Spring gardening, lawn care tips from Chalet Nursery in Wilmette

WILMETTE, Ill. (WLS) -- As the weather warms up it's time for homeowners to shift their focus to their lawns and gardens.

Jennifer Brennan with the Chalet Nursery in Wilmette is an expert on all things flowers, plants and lawns.

"The lawn's all greened up and that means that the grass has woke up and all the Forsythia is in bloom out there, and that's the sign that you need to the fertilizer on your lawn," said Brennan.

The first thing you need is a pre-emergent weed control

"You'll start treating your lawn the first week in May, with a systemic fungicide to prevent those spots from showing up in July and August," said Brennan.

Deers and bunnies may look sweet but they're not very kind to plants.

There are several repellents on the market that don't kill animals.

Among them, Brennan recommends the Dual Action Rabbit Repellent by the Liquid fence company.

It contains cinnamon and capsaicin which will irritate the animal's mouth.

"It kind of burns their mouths like you would burn your mouth if you ate an habanero pepper, and they go some place else," said Brennan.

Brennan recommends getting those repellants now so the animals don't come back.