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Check Out ABC’s Ultimate San Antonio Lawn Care Guide [FREE DOWNLOAD]

. Posted by in , , , , • San Antonio
San Antonio Lawn Care Guide

Keeping your grass, plants and trees healthy and well-maintained can be a challenge. First, you have to have the time to dedicate to your lawn. You also need to make sure you have the right equipment and that it is all in working order. Finally, you need the expertise to know which types of plants work best in which environments, how often to water and how to spot signs of lawn pests and diseases. For homeowners in southern states, the warm climate, lack of rainfall and intense sun make it even more difficult to care for your outdoor spaces.

ABC’s Ultimate San Antonio Lawn Care Guide

ABC Home & Commercial Services is dedicated to making homeowners’ lives easier. Our team of lawn care technicians, landscaping experts, pest control pros and sprinkler system specialists have compiled their best advice and tips into the Ultimate San Antonio Lawn Care Guide. This 8-page downloadable PDF resource includes sections on:

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Check Out ABC’s Ultimate Austin Lawn Care Guide [FREE DOWNLOAD]

. Posted by in , , , , • Austin
Austin Lawn Care Guide

Keeping your grass, plants and trees healthy and well-maintained can be a challenge. First, you have to have the time to dedicate to your lawn. You also need to make sure you have the right equipment and that it is all in working order. Finally, you need the expertise to know which types of plants work best in which environments, how often to water and how to spot signs of lawn pests and diseases. For homeowners in southern states, the warm climate, lack of rainfall and intense sun make it even more difficult to care for your outdoor spaces.

ABC’s Ultimate Austin Lawn Care Guide

ABC Home & Commercial Services is dedicated to making homeowners’ lives easier. Our team of lawn care technicians, landscaping experts, pest control pros and sprinkler system specialists have compiled their best advice and tips into the Ultimate Austin Lawn Care Guide. This 8-page downloadable PDF resource includes sections on:

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Pool Plants To Turn Your Backyard Into an Oasis

. Posted by in , • San Antonio
pool plants

The second your family saw the pool, you knew that you were going to be buying the house. What better way to escape the heat of southern summers than a backyard pool? Your kids have gotten to swim and play and have fun for hours at a time without you having to chauffeur them around or waste time packing swim bags and inevitably forgetting something. But if you’re honest, there are some regrets. You kind of miss having a bigger backyard. A garden. Plants. Trees.

Pool Plants To Turn Your Backyard Into an Oasis

Often, new pool owners make their backyard about the pool and little else. But while pools certainly require a lot of care and attention, you can have your lush, green yard and have a backyard oasis within it to swim in.

In fact, adding plants and shaping the landscape can turn the space into an absolute oasis—one that adds value to your … Read Full Post »

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Chinch Bugs: What Homeowners Need to Know About This Common Lawn Pest

. Posted by in , • San Antonio
chinch bugs

Your lawn is full of all kinds of small insects, some which are beneficial, and some which are not. Chinch bugs are a common lawn pest that can do a lot of damage to your grass. Let’s learn more about chinch bugs, how to know you have them and how to get rid of them if they are in your yard.

Chinch Bugs: What Homeowners Need to Know

Southern chinch bugs are small and slender with white wings with distinctive black triangular marks. Nymphs will go through five phases. The color will change from red with a faint white band across the midsection to black with a white band. They are the top pests associated with St. Augustine grass, although they can also feed on other grass species, such as Zoysia and Bermuda grass.

Chinch bugs are inactive during the winter months, as they prefer warmer, … Read Full Post »

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Summer Lawn Care Tips

. Posted by in • Austin
summer lawn care tips

Let’s see if this sounds familiar: You buy a new barbecue to enjoy grilling out while the weather is nice and warm. You plan your menu. Get all the fixings. But when you head out back to get started, you barely recognize your yard. There are just as many patches of weeds as there are brown spots and you can’t walk more than a few feet without stepping on an anthill.

What happened? There are many reasons our lawns can look a little worse for the wear during the summer months. Luckily, we have a few suggestions on how to keep your outdoor spaces looking great, even during the hottest months of the year.

