What can I do to make my lawn and gardens look better?

[Jack Lapidus]

All around my house, there's a gazillion weeds that keep growing in the same spots. They grow in the garden and through the bushes which makes it hard to pull them out. There's also some poison ivy growing under my deck and through the cracks, I don't know how to get rid of that. I don't understand how my neighbors don't get weeds at all/barely get any. The only thing they usually do is just cut their grass since they don't have weed problems...

Then the grass on the lawn is a mix with green, green/light brown, and a few patches of dark green. Pretty much all my neighbors have nice green lawns that is the same color all over. Then I've got those little yellow and white weeds that grow in random groups all over the lawn.
How can I get rid of those?

Thennn I've got this huge plant near my lake (I have no clue what it's called) that somehow grew there. I never planted anything there; it just looked like the plant grew overnight. Should I chop it down? I know it's not a tree, but it's as tall as one.


Please help and give me advice/tips because I'm really frustrated.

 

[eskie lover]

Mulch your gardens. It does will immediately make them look more unified and attractive. Also, if you put weed barrier or even newspaper under the mulch, you prevent weeds from taking root. In addition, it saves you water and evaporation of that water in the heat of the day. Lawn care is more than just mowing, you do have to fertilize and prevent disease, prohibit weed growth and water. There are a lot of natural and organic ways to care for the lawn, but all take some time investment. What you have growing near your lake is a volunteer, some airborne seed took root and you have to decide whether it is a plant worth keeping and tending to or not. We get a lot of Mexican palms and pampas grass that volunteer in our yards and often hit them with vinegar to kill the roots as soon as we see them because neither is an asset to the garden. I over seed my lawn in the autumn just before our rainy season because the weather germinates the seeds so that by spring my lawn is filled in and looks lush. Ask at the nursery or a master gardener in your area for a schedule to fertilize, weed and seed your lawn for the best results. It's free and they will give you advice specific to your zone, soil and weather conditions all necessary for success.