Lawn Care Tips, Ideas, and Advice

The lawn has been the most powerful landscaping tradition in North America for more than a century. Anthropologists suggest that the reason is genetic. People feel more comfortable surrounded by the savanna-like expanses that were home to the ancestors from whom we’ve evolved. Sociologists say that manicured green turf is a symbol of peace and order. Historians trace the origins of the modem lawn to eighteenth-century England and France, where lawns became symbols of pride, power, and wealth.

Veteran gardeners offer a more pragmatic explanation for the popularity of lawns. They point out that lawns cover the most ground with the least effort and expense. They also take less time and expertise to grow and maintain than gardens. Surveys back this up. They show that flower and vegetable gardens require upwards of 20 hours of tending per season per 100 square feet. Lawns demand less than an hour of labor per 100 square feet per season.

Those who prefer simple explanations argue that it would be hard to come up with an alternative surface that is as beautiful and functional. Velvet green lawns open views to your house and gardens. They take on a glow from a rising or setting sun that can make you feel that all is right with the world. And there’s no better surface upon which to kick a ball or have a picnic. The lawn is a multipurpose surface that can be a badminton court one moment and a water park the next, complete with wading pools and water slides.

A Sensible Approach to Lawn Care

Many people are looking for new ways to fit lawn care into their busy lifestyles. The traditional high-maintenance method, with five or six applications of fertilizer, herbicides, and pesticides every year, is no longer an option for many homeowners. Lawn-care services are not right for everyone either, especially for those who are uncomfortable with applying chemicals that may prove hazardous. Health-conscious homeowners don’t want to lose control over what goes on their lawns or risk contributing to lawn-related pollution. Instead, smart homeowners are seeking and adopting a new approach: lawn care that’s low maintenance and sustainable without worries about family health or environmental pollution.

On this site, you’ll learn how to have a good-looking lawn with no worries. You’ll receive step-by-step directions on restoring an old lawn or replanting a new one with improved grass varieties that require less maintenance. You’ll be introduced to the latest in mowing equipment, irrigation techniques that save water, time-saving mowing methods, and ways to control weeds and pests without harmful chemicals.

Homeowners are beginning to understand that the lawn is not a chemistry experiment in which you add the right ingredients and, presto, you have lawn. It turns out growing grass is like growing other plants—get the culture or conditions right, and nature will help you take care of the rest. The lawn remains an important symbol and a key part to creating a modern, functional, and beautiful landscape, but fewer and fewer homeowners want the expensive, labor-intensive, and pollution-generating lawn of the past.