Summer Lawn Care Tips

Summers in southern states can be brutal for lawns. Temperatures frequently reach triple digits. Rain may come infrequently – if at all– and insects and weeds are out in full force. If you’re not paying attention, your … Read Full Post »

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Types of Poison Ivy and How to Identify Them

. Posted by in • San Antonio
Types of poison ivy

Grilling with friends, swinging in a hammock or lying on a blanket, gazing up into the trees: leisure time spent outdoors is what homeowners look forward to after a long day at work or during the weekends. But enjoying your outdoor living space—or just getting outside to do some yard work—can be a dicey prospect if you have pockets of poison ivy hiding on your property. This invasive plant produces a volatile oil (called urushiol oil) that can cause real injury to humans in the form of an itchy, blistering rash that develops after skin-to-plant contact. 

Types of Poison Ivy and How to Identify Them

To avoid the unpleasant experience of dealing with the rash associated with contact with this plant, you’ll want to know how to identify poison ivy, including learning about the different types of poison ivy. If you know what to look out for, you can avoid this plant … Read Full Post »

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How To Get Rid Of Weeds Without Killing Grass

. Posted by in • Austin
how to get rid of weeds in lawn without chemicals

It’s exciting when plants you have nurtured begin to grow in your yard. Green, lush grass. Colorful flower beds. A thriving vegetable garden. UUnfortunately, when it comes to caring for our lawns, there’s always one thing you can count on: you’re going to have to deal with lawn weeds. One topic that’s always in season is how to kill weeds, not grass – and how to do it naturally.

If you make a lawn weed control plan in advance and attack the problem early in the season, you can make less work for yourself over time. Below, our experts identify some common weeds in the south and what you can do to get rid of them naturally without killing grass or plants.

Common Lawn Weeds

Many weeds in our lawns and gardens spread through airborne seeds or runners and can be difficult to fully eradicate. Here’s what to watch out for when planning … Read Full Post »

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Spring Lawn Care Tips For A Thriving Outdoor Space

. Posted by in • Austin
spring lawn care tips

Spring is just around the corner. Many homeowners take this time of year to get your lawn ready for the growing season. We share our best tips for spring lawn preparation and a spring lawn care schedule to help showcase the beauty of your outdoor space.

Spring Lawn Care Tips

The most important part of spring lawn care is to make sure that your lawn has plenty of opportunity to come back to life gently during the early spring months. The sun and soil will do most of the work for you.

For many of the southern states, spring is a time to nurture warm-season grasses like as Zoysia, St. Augustine, centipede and Bermuda, which typically thrive in the heat and go dormant during winter.

Water Wise

Once your grass starts growing, make sure that your lawn gets at least one inch of water per week. Until then, you can water less frequently, … Read Full Post »

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How To Start a Vegetable Garden From Scratch

. Posted by in • San Antonio
How to start a vegetable garden from scratch

There is nothing quite like enjoying food that you grow yourself. Whether you are just looking for some herbs to add to recipes, a way to spend quality time with your family outside or if you want to embark upon something more ambitious, homeowners should know that starting a vegetable garden from scratch is not impossible if you learn the basics.

How to Start a Vegetable Garden from Scratch

Although springtime is the most popular time to start a garden, the growing season in warmer parts of the country is virtually year-round. Whenever you decide to give Central Texas gardening a try, we have some tips to help set you up for success.

Prepare Your Garden Bed

Choose a spot in your yard that receives full sun. In hotter climates, a fence or building that shades the plot during the hottest afternoon hours can give your plants a helpful reprieve from the heat and … Read Full Post »

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What Is Pruning? A Complete Guide To Pruning Your Plants

. Posted by in • Bryan-College Station
What is pruning

The importance of pruning has been well-documented. Pruning or trimming has many benefits for your landscape, including maintaining plant health, restricting growth (and overgrowth), “training” plants and improving the quality of a plant’s flowers, fruit, foliage or stems.

In our complete guide to pruning, you’ll learn:

  • What is pruning?
  • How to prune trees
  • How to prune shrubs
  • How to prune fruit plants and flowers, including roses
  • What equipment you need and
  • When to prune

What is Pruning?

Pruning is the process of cutting away dead or overgrown branches or stems to promote healthy plant growth. Most plants, including trees, shrubs and garden plants like roses benefit from different methods of pruning and maintenance. Pruning at the wrong time of the year does not necessarily kill your plants, but regular improper pruning may cause damaged or weakened plants.

To help you take the guesswork out of pruning, we’ll go over the common tree and plant types found in the … Read Full Post »

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