YOUR OUTDOOR HOLIDAY DÉCOR CHECKLIST

It seems like holiday decorations become more elaborate every year. For many homeowners, making a big production out of decorating is… well, fun!  Here’s a list of tips to help you celebrate the season while protecting your lawn.

Keep Off the Grass

The best way to protect your grass would be never walking on it or placing anything on it (or letting anyone else do those things). For most of us, those steps aren’t practical or desirable. You can’t guard your lawn 24/7 to keep your neighbors’ kids away, and you can’t stop leaves and limbs from falling.  In addition, while most people who have lawns enjoy admiring them, most of us want to use them to some degree, for things like games, cookouts, and holiday decorations. Fortunately, you can minimize the damage that decorations can do to your turf, and maybe even avoid it altogether.

Place your decorations on hard surfaces, like porches, patios, driveways, walkways – even your roof.  You can also hang decorations from your roof, as well as from trees and on your front door.  If your vision requires large decorations on your lawn, it’s best to stick to lightweight options like inflatables.  Whenever possible, limit the amount of time that decorations are on display.  You might put them out when more people will be passing by, like evening drive time, and pack them up before you turn in for the night.  You can also move decorations around from day to day so no one area of grass is bearing weight for an extended period.

Emphasize Lights

You can create fascinating effects across large spaces with very few contact points with the ground using lights.  And there’s a remarkably wide range to choose from.  There’s nothing wrong with the traditional and familiar string lights, but why limit yourself when you can incorporate falling star lights, hanging icicle lights, colored C9 bulbs, fairy lights, and more!

If you have to walk across your grass to plug your lights in every night, consider attaching them to a timer. It’s important to be sure that you choose lights designed for outdoor use that don’t emit much heat.

Keep Your Lawn Tidy

By decorating in the first place, you’re inviting, if not demanding, that people look at your lawn.  Leaves, twigs, and branches scattered around will diminish the effect of any beautiful scene you set up.  Clean up any debris before setting out your decorations for the first time, and check regularly (daily if possible) to see if you need to remove anything new.  This will obviously require walking on your grass to some degree, but if you’re careful you can keep the effects to a minimum.

If you have questions about balancing holiday cheer with protecting your lawn, or any other topic related to lawn care, the experienced professionals at Southern Lawns can help.  Remember that it’s important to continue lawn treatments through fall and winter to help your grass get a strong start in spring.  You can contact us at 334.466.0600 or sales@southernlawns.net.