If spring lawn care is about getting your lawn healthy and green, summer lawn care is about KEEPING it

healthy while temperatures soar and rainfall becomes a fleeting memory. Here are some tips for

keeping your lawn in shape over those long, hot days of summer.

After the spring growing season, summer brings quite a bit of stress to lawn grasses. Not only are the

heat and drought damaging, but we aren’t as forgiving in the summer as we are in the winter. We want

our lawns lush and green for outdoor activities, and we try to fight nature by continuing to fertilize,

water, and coax new growth out of our lawns no matter what the weather.

However, by understanding and respecting the seasonal changes of turf grasses,

you can take steps to care gently for your lawn as the mercury rises.

Cool-season grasses (such as fescue, bluegrass, and rye) grow best

when temperatures are in the 60s F.

Warm-season grasses (including Zoysia, St. Augustine, Centipede, and

Bermuda) like temperatures in the 70s.

Once temperatures get into the 80s and above, lawns will begin to struggle a

little, with cool-season grasses having the hardest time. Some cool-season lawns will even go dormant

in the summer, looking brown and brittle until early fall.

Water Wisely

Lawns need at least one inch of water per week, and more when the heat is severe. Use a rain

gauge or straight-sided can to keep track of the amount of water received from rainfall & irrigation.

Water deeply and less frequently to encourage drought-tolerant roots.

Water early in the day to reduce evaporation and fungal growth.

Either water your lawn regularly and deeply, or don’t water at all. Don’t let your lawn go brown and

dormant, then try to “water it back to life.” If your lawn goes dormant in summer, it should stay

that way until fall – don’t worry, it should recover once the weather changes.

Mowing Tips

Raise your mower blade in the summer. Taller grass is more drought-tolerant, grows deeper

roots, and helps to prevent weed seeds from germinating. Cool-season grasses should be

mowed at 3”- 4” during the summer, while warm-season grasses should be mowed at 2”- 3”.

Mulching grass clippings helps keep moisture levels steady.

Mow regularly, to prevent cutting more than 1/3 of the grass blade at a time. This keeps your

grass healthier and prevents the clippings from smothering the grass.

Keep mower blades sharp. Make sure your mower is cutting your grass, not tearing it, to

minimize stress during hot temperatures. Source: TodaysHomeOwner.com

Please do not hesitate to call.

I will be happy to assess the Current Market Value of your

home and talk about any Real Estate

queries you may have.

It is always a pleasure!

Merjean Enriquez Full Time Sales Representative

Not intended to solicit those already working with a realtor

Community Events in Durham

Downtown Oshawa Sidewalk SALE When: June 14-17 from 10:00am to 5:00pm Where: Downtown Oshawa Ajax Downs FUNraiser for the Prince & Princess Gala When: June 15, 2017 6:30pm to 9:30pm Where: Ajax Downs OLG 50 Alexander's Crossing, Ajax Nova's Ark 7th Annual Friendship Walk When: June 17, 2017 10:00am to 2:00pm Where: Grass Park, 41 Baldwin St, Whitby Canada Day When: July 1, 2017 2:00pm to 11:00pm Where: Lakeview Park 55 Lakeview Park Avenue, Oshawa

Contact Merjean for more info

June 2017

www.MerjAtHome.ca

In the News with

Where the heart is

Brought to you each month by

Merjean Enriquez Full Time Sales Representative

Merjean@MerjAtHome.ca

Direct: 647.515.MERJ

Office: 905.723.5944

For more information go to

From My Kitchen Frozen Strawberry Lemonade

To cool off on a hot summer day, make this Frozen Strawberry Lemonade recipe. This frozen lemonade takes the traditional summertime drink to a whole new level. Fresh strawberries and lemons get blended together to create cold, refreshing summer drinks. This homemade lemonade is just begging to be made for an afternoon on your patio. It's a great frozen drink that your kids and their friends will love after they spend the day out in the pool. Add this thirst-quenching beverage to your list of summer recipes.

Ingredients

59 fl oz lemonade

4-5 strawberries, washed and sliced

1 lemon, thinly sliced

1/4 cup sugar

Instructions

Pour approximately 2/3 of the lemonade into a freezer safe container. Freeze until completely frozen but still slightly soft — about 6-8 hours.

In a blender, add the frozen lemonade, sugar, remainder of the liquid lemonade, the lemon slices and the strawberries.

Blend until smooth but still frozen. Serve immediately. Source: www.allrecipes.com

For more recipes visit www.MerjAtHome.ca

For full Market Watch Report visit www.MerjAtHome.ca

Active Listings Increase in May June 5, 2017 -- Toronto Real Estate Board President Larry Cerqua announced that Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 10,196 sales through TREB's MLS® System in May 2017 – down by 20.3% compared to 12,790 sales reported in May 2016. Sales of detached homes were down by 26.3%. Sales of condominium apartments were down by 6.4%.

Active listings – the number of properties available for sale at the end of May – were up by 42.9 per cent compared to the lowest level in 15 years recorded in May 2016, but remained below the average and peak during that period. The number increased considerably for low-rise home types including detached and semi-detached houses and townhouses. Active listings for condominium apartments were down compared to May 2016.

"Home buyers definitely benefited from a better supplied market in May, both in comparison to the same time last year and to the first four months of 2017. However, even with the robust increase in active listings, inventory levels remain low. At the end of May, we had less than two months of inventory. This is why we continued to see very strong annual rates of price growth, albeit lower than the peak growth rates earlier this year," said Mr. Cerqua.

Selling prices continued to increase strongly in May compared to the same month in 2016. The MLS® HPI Composite Benchmark price was up by 29% year-over-year. The average selling price for all home types combined for the TREB Market Area as a whole was up by 14.9% to $863,910. Year-over-year price increases were greater for condominium apartments compared to low-rise home types. This likely reflects the fact that the low-rise market segments benefited most from the increase in listings.