Home Decorating Ideas - Save Time And Money-And Still Have A Great Yard

Can you have a nice-looking yard without investing hours of labor each week and emptying your wallet?

You bet, according to yard care expert Trey Rogers, Ph.D., also known as the Briggs & Stratton "Yard Doctor." "Some people love to spend countless hours in their yards, making them the focal point of their neighborhoods, and that's great. But if you're faced with a time crunch--and don't have a lot of money to spend--you still can have a nice yard."

Rogers should know. He has spent more than 25 years as a turf grass scientist, helping everyone from golf course groundskeepers to his suburban neighbors create healthy, thick grass. He's even helped grow Olympic playing fields. Here are his top tips to save you time and money on yard care:

• Maintain your equipment. Prepare your equipment for the growing season to avoid problems that could leave you without your mower and with a costly repair bill in mid-summer. Tune up your mower once a year and use a fuel preservative to keep gas fresh so your mower will start easily.

• Mow correctly. Only cut one-third the length of the grass height in any single mowing to help the grass thrive, setting deep roots. This will help prevent weeds, disease and pests from afflicting your lawn, eliminating the need to spend time and money treating problems. Never "scalp" your lawn, thinking you will have to mow less often--it damages the grass.

• Follow a simple plan. Create a simple protocol for mowing to streamline the process and avoid delays. Fuel your mower the night before you mow. First thing in the morning, pick up toys, tree branches and debris from the lawn. As soon as the dew dries off, you can mow without time-wasting interruptions.

• Create instant results. Make your yard look great for a special weekend by investing your time and money in easy projects that give you instant results. Add fresh wood chip mulch to flower beds and place inexpensive clay pots of colorful flowers at your front door and on your patio or deck. Use sod to patch bare spots in your lawn.

• Use a mulching mower. A mulching mower's blade cuts the grass into fine clippings that are returned to the soil as a nitrogen-rich fertilizer. That means you can fertilize less often, saving time and money.

For more yard care advice, visit www.yarddoctor.com. The Yard Doctor is part of the Briggs & Stratton Yard Smarts program, created to help homeowners achieve the yard they really want to have by providing knowledge and inspiration on lawn and yard care. Picking up toys, branches and debris before you start means you can mow your lawn without interruption.