KNOW YOUR SOIL The first thing a professional turf specialist should do is a soil test–a diagnostic tool that will tell you (and your turf professional) what sort of lawn treatment is appropriate. Lawns, and the soil beneath, can vary from one house in a neighborhood to another. That means even if your next-door neighbor's lawn needs more lime, yours may not. A customized program for your yard should be your goal. Your lawn care professional will also explain what type of chemicals are going to be used to treat your lawn. If you have kids and pets, this information is especially important so that you can ensure their safety.

THE GREEN TEAM Lawn care companies have multiple care options to choose from–and one of the newest is organic lawn care. Organic fertilizers allow you to choose a more eco-friendly option. Your turf professional may also offer other earth-friendly options such as reducing the turf grass in your yard with easy-care options including low-growing perennials. Some eco-friendly practices also entail using a mulching mower, which cuts up grass clippings into small pieces, leaving them as fertilizer on the lawn. This reduces the need to compost grass clippings–and, contrary to popular belief, mulching does not contribute to the thatch in a lawn.

TURF GRASS CALENDAR To keep your lawn looking its best, your turf professional will follow this schedule of activities:

FUSS-FREE ROSES New this spring! An easy-care, repeat flowering rose that adds gorgeous color to your yard and garden.

Do you love roses but are a little intimidated to grow them? Then the new Flower Carpet® rose called ‘Scarlet' is the rose for you. This compact, hardy bush will grow 2 to 3 feet tall. Perfect for planting in the garden or landscape, the lusty red rose produces wave of gorgeous blooms all summer long. In fact, a mature rose planted in full sun produces more than 2,000 flowers in a season.

Flower Carpet roses aren't fussy show roses. Because they are bred as ground covers, they don't require fancy pruning, like other roses. Just get out the hedge clippers and chop back the plant in the late winter or early spring, and it will reward you with blooms for years. Naturally disease resistant, ‘Scarlet' is hardy in USDA zones 5 through 11. To find your planting zone, go to www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone. Most roses insist on growing in full sun, but flexible ‘Scarlet' will handle filtered sunlight.

COVER IT UP
Mulching around your trees, shrubs and in your flower beds makes for less weeding. A layer of mulch helps retain soil moisture, which is also good for your plants. And a mulch carpet around plantings helps unify the look of your landscape. Talk to your landscaping expert to find out the best mulch type for your yard and garden.

	SHREDDED WOOD You can get shredded wood mulch from several types of trees. Each creates a different color to match your landscape. Avoid mulch made from recycled wood–it contains chemicals that can leach into garden soil.
	STRAW The golden color of straw makes it an attractive, lightweight mulch. Great for vegetable gardens, straw mulch should be free of seed heads so you don't inadvertently create a weed problem for your garden.
	WOOD CHIPS Larger than shredded bark, wood chips usually are made from pine and fir trees. They also last longer than shredded bark because they don't decompose as fast. Wood chips come in red, black and brown.
	COCOA BEAN HULLS Small and lightweight, cocoa bean hulls make an attractive brown mulch. Especially good around small plantings, such as herbs, cocoa bean hulls decompose readily and will need replacing more often than other mulches.
	GRASS CLIPPINGS Lawn clippings make an excellent mulch for vegetable gardens, but they're not often used for landscape mulching because they turn brown. Avoid using clippings that have been treated with weed killer in your garden.