It’s Time to Spruce Up Your Yard for Spring

When the trees start blooming, people usually start thinking about making their yards look pretty.

Even at NewsChannel 21, we got the station’s landscaping done early: We cut our grass, trimmed the hedges and put in mulch.

Land Effects, a landscaping company in Bend, has been in the business for five years.

“This is always historically a busy time,” owner Tim Schmitt said Monday.

Schmitt says you can start doing a few things, including getting lawns cut, trimmed and thatched, triming the perennials, and turning on the irrigation system.

“Make sure your irrigation system is adequately running and installed properly,” Schmitt said.

Schmitt says if you get on them quick, you can save some money.

“You can waste a lot of water by over-watering or having a poor system. It’s a big thing, for money alone,” Schmitt said.

But it might be a little too early to start planting those shrubs.

“Way too early to be planting,” Schmitt said. “People put a lot of investment in flowers and shrubs and that sort of thing this time of year, and then the frost comes in and wipes it out.”

The safest bet for planting: the first week of June, just as long as there is no frost in the air.

But the one thing we all can start doing now: weeding.

“Get after them quick — they are popping up fast,” Schmitt said. “Just this weekend, I’ve seen dandelions just about everywhere.”

So getting your lawn mowed, cleaning out old thatch and making sure your irrigation system timers are set properly will have you enjoying your yard and the warm weather even more.

Are you thinking of putting mulch in your yard? Schmitt said besides making your yard look nice, it also serves a couple other purposes: It keeps your weeds down and holds moisture into the plants, which helps conserve water.

Also with the warm weather comes allergies. You know the symptoms: itchy, watery eyes, sneezing, runny nose, nasal congestion.

NewsChannel 21 talked with Dr. Adam Williams at the Bend Memorial Clinic, an allergy doctor and expert.

The biggest problems locally are the juniper trees.

Dr. Williams said the sun plays a crucial role for allergies, because it stimulates the trees to release the pollen and causes us to go outside and enjoy the outside air, which means more exposure to the pollen.

The allergy season really hits hard starting around late March and early April and affects between 30 and 40 percent of the population.

Williams offers some tips to keep yourselves healthy during the season.

“When they come in from being outside, to rinse off, change their clothes, so they don’t have the pollen that is stuck to them in their bed at bedtime,” Williams said.

Williams said probably the biggest thing you can do to keep yourselves healthy: closing windows during the early morning hours. The pollen levels are usually highest between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m.

For those thinking about wearing a surgical mask, Williams advises that the studies which say it reduces symptoms are not convincing.