Front Yard Landscaping Ideas

Gardening – Lawn Maintenance Chores Part I

In this article we're going to cover some common law maintenance chores for keeping your lawn in tip top shape.

There are basically three types of lawns; high maintenance for those who need to show their lawn off to the whole neighborhood, medium maintenance for your average lawn and finally low maintenance which is basically just doing the bare minimum so that the town doesn't fine you for having grass as tall as trees.

Believe it or not, only about 2% of lawns fall into the first category. Not too many people are so fanatical that they have to have a lawn that is good enough to have the Queen of England over to see. About 60% of your lawns fall into the middle of the road range and finally the remainder 38% are lawns that you'd be ashamed to show to your worst enemy. Yes, there are a lot of lazy people out there when it comes to lawn care.

To determine which category you want to fall in you have to ask yourself two basic questions. How much time do I have and how much money do I want to spend? Once you've decided on a budget and how lazy or not so lazy you want to be that will determine the type of maintenance program that you're going to dive into. If you're thinking of a velvety putting green lawn then you are looking at very high maintenance. If you want your lawn just to be healthy then you are looking at a medium maintenance program, and if all you care about is not getting fined by the town then low maintenance is for you. However, this will not make you very popular with your neighbors. Of course you can always go with some kind of ground cover instead of grass and pretty much rid yourself of chores altogether.

Since most people will fall into the medium maintenance category, we'll focus on that first. To do what is considered medium maintenance on your lawn you're going to have to devote about 1 to 3 hours a week of your time to taking care of your lawn. The best grass type to choose would be a mix of creeping red fescue and Kentucky bluegrass, and maybe a perennial ryegrass. The Kentucky blue is quite resistant to drought and will form an attractive, thick carpet of dark blueish green. It's really nice to look at and not expensive. These types of grass will provide a good base and stand up well to lots of traffic. Plus, ryegrass is not a fast grower so you won't have to mow it a lot. Also, you won't have to water very often.

For most people your medium maintenance lawn is the best choice and a nice happy medium between going overboard and letting your lawn go to pot. This plan will save you time, energy, chemical use and water. And the good thing is, with proper care your lawn will tolerate a lot of abuse from the environment. Even with a lot of wear and tear you'll still have a healthy attractive lawn. It may not be fit for the Queen of England but it will be more than good enough for the neighbors, and the town.

In future articles we'll go into a more in depth look at maintaining your lawn, whichever plan you choose.
About The Author

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Gardening