How to Rehabilitate Your Landscape After a Storm
Rehabilitate Your Landscape
Hurricane Matthew is still fresh in the minds of Florida residents, especially as rebuilding efforts continue. If your own home was touched by Matthew’s strong wind and heavy rain, then you may find yourself facing the task of landscaping restoration. There are certain steps you can take yourself, but others should be left for a professional landscaping company to handle.
Step 1: Create a Plan
You will be tempted to jump to action, but the best landscaping restoration begins with a solid, thorough plan. Wait until the storm has cleared and visibility is high. Prioritize the cleanup process by first identifying access issues: are there any entries to your home or car that cannot be accessed? Then identify potential risk factors, like trees or limbs that are unstable and could fall. This is critical, since damaged trees have the potential to fall without warning and injure anybody below.
Step 2: Hire Professionals to Cut and Remove Trees
This is not a DIY project! Trees are, of course, extremely heavy and will cause death or serious injury if cut and removed incorrectly. The chainsaws needed to cut large trees also pose a hazard, so this cleanup task is meant for professional companies only.
Step 3: Prune Small Trees, Shrubs, and Perennials
Once the damaged trees have been safely removed, you can utilize your gardening skills to salvage or remove smaller plants that were affected by storm damage. Some plants can heal with time, but others may be beyond saving. You may find yourself needing fresh landscaping after this to fill in the gaps of what was ruined.
Step 4: Assess Drainage
Mosquitos love standing water, so it is critical that you inspect your land for drainage issues after flooding and handle standing water carefully. The CDC recommends that homeowners wear gloves and protective clothing to avoid any infection from dirty flood water. If excessive water remains on your property long after the storm, you should consider calling a company that specializes in landscape drainage to help you return your property to its pre-storm condition.