Your Yard and Lawn - Meticulously Manicured or Casually Natural?

SeaBreeze

SeaBreeze

Endlessly Groovin'
Location
USA
We've always done our own lawn and yard work, and for various reasons we have always opted for the more natural casual look, no fine lines or perfect trimmings, etc. How about you? Is your property like something out of Homes and Gardens magazine, or just casual comfy? Our house is like our yard, easy going and casual.
 

I guess you could say more casual. In recent years we removed bushes that needed a lot of trimming. Put bricks for edging and added a cement bench, rocks, shepherds hooks with flowers in the beds in front. I have my veggie garden in the back yard,a bird feeder,bird bath and quite a few bird houses. We use to fertilize our grass and constantly battle the weeds. Now as long as we cut it on a regular basis it all looks green,weeds and all. From a distance it looks fine.
 
I know what you mean about the weeds Ruth. I stopped wanting to use any kind of pesticide or herbicide many years ago for fear that my pets might get sick from the poisons, plus I'm really against anyone using toxins in the environment, not good for man or beast. Back in my younger days I used to get on my hands and knees and dig up each and every dandelion in my yard....just to have another one pop up in it's place. Now I just mow them and am thankful for any green growth in my yard due to all the dry weather, etc.

The front yard we rocked in with volcanic rock years ago, with all the trees and small area it was hard to mow anyway. But, the weeds come up each spring through the plastic and rock, and I do have to pull them when I can. Was out there just a few days ago pulling and digging weeds. I don't do a veggie garden anymore because we go away sometimes on vacation and I don't want to let everything rot or die, or have anyone come over to tend my garden when we're gone. Even planting flowers is something of the past for me, a pot of silk flowers in front of my house is the best I do for now.

There may be a time when we no longer travel anywhere and are homebodies 24/7/365....then I might start with a small veggie and flower garden again. It does feel good to feel the earth and grow your own, very satisfying!
 
SeaBreeze said:
Very nice Kburra, do you do all the maintenance yourself?
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Yes,both my wife and self,spend approx about six hours a week,I do the heavy stuff like mowing and pruning ,mulching etc,and Carol weeding planting flower's etc and general tidying up,mind you as getting older is getting harder,the mind is willing but the body,well that`s another question?

Better view with a small video made sometime back
 
Thank goodness, we only own 3 feet out from our house and that gets taken care of by the neighborhood association. I have the proverbial black thumb when it comes to greenery (or brownery, in my case...) It must be catching, because the Spousal Equivalent laid some sod and planted some flowers. They're just about dead already.

At the last house I owned, I mowed and that was that. Never watered, never sprayed for baddies. The entire neighborhood had been built on a sand pit, so unless you trucked in good soil, sodded, watered constantly and prayed to your own personal deity, the best you could hope for was a somewhat green yard. My next door neighbor worked endlessly on his front yard and it didn't look a whole lot better than mine.

My ideal yard would be Astroturf and concrete. And a swimming pool being taken care of by a handsome young pool boy wearing a gold Speedo. Hey, I can dream, can't I?
 
Kudos to you and Carol Kburra, beautiful video of your property, lovely flowers and trees, and the birds are delightful! :sunglass:
 
jujube said:
Thank goodness, we only own 3 feet out from our house and that gets taken care of by the neighborhood association. I have the proverbial black thumb when it comes to greenery (or brownery, in my case...) It must be catching, because the Spousal Equivalent laid some sod and planted some flowers. They're just about dead already.

At the last house I owned, I mowed and that was that. Never watered, never sprayed for baddies. The entire neighborhood had been built on a sand pit, so unless you trucked in good soil, sodded, watered constantly and prayed to your own personal deity, the best you could hope for was a somewhat green yard. My next door neighbor worked endlessly on his front yard and it didn't look a whole lot better than mine.

My ideal yard would be Astroturf and concrete. And a swimming pool being taken care of by a handsome young pool boy wearing a gold Speedo. Hey, I can dream, can't I?
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I think my Philly might volunteer on occasion....you could ask. Lulz.
 
Manicured.......I've never minded yard work so I do it weekly myself.

Pre-emergent spring and fall to alleviate weeds.....fertilize early spring and late summer.....run a gas string trimmer and edger around sidewalk, driveway, fence, storage shed, flower beds, trees etc.....I have a in ground programmable lawn sprinkler system for use during the hot, dry summer months.

My lawn is really not all that large but to keep it looking the way I want it to it still takes me right at 3 1/2 hours to edge, trim, mow & bag and use the blower afterwards.
 
A tip for you landscapers. Dandelions are a perennial not an annual. So the time to go after them is in the fall because no new ones will sprout and show up in the spring.

If you can't use pesticides, what I found out that was handy was a propane torch with a fine flame. Just burn the leaves and leave them there. They will die. Pulling dandelions is a waste of time if you leave the root behind.
 
Cut and trim what's there with occasional planting. I do weed but not as much in the past. The secret to controlling, not eliminating weeds naturally is controlling the bare spots so seeds can't work their way in or settle there. Also I've found weeding best after a day of rain on a soaked lawn/soil. Just because it rains doesn't mean the soil will be soft. This only happens a couple times of year.

Dandylions and other weeds are tough because you have to get most if not all of the roots out. And plant something in that weed pull hole right away. Highly nutrientized soil and grass seed right way watering with a water can 3 days in a row gets the ball rolling in many areas of the country.
 
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