How to Deck the Halls Without Killing Your Lawn

By theadmin

Around Thanksgiving, the ideas start taking shape: visions of your home lit up like a gingerbread house, a cluster of glowing soldiers worthy of Napoleon’s army across your yard, a plastic Santa Claus with all his reindeer leaping like neon lightning bolts through the upper boughs of your favorite tree.

But the reality is many homeowners who enthusiastically decorate their homes for the holiday season don’t consider how those decorations may impact the living environment they spend so many hours caring for throughout the rest of the year. This year, avoid that sinking January feeling of pulling up lawn ornaments only to find patches of dead grass with these holiday lawn care tips and protect your garden from your own yuletide enthusiasm.

Keep Off the Grass

Arrange any glowing reindeer figurines on nonliving parts of your yard — walkways, porches, and driveways. You may find that your house looks great even with the lawn and garden clear.

Blow It Up

The biggest threats to lawn health are heavy display items. Inflatable decorations aren’t as tough on grass and can stay up longer without risking damage. Move heavier items every few days so they aren’t sitting on the same patch of grass for weeks on end.

Stay Wired

Maintaining your holiday decorations means more time trapsing around the yard. Try to limit the amount of walking on your lawn by wiring your lights to a centralized timer or making the on-off switch easy to access from afar.

Keep It Cool

We all have nostalgia for the kinds of bulbs that lit up our homes during our childhood. But the reality is, many of those lights burned very hot, which can damage vegetation and present safety concerns. These days, it’s easy to find LED holiday lights that burn much cooler than the old-fashioned bulbs. If you’re still using the lights you inherited from your father, maybe it’s time to switch them out for something cooler.

Treat Your Trees Kindly

Trees are sturdy fellows and can hold a lot of weight and tension. But be careful not to overload their boughs with heavy lighting or other decorations, which can strain branches — particularly thinner, younger ones. Also avoid affixing lights or decorations by drilling, screwing, or puncturing bark. Any damage could lead to long-term health problems. Before you hang your lights, trim away dead growth so you’re not decorating already weakened branches.

Safety First

Check your outdoor lights as diligently as you do your indoor lights. Look for bare or damaged wires. Make sure connections are firm. Secure light strands strongly enough so that they won’t be dislodged by the wind. And make sure you turn off all your lights when you leave your home or are in bed, because nothing is worse for your landscaping than an accidental electrical fire.

Protect your own health while you’re decking the halls with these tips.

Illustrations by Kylie Valigura