More than likely you will need to hire someone to handle your lawn and garden needs since you will not be at your vacation home full time, so plan on this. To make maintaining your lawn easier while you are away, it is best to have an irrigation system installed. Unless you have a full-time caretaker, this is probably going to be the only way to adequately get water to your lawn. If an irrigation system seems to elaborate for your lawn’s needs, you can buy timers at lawn and garden stores that you can attach to your outside spigots that will work similar to an irrigation system, but above ground using just a hose and a sprinkler. This will work okay if your yard is fairly small or you have certain areas that you want watered. These timers are significantly less expensive than an irrigation system, usually less than $50 a timer. If you are willing to spend the money, nothing compares to the underground sprinkler system though. The price will vary significantly for an irrigation system depending on what your lawn needs, but expect to spend thousands. Again, it will be well worth it.
As far as plants go, if you want to enjoy a colorful garden, getting some perennials is probably the best choice. These will need little maintenance. Of course, if you have the full-time live-in caretaker or gardener, you will be able to plant whatever you choose! Just be sure to remove any annuals and cover any perennials with straw in the fall.
When fall comes around, there is a lot more that will need to be done around the yard. Hire someone to perform fall clean-up or do it yourself. All the leaves, sticks, and other debris should be removed from lawn to keep your lawn healthy. It is important to get the gutters cleaned as well to keep them from clogging. Your lawn and gutters will probably need another good cleaning in the spring, but if you do it in the fall, spring will not be nearly as bad. Do not skimp on having these clean-ups done. This is very important to keep a healthy lawn and keep your gutters working properly. Fall is the time to have any tree limbs pruned. You will want to have this done if any branches are near your house.
If you do opt for an underground irrigation system, this will need to be winterized in the fall and energized in the spring. The system will need to be winterized to keep the pump, piping, and heads from freezing and cracking. A professional should do this for you, and often this will be the same company that installed it for you. If they do not perform maintenance like this on systems, they should be able to refer you to someone that does. Whether you have a system or not, you are bound to have hoses. Drain these, disconnect them, and store them in a shed or a garage.
Check your house to make sure it is in good repair. This is critical since you will not be around should something go wrong. Most importantly, make sure the roof is in good condition, with no loose shingles, replace or repair any ripped screens, and fix any loose weather stripping around outside doors and garage doors. If you have skylights, be sure these are good condition, especially if you have had leaks before.
Be sure to bring any outdoor furniture inside, especially padded furniture that could become a home to rodents. Bring any hammocks, garden ornaments, grills, or anything that will not do well in the snow inside. If you live on the water and have a dock and boat lift, these things may or may not need to come out of the water. If you are unsure, contact your local dock service company.
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