Coming at you with my week 2 of Landscape Coach Tips. These tips are things you can do in your yard with the items you have at home. They are being shared daily over on instagram / facebook and weekly here in these emails! Enjoy.

LANDSCAPE COACH TIP 6:

April Showers have blessed our city and now is the perfect time to pull those weeds. Three simple ways to eliminate weeds any time, any day:
1. Set aside 5 minutes a day to weed. It’s therapeutic.
2. Pull weeds after a rain; they come out like butter.For the most stubborn weeds, try using your bare hands for a better grip.
3. If they still don’t budge, dig around the base with a weed tool and pop them out.

LANDSCAPE COACH TIP 7:

Find a shady spot in your yard and hang a hammock. 16 years ago I bought two 3″ diameter posts, drove them into the ground at an angle, drilled holes into the post and installed two J bolts. Hung my hammock and it’s been an enjoyable space ever since. You might even have these simple items hanging around the house. Other vertical items you can use to hang a hammock are a tree, an old clothesline, or even a CMU wall. The benefit of having a little space to relax in your yard is huge, especially now when we all need a little break from the world.

LANDSCAPE COACH TIP 8:

My grape vine leaves fared just okay with the overnight freeze here in Albuquerque. Some leaves curled up and some made it. Don’t ask me why, lots of things are unknown during this quarantine so I’ll take healthy leaves as a good sign my established grape vines will endure. Today’s tip is sometimes we just need to roll with what nature gives us. Just like we are staying home and rolling with COVID-19, I’m going to roll with these sad dried up leaves. I’ll focus on all the other plants in my yard that were not affected. Also, if you are wondering how I made this short little trellis, it’s simple. A couple 4×4 wooden posts dug into the ground 12″ deep and connected together by metal conduit. I just drilled out holes to match the conduit size in the wood. It’s all dry fit, nothing is glued, concreted or anything to allow for future flexibility. It’s been up about 8 years and still functioning well.

LANDSCAPE COACH TIP 9:

It’s Design Time here at My Landscape Coach. While I design landscapes all year long, Spring is typically when everyone is excited about getting their yard ready for the season! Today I’m coming at you with some Design tips… the 3 D’s of Design.
1. DOODLE the spaces: First let’s start with the big picture. Public space: accessible and visible to all, Private space: an invitation only space and Utilitarian space: your work and storage space. Go doodle these spaces on a plan. .
2. DRAW the areas: Now break those spaces apart into what types of areas you want in those spaces. For example. Public space: visual curb appeal, shade, privacy. Private space: outdoor dining area, outdoor living room, play area, vegetable garden, flower garden, lawn, shade. Utilitarian space: storage, compost. . .
3. DELINEATE the elements: The individual design elements will help scale the spaces. Let’s say you listed privacy as an area type. Privacy may mean wall, fence, gate, or shrub barrier. An outdoor dining area might consist of a table and 4 chairs. By drilling down from the big picture to the specifics we can figure out the amount of space we need based on the size of the elements. It may also help to compare this exercise to rearranging the furniture in your house, the difference being that you’re outside and the sky is literally the limit.

LANDSCAPE COACH TIP 10:
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Use your existing outdoor spaces differently then you typically do. My family and I love having high tea, we typically do this indoors or go to a tea room for special occasions. .

During COVID with three boys, I’m now fond of not needing a reason for a celebration. So today we ordered high tea to go from St. James tea room and enjoyed it on our outdoor patio. Bam, new use for our outdoor space and fun times for the family!
How will you use your outdoor space differently? Game night, high tea, movie night, lunch, craft time……the opportunities are endless.

Can’t wait to see how you unearth your yard this week!