"tenplay" wrote in message
news
tenplay wrote:
I am a real novice at taking care of lawns and gardens. My yard has a
huge "lawn" that is in very bad shape. It has weeds, moss, crabgrass,
bald spots, etc.. Other than regular mowing and occasional weeding, I
don't know what else to do. A friend suggested hiring a lawn service
business for a year or two to get the "lawn" back into decent shape. Has
anyone tried this before? What exactly would they do? How much should I
expect to pay? I live in Western Washington. Thanks for any advice.

Appreciate your different points of view. My backyard abuts a natural
wetlands area with a lot of birds and other wildlife. So I should study
the possible effects of any chemicals before using them. I will visit the
local office of the Washington Cooperative Extension before I proceed with
work on the lawn. Thanks.


You might also want to check to see if you're even allowed to use certain
chemicals if you are within a certain number of feet of a designated
wetlands area. Improperly use the wrong stuff, and potentially you could be
liable for some expensive recovery operations (and fines, too), and they may
only need to prove you used the chemicals, and not that the chemicals
actually affected anything.

My two cents: A "perfect" lawn is not realistically possible. And if you are
successful in creating the mono-culture that is a perfect lawn, it won't
last long at all. In other words, you might make it to perfection, but you
won't be able to maintain it, and it'll crash hard and fast after reaching
that point.

And what good is the "perfect" lawn, anyway?

One other option that I don't remember seeing is to get rid of the lawn, or
significant portions of the lawn, and replace it with landscaping that is
more interesting to look at than a simulated green carpet, is lower
maintenance, and less expensive to maintain, too. "Yard" doesn't have to
equal "lawn". And you might be surprised at how little regular maintenance
the right landscaping actually needs.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.

Power Lawncare Tools for Spring Clean-up:
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/blackanddecker/