Who doesn’t love the smell of freshly cut grass, the feel of soft blades under foot and the look of a thriving, green carpet? We love our lawns, but sometimes, it feels like our lawns don’t love us back. If you’re sick of fighting brown spots and mowing until you drop, perhaps it’s time to change your approach. Consider these three tips to start, and contact us for help from the pros.

1. Give It a Drink
Put away the spreadsheets and schedules. Watering your grass doesn’t have to be rocket science. Think about the ideal environment for your grass. You want to encourage deep roots, keep your grass from drowning and discourage lawn pests. This means that putting your sprinkler out every day is the last thing that you should be doing for an established lawn.

Instead, water established lawns once a week or less, but saturate the soil. Your grass’s roots will chase the water deeper into the soil as it sinks in. You can tell when your grass needs water when it stops springing back when stepped on. Water in early morning or at night to reduce evaporation. Freshly laid grass seed, on the other hand, should be watered lightly once a day until the first time it’s mowed. Afterward, switch to the deep-soak method. The pros like oscillating sprinklers for deep soaks.

2. Pour On the Dressing
Are you dressing your outdoor greens? If not, you should be. Lawn dressings, sometimes called bio-fertilizers, are mixtures of organic compost that revitalize soil and give grass longevity. While fertilizers feed plants directly, lawn dressings feed the soil. They attract beneficial microbes and release nutrients over time. The resulting grass is more disease-, insect- and drought-resistant.

A little goes a long way with lawn dressing. A scant six-millimeter coating every fall and spring is sufficient. Make sure you rake up any leaves and grass clippings before applying it, and use your rake to work it into the grass after application. It needs to sit directly on your soil for maximum benefits. You’ll find that you need to water, mow and re-seed less often over the seasons.

3. Embrace Clover
Once upon a time, clover was considered a lawn staple. The judge of a high-quality grass seed was a high clover content. What spelled its demise as prized vegetation? Manufacturers. The companies that manufactured herbicides couldn’t figure out how to keep their latest creations from killing clover as well. Instead of fixing their product, they demonized clover through advertising. The former lawn darling fell from grace and has been considered a weed ever since.

In reality, clover is a boon to lawns and the environment as a whole. It adds nitrogen to soil, is drought-resistant, attracts beneficial organisms and is evergreen. It even works synergistically with normal turf grass, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers and helping it establish faster. Instead of seeing clover as an enemy, embrace its rich green color and pom pom flowers. Your lawn will thank you.

Just a few, simple changes to your lawn care routine will yield a fuller, healthier lawn in the very first year. The longer you stick with it, the stronger your grass will become. These tips will set you on your way to a picture-perfect lawn.