https://www.yarddoglandscapes.com/blog Practical lawn care, landscaping, and yard advice from the crew at Yard Dog Landscapes, written for East Texas homeowners. en-us Sat, 27 Jun 2026 13:06:01 GMT https://www.yarddoglandscapes.com/blog-brown-patch-vs-heat-stress https://www.yarddoglandscapes.com/blog-brown-patch-vs-heat-stress Sat, 27 Jun 2026 14:00:00 GMT Two East Texas lawns can go brown the same week for opposite reasons, and the fix for one kills the other. Here's how to tell fungus rings from heat stress before you grab the hose and make it worse. https://www.yarddoglandscapes.com/blog-summer-pruning-rules https://www.yarddoglandscapes.com/blog-summer-pruning-rules Sat, 20 Jun 2026 14:00:00 GMT In East Texas, a June haircut helps some plants and kills the bloom on others. Here's the difference between crepe myrtles, hollies, hydrangeas, and azaleas, plus the one tree you should never cut this time of year. https://www.yarddoglandscapes.com/blog-landscape-fabric-under-mulch-east-texas https://www.yarddoglandscapes.com/blog-landscape-fabric-under-mulch-east-texas Sat, 13 Jun 2026 14:00:00 GMT Landscape fabric under mulch sounds like a permanent fix for weeds. In two or three years it's usually the worst weed bed on the block, and a mess to tear out. Here's what actually happens and what we do instead. https://www.yarddoglandscapes.com/blog-irrigation-mistakes-east-texas https://www.yarddoglandscapes.com/blog-irrigation-mistakes-east-texas Sat, 06 Jun 2026 14:00:00 GMT Your sprinklers run every day and the lawn still looks cooked by July. It's usually one of three mistakes: wrong time, wrong schedule, or a broken head nobody's noticed. Here's how to audit your own system in 20 minutes. https://www.yarddoglandscapes.com/blog-fire-ants-east-texas https://www.yarddoglandscapes.com/blog-fire-ants-east-texas Sat, 30 May 2026 14:00:00 GMT Fire ant mounds pop up everywhere in May for a reason. Most people treat them the slow, expensive way. Here's the two-product system that actually works in East Texas, and the order matters. https://www.yarddoglandscapes.com/blog-bermuda-vs-st-augustine-east-texas https://www.yarddoglandscapes.com/blog-bermuda-vs-st-augustine-east-texas Sat, 23 May 2026 14:00:00 GMT Bermuda loves sun and foot traffic. St. Augustine handles shade. In East Texas, picking wrong means a thin, struggling lawn no fertilizer can fix. Here's how we decide on every property. https://www.yarddoglandscapes.com/blog-mulch-depth-east-texas https://www.yarddoglandscapes.com/blog-mulch-depth-east-texas Sat, 16 May 2026 14:00:00 GMT Big-box stores tell you 3 inches of mulch. We do 1 to 1.5 inches and the beds look better, the weeds stay down, and your plants don't suffocate. Here's the math and the reason. https://www.yarddoglandscapes.com/blog-east-texas-spring-fertilization https://www.yarddoglandscapes.com/blog-east-texas-spring-fertilization Sat, 09 May 2026 14:00:00 GMT Most people fertilize too early or too late. The May window in East Texas is short, real, and most homeowners blow right through it. Here's what to put down, when, and what we see go wrong. https://www.yarddoglandscapes.com/blog-east-texas-summer-lawn https://www.yarddoglandscapes.com/blog-east-texas-summer-lawn Sat, 02 May 2026 14:00:00 GMT Mid-July yard looking rough? Most East Texas lawn problems come from a handful of fixable mistakes. Here's what we see on almost every property, and what to change before this summer cooks your grass again.