When building a patio, you and your landscaper have the option between wet laid and dry laid hardscapes. Dry laid refers to a process that tends to use a sand base (or other dry base) on top of gravel, with the stones laid out on top. Wet laid is when the hardscape is laid on top of concrete slabs that are placed on top of the gravel.

Wet laid tends to be more expensive, and it can be costly to repair should they get damaged, but it does tend to last longer against the elements. Dry laid is much more affordable – including repairs – but breaks down slightly more often in bad weather.

While seeding may appear to be a less expensive option than sodding, the long run, which includes periodical maintenance and repair – proves otherwise. Over time, sodding proves to be the less costly choice – a fact that has made it the preferable solution for many homes, parks, golf courses and various athletic fields.

When you choose to use sod, you’re paying for a product that has been grown under expert supervision, and made from quality seed blends. Sod can be installed within hours, and you can expect healthy and mature lawn within two weeks, no matter what season you choose, and no matter what terrain you install it on.

While the general answer is “once per week,” the reality is that it’s not how often you cut the grass but the length of the grass blade itself. You want the grass to be between 2 ½ and 3 ½ inches, and you should never cut more than 1/3rd the length of the blade at any given time (otherwise you damage the grass).

For most homeowners in most weather conditions, this is usually about once per week, but for some it may be a little more and for others a little less depending on the length of the grass and the climate.

Grass clippings are one of your lawn’s most underutilized resources. Far too often, homeowners take their grass clippings and remove them with the yard waste, never to be seen again. But grass clippings are loaded with healthy nutrients that are perfect for keeping your lawn lush and green. In general, it’s a good idea to leave the grass clippings on your lawn and allow them to act like natural feed.

However, if you are afraid of people tracking them in the house or there is already a buildup of grass clippings on your lawn, you should consider composting them or using them in other parts of your garden. Otherwise, leaving them in the grass after you mowed the lawn is the best solution.

Like with mowing, it‘s difficult to give a definitive answer when it comes to how often you should fertilize. If you have a time release fertilizer, you can often wait until the fertilizer’s time has run out. Most fertilizers should say how long they last and when the best time to fertilize again is. However, it’s recommended that you fertilize at minimum twice per year, and up to 5 times.

Fertilizers all have their own usage time and schedule, depending on the type of grass and time of year, and tend to come combined with other ingredients to help you with your lawn maintenance needs.

Fertilizers are equipped with three ingredients:

• Nitrogen
• Phosphorus
• Potassium

These ingredients are always listed in that order (sometimes known as NPK). Nitrogen is the most important, as this provides the most nourishment, but it can increase the growth of weeds and encourage excess growth if too much is used too early. Phosphorus and Potassium are also useful for nourishment. It is recommended you choose fertilizers that have a 3:1:2 NPK ratio. 4:1:2 may also be acceptable.

You can also choose fast release or controlled release. Fast release helps your grass grow quickly, but may lead to grass burn or too much growth at once. Controlled release does a better job obtaining even grass but is more expensive and takes longer.

Using either interlocking brick or natural stone to pave your driveway, patio, pool deck or walkways really comes down to a slight difference in cost, and your own personal taste. While natural stone may require wall ties and footings which can increase installation fees, it’s important to understand that both options are durable, safe and require little to no maintenance.

The reason is that the roughness of the bricks, the joints and the sand that fill the gaps in between are what gives them their strength. As far as personal taste goes, natural stone is obviously the preferable choice as far as appearance, as it adds a unique, delicate feel and natural beauty to any type of landscape.

Bricks are one of the most reliable, sturdy ways to help build a landscape. Yet they can also be a bit unstable. If the cement loosens, the brick is unlikely to stay in place, and the structure may become unstable. Similarly, depending on the design, the cement mortar itself may not complement the architecture.

Interlocking bricks help solve this problem. They are designed in such a way that each piece connects with its adjacent one, so that structurally they are all dependent on each other and able to stay in place. This makes these bricks much longer lasting, and often they can be interlocked without the use of any bonding agents. Overall, they are a good choice to use in landscaping.

Bricks are one of the most reliable, sturdy ways to help build a landscape. Yet they can also be a bit unstable. If the cement loosens, the brick is unlikely to stay in place, and the structure may become unstable. Similarly, depending on the design, the cement mortar itself may not complement the architecture.

Interlocking bricks help solve this problem. They are designed in such a way that each piece connects with its adjacent one, so that structurally they are all dependent on each other and able to stay in place. This makes these bricks much longer lasting, and often they can be interlocked without the use of any bonding agents. Overall, they are a good choice to use in landscaping.

When you or your landscapers are building retaining walls, you have the option of using natural stone or precast concrete. On its face, both are based on personal preference, but in many ways natural stone has the upper hand. It’s less expensive than precast concrete and more interesting to the eye (due to the natural differences between stones). It’s also easier to maintain and easier to replace should any damage occur.

It also looks far more natural when surrounded by plants and greenery. Precast certainly has a nice look, and it may compliment some decors, but for many landscapes natural stone will be preferable.

Creating a great lawn is almost an art form. You need to cut your grass at the perfect length to help it not only look great, but also remain healthy. If you plan on cutting the grass yourself, you need to know a few things. First, different types of grass have different ideal lengths. Get to know your specific type of grass to help ensure you’re cutting it off at the right spot.

Second, never cut more than 1/3rd of the grass at a time, no matter how long your grass is now and how short you want it to be. Any shorter and you risk damaging the grass stalks and opening them up for disease. Ideal grass height is, on average, somewhere between 2 and 3 inches.