Five Steps to Effective Lawn Maintenance
It has been proven scientifically that green spaces in our surroundings are therapeutic for our health and well-being. Indeed one only needs to look at the most affluent properties to realize that as one progresses along our hierarchy of needs, then things such as beautiful surroundings begin to matter and inevitably, the designs incorporate plants and trees of all variety, and off course well maintained lawns.
As avid readers of my site well know, I am an advocate of not only pursuing the benefits of these healthy surroundings in a domestic setting i.e. around the house, but more importantly chasing the benefits of doing at least some of the work one’s self.
There are immense benefits to be derived by you the homeowner from doing a bit of work around the house, but we have become so specialized in our thinking and organization of labor, that the maintenance of grounds is now a specialty skill for which we need to call in a ‘professional’ landscaper. Instead, approaching the work directly really allows you to distill the process into a few easy steps to ensure that your lawn is maintained beautifully:
Frequent Cutting
At first, this seems like a drag, however consider it could be done one every other week instead of the trip to the gym. In my case I use a lightweight electric lawn mower which allows my eager 11 year son to ‘take a try’ and eventually he has effectively trained himself to mow almost the entire lawn and the quality of his sleep is greatly improved after this exercise!
Right Equipment
I strongly recommend the electric range of lawn care equipment and specially the Greenworks brand. A brand which I have personally used over the last 5 years and I am very impressed.
Ongoing levelling
– I have been intermittently evaluating the prospect of acquiring a robotic lawn mower to cover the bi-weekly cutting on alternate occasions. The key requirement however is that the lawn be completely level or at least smoothly undulating. This is to prevent the robotic mower from getting stuck in a hole or other imperfection in the lawn. The answer to this is to spend some time progressively levelling the lawn over a period of time. I have done this for a while by progressively adding some loose soil to the low spots and compacting by sprinkling or by simply repetitive mowing.
Periodic Fertilizing
Any good nitrogenous fertilizer will be a good periodic addition to the lawn grass to keep it very green and thriving. Look for a mixed NPK fertilizer with the first number being the highest, e.g. 17.8.8 indicating that it’s rich in nitrogen.
Adequate Sunlight
I began to notice that the lawn grass was becoming sparse especially under the trees and shrubs. It took me a while to conclude that this feature was due to inadequate sunlight around these areas. The answer was to either prune the trees.
While the upkeep and maintenance of a lawn is in fact a significant expense and requires a fair commitment of time and resources, the increasingly concrete world in which we live make it all the more valuable to have a green space for simple enjoyment and relaxation.
