Garden Services

Landscape Maintenance & Garden Services

Looking for lawn maintenance services for your Harbor Springs or Petoskey home? Vidosh can help. Our team believes an exceptional landscape begins only with a quality installation. Landscaping is a work-in-progress that only meets its full potential through appropriate care and maintenance, which is why we offer a number of landscape maintenance services to prepare your landscape for all of Michigan's seasons, keep your garden in its finest shape, and clean up your yard from brush and leaves.

Protect Your Northern Michigan Lawn

Vidosh's scheduled landscape maintenance services include, but are not limited to the seasonal services listed below:

What To Do to Your Lawn in Spring

Spring marks the beginning--the beginning of perennials popping up through the snow, and the beginning of warmer weather. Taking the steps to spring lawn care is important to refresh your lawn from a long winter, and to prepare it for the warm months ahead.  

Helping your landscape recover from the harsh northern Michigan winter requires some TLC, including replacing mulch and more. Other ways to prepare your plant beds for the warm season ahead include removing weeds, deep raking, aerating, overseeding, pruning existing perennials carefully, and getting rid of diseased plants. Signs of the disease include spotting, mildew, and yellowing leaves.

  • Pre-emergent application
    • Pre-emergent applications are applied to your landscape to inhibit the growth of pesky annual weeds. Because weed control is a process, there is no one-time, one-size-fits-all application that will kill all weeds at once. Pre-emergent herbicide is a barrier applied to the top of the soil to target weeds that have not yet sprouted and are still under the soil. It is important to note that pre-emergent is not formulated to target already-existing weeds. Pre-emergent should be applied as an overall lawn treatment, rather than specific areas, to control the most weeds.
  • ​Soil testing​
    • Different pH levels in your soil make the grass require different levels of nutrients. To ensure your lawn care is performing at its best, we can test the pH of your soil.
  • Fertilization - trees & shrubs
    • Your grass isn’t the only part of your yard that benefits from fertilization. Your trees and shrubs will also appreciate a dose of nutrients.
  • Irrigation inspection
    • Harsh Michigan winters can sometimes damage your irrigation system. Vidosh North will do an inspection to ensure everything is in working order.

Best Practices for Summer Lawn Care

  • Lawn mowing, trimming & edging
    • Think of mowing your lawn like trimming your hair—mowing your lawn helps keep it healthy. Trimming and edging (horizontal and vertical cuts, respectively) are finer detail work that helps to reduce weeds and work with mowing to maintain a healthy lawn.
  • Lawn fertilization
    • Keeping your lawn fertilized works in tandem with the nutrients in your soil to maintain a healthy lawn. Best practices for lawn fertilizing depend upon the season, but one thing remains steady regardless of seasonality—weed removal. 
  • Weekly plant bed maintenance
    • Weekly plant bed maintenance helps keep weeds at bay and keeps plants from overgrowing.
  • Tree, shrub & perennial fertilization
    • Just like on your lawn, trees, shrubs, and perennials can benefit from fertilizer.
  • Seasonal pruning
    • Pruning is necessary to keep dead and dying branches or leaves from inhibiting new growth.

Fall Lawn Care

The best kept secret to a lush spring time lawn is the care taken in fall! To ensure your grass is lush and green next season, take these steps before your lawn goes dormant:

  • Fall clean up, leaf collections & disposal
    • Piles of leaves not only look bad on your yard, but leaf removal can also work to prevent lawn damage. Leaves trap moisture in the lawn, which kills the grass. Leaves also block light from getting to the grass, which is essential to it's health.
  • Winterization, winter plant protection, & anti-desiccant application
    • ​Mulching to prepare for winter can help protect plants from frost. Just after the first hard frost, add mulch to your perennial gardens to keep the soil temperature stable. 
  • Lawn mowing
    • Your lawn will continue growing until the first frost, so it’s a good practice to continue mowing it. The ideal lawn height is 2.5-3”; it may mold in the snow any longer.
  • Fertilization
    • A boost of fertilizer will give your grass some food to help it bounce back after winter. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are all great for your grass' roots and will help with cold resistance. For the perfect formula for your lawn, contact us for a consultation. 
  • Aeration
    • Routine soil aeration keeps your lawn from becoming too dense. Roots and debris block water and nutrients from reaching beneath the grass, but a good round of aeration allows those nutrients to drop in where they belong. 
  • Seeding
    • Fall is a great time to overseed your lawn.  A seeded lawn can fill in bare spots for the spring, but overseeding can be a tricky process. If a lush lawn for spring is something you’re after, give us a call.

Fall offers plenty of opportunity to prepare the rest of your yard and garden for the following year. Some more steps we recommend taking in fall include:

  • Prune Plants and Save Bulbs
    • Fall is a great time to prepare your gardens for the following year. Deadheading plants and cutting back perennials can help your gardens for the following year. Cold Northern Michigan winters can be stressful on your floral bulbs. You can winterize your bulbs so they don't die over the winter by bringing them inside after the frost kills the top of the flower. 
  • Clean your gutters
    • Cleaning out your gutters protects your roof and foundation from the damaging effects of water. 
  • Winterize your sprinklers
    • Blowing all the water out of your sprinkler system ensures the pipes won't burst in the freezing temperatures ahead. To ensure the proper air pressure is used and all the water is truly gone, give our team a call.

Winter Lawn Care

While a blanket of snow and ice may make your yard look like there is minimal maintenance to be done, there are a few things we recommend being mindful of through the winter season.

  • Snowplowing & salt application
    • ​Infamous northern Michigan winters call for heavy-duty snow plowing and salt application—yes, we can help with this, too! When we salt your icy driveway or walkway, we do our best to keep the salt off of any exposed grass. The salt can damage the grass by impeding nutrient saturation and may create bald spots in your fresh spring lawn. ​​
  • Lawn Protection
    • When Vidosh North comes to take care of your winter yard, we know how to protect it for spring! Once the frost has settled into your lawn, it’s important to avoid walking or driving on it as much as possible. The grass can weaken in the cold weather, making it harder to revive when spring comes around. 
  • Keep gutters clean
    • If leaves are still falling after the snow comes, it's important to check your gutters again. Keeping them clear allows for any melted water to run away from your home instead of damaging your roof or foundation. Excess water in your gutters can also cause icicles, which can be dangerous to anyone walking around your home. 
  • Remove snow and ice from your roof
    • Snow and ice can damage your roof and gutters. Icicles can form along your gutters or roof line, but they are dangerous to remove from the bottom. Snow may build up on your roof, which is not beneficial to the long-term health of your home. We recommend calling a professional to keep your roof and gutters safe and clear all winter long. 
  • Keep trees maintained
    • Heavy snow and ice can stress your trees and shrubs. Keep an eye out for tree limbs that are struggling to survive in the cold season and consider having them removed by a professional. Otherwise, they may break off in a storm and cause more damage. 

​​To start your custom lawn care plan in any season, contact us! 

 

Vidosh North provides landscape maintenance services to these and other Northern Michigan cities:

Charlevoix | Petoskey | Harbor Springs | Torch Lake | Walloon Lake