HomeAbout Sharon FalcoBlogCut Mowing Time in Half on Your Real Estate
Cut Mowing Time in Half on Your Real Estate
Posted Thursday, August 15, 2013Do you need to be convinced that it would be nice to spend less time mowing your lawn? Think of all the fun things you could be doing instead of burning all that gas, making all that noise and sweating in the sun! Here are some ways to free up your valuable time and improve your real estate at the same time.
- Stop watering and fertilizing. Many people make more work for themselves by encouraging lush growth of their lawn. This is a waste of water and encourages problems with fungus. Using chemical fungicides creates a toxic cycle. You especially don’t want to use pesticides where your kids and pets roll around.
- Plant more trees. Trees are a priceless addition to your real estate. They provide shade, habitat