Lawn Tips

You should probably have some personal experience with the fact that a beautiful lawn does not come without some effort. The quality of your lawn depends on a variety of factors, like the amount of effort you put in, the type of soil you have, te type of lawn seed you buy, the fertilization process you use, the techniques you usually perform while digging and chopping, etc. But as most lawn grasses grow vigorously, they need additional amounts of nutrients added in order to stay looking nice and owners that take good care of their particular seasonal needs. Weed control through the use of herbicides and the use of fertilizers and not enough. Proper watering, for instance, is considered crucial; especially during the summer. The mowed lawn aesthetic originated in the late 18th century from aristocratic France and England. Landscape architect Andre LeNotre designed small lawn areas for the palace of Versailles. This aesthetic was rapidly adopted by the rich of England, because turf grass grew easily in the English climate of moderate temperatures and frequent rain. The U.S. colonists also adopted the lawn aesthetic in an attempt to transform the wilderness of the new country into the sophistication of the old world. The middle class did not copy the wealthy look until after the civil war, with the stimulus of the new landscape architects leading the way. Soon, in the early 20th century we were being bombarded by advertising to have that "look" and in many cases shamed into submission by what the Joneses had next door. If you happen to be installing a new lawn, make sure you spray all the weeds and thick bladed grasses before you start. Once you have the lawn installed, you sure don't want to go through all the trouble of killing areas of your lawn and reseeding. If you make sure that all of these undesirables have been killed before you start, you'll be way ahead of the game. Of course, when selecting grass seed, you should always use a blend that is recommended for your area. But if you are planning on reseeding your lawn yourself, you can probably remember one of the most popular Hollywood movies of the 90s titled, "Honey I shrunk the Kids." If you can recall the part where the kids are walking through the lawn and the blades of grass are huge compared to them, this is what it is like to be a grass seed under a mulch of straw. Those little tiny grass seeds are lost under the straw, and that's exactly what you want to protect them from the intense rays of the sun. As the sun works its way across the sky the grass seeds actually receive filtered sunlight. Your lawn should receive enough sun to warm the seeds so they grow, but also enough shade to protect the tender young grass plants. As the grass plants grow, they also raise the mulch with them to a degree, providing additional shade for the seeds that haven't germinated yet. The shade that straw mulch provides also helps to retain the moisture around the seeds.  Grass seeds will never get this kind of protection from hydro mulch. One of the most important markets in the gardening or landscaping industry today, is that of lawn maintenance. According to Wildones Natural Landscapers, Ltd this industry uses 67 million pounds of synthetic pesticides only in the US for lawns, 580 millions gallons of gasoline are used in lawnmowers, $25 billions is spent for the lawn care industry alone, 700 millions is spent for pesticides on US lawns and more than 20 million acres are planned in residential lawns every year.

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 11 July 2006 )