ensure to get the whole weed, including the root, or it might grow back.

The second way is to use a weed killer. You can find this at a garden store. Just be careful to follow the instructions on the bottle and only use it on the weeds, not your good grass.

Tip 8: Watch Out for Pests

Tiny creatures like bugs and grubs can cause big problems for your lawn. They can eat your grass and its roots, leaving behind ugly brown spots.

You might have pests if you see brown spots or the grass pulls up easily like a carpet. Do not worry; there are ways to get rid of them.

You can use natural or chemical pest control. Natural controls might include using other bugs that eat the pests. Chemical controls are sprays or granules that kill pests.

Always be careful when using chemical pest controls. Follow the instructions and keep them away from pets and kids.

Tip 9: Test Your Soil

Did you know that dirt, or soil as scientists call it, is important for your grass? Soil is where your grass gets a lot of its food. Just like you would not like eating the same meal daily, grass likes different nutrients to be healthy and green.

You can find out what nutrients your soil has and needs more of by doing a soil test. You can get a soil test kit from a garden store. The test will tell you what kind of food your soil needs.

Once you know this, you can pick the right fertilizer for your lawn. Remember, healthy soil means a healthy lawn.

Tip 10: Care for Your Lawn Equipment

Taking care of your lawn means also taking care of your lawn equipment. If your lawn mower, rake, or other lawn tools are not well-cared for, they can’t do their job and might even hurt your grass.

For example, your lawn mower blades need to be sharp. Dull blades can tear your grass instead of cutting it neatly. Torn grass can turn brown and make your lawn look less green.

Cleaning your lawn tools is also important. Just like washing your hands keeps you from spreading germs, cleaning your tools keeps them from spreading lawn diseases.

Finally, remember to store your tools properly when not in use. This helps them last longer. They should be kept in a dry place, like a shed or a garage.

Tip 11: Hire a Professional

After reading all these tips, you might think getting green grass is a lot of work. And you are right; it can be.

But do not worry; Martin John Company is an expert in keeping lawns healthy and looking great all summer long.

They can choose the right grass, water it correctly, control weeds, and fight off pests. They also know how to use all the fancy lawn care machines.

Hiring a professional might cost money, but it can save you time and effort. You can learn from them and maybe do lawn care yourself next time.

Now You Know How to Get Green Grass

By following these tips on how to get green grass, you will be on your way to creating a stunning, verdant space where you can relax and enjoy. Remember, caring for grass is a rewarding task that pays off with a beautiful, lush lawn.

You can also find all types of backyard ideas to enhance the space even more. While caring for grass is important, there are all types of other things you can do. 

However, if you are not confident you can handle the job, contact us. We can provide the professional lawn care services you need to get the beautiful green lawn you want.

Do you want to provide your family with a place to hang out in your backyard both on warm summer nights and on chilly fall evenings? Then you might want to kick around the idea of putting a fire pit into place.

More Americans have started to install fire pits in their backyards than ever before in recent years. It has led to a huge spike in the total number of fire pits sold and led to new types of fire pits being developed.

There are tons of different backyard fire pit ideas a landscaping company can help you bring to life in the Chicago area. You should spend some time learning about your fire pit options before opting to put one into place.

Here is a quick guide on how to create the backyard fire pit of your dreams while working with a qualified outdoor landscaping company.

Search for the Right Place to Put a Fire Pit

Before you can start coming up with any backyard fire pit ideas for a landscaping company, you are going to need to give thought to where you would like to put a fire pit. There will be a few things to consider when it comes to the location of a fire pit.

First and foremost, you will need to avoid positioning a fire pit too close to your home for obvious reasons. You will also need to steer clear of installing a fire pit too close to any other structures on your property like sheds, garages, etc.

Additionally, you will need to keep a fire pit away from trees and other landscaping touches that could potentially ignite if the fire gets to be too large. Recreational fires started by fire pits are, unfortunately, on the rise.

And last but definitely not least, you should try to get a sense of which way the wind is typically going to blow the smoke from your fire pit. You don’t want it to blow smoke into your home or into a neighboring home. Positioning it in the right location will help you avoid doing this.

Decide Which Type of Fire Pit You Want

Once you know where you would like to put a fire pit in your backyard in Chicago, you can move on to picking out the type of fire pit you want. As we alluded to earlier, there are lots of types of fire pits to choose from these days.

There are wood-burning fire pits, natural gas fire pits, propane fire pits, and even gel-fuel fire pits. There are also metal fire pits, stone fire pits, and fire pits made out of many other materials.

You can also find fire pits that will come in a wide range of shapes and sizes. You should shop around for fire pits for a little while so that you are able to get a better sense of which types you like more than all the rest.

Choose the Best Seating for a Fire Pit

Your goal when having a fire pit installed in your backyard is going to be to provide your family with a place to gather so that you can all relax by the fire in your fire pit together. When you are doing this, you’re most likely going to want to be seated in comfortable chairs.

Just like there are many types of fire pits, there are also many types of seats that you can put by a fire pit. You can strategically position Adirondack chairs around a fire pit and move them around as you see fit.

You can also set up permanent bench seating made out of stone that’ll stay in one place all the time.

It would be worth spending time thinking about how many people might be seated around your fire pit on a regular basis and what type of seating would work best for them. It will help you narrow down all the options that will be available to you.

Select Other Features for a Fire Pit Area

There are many other features that you can include in the design for a fire pit area in your Chicago backyard. For example, you might want to surround a fire pit with a stone wall so that you are able to keep this area contained. You can also dig up the ground surrounding a fire pit and lay down small stones to separate this area from the rest of your backyard.

Put the Plans for a Fire Pit in Motion

Now that you know the important design elements of building a fire pit in your backyard, are you ready to get the process started?

Martin John Company would love to speak with you more about the ideas you have for your fire pit. Martin John Company has the expertise and experience it takes to bring backyard fire pit ideas to life. You will be able to rely on them to help you create the perfect fire pit for your backyard.

This design process will include these steps:

1. Holding a consultation and site survey that will involve discussing your ideas and goals for the space
2. Taking measurements of the place where you would like to put a fire pit making sure it will work with your ideas
3. Putting together a landscape design that revolves around your new fire pit area
4. Creating detailed design plans
5. Design review for feedback, edits, and approval

Once plans are approved, Martin John Company will handle all aspects of the project from preparing your backyard for your new fire pit, sourcing all the necessary materials, and installation. 

Contact us now to get started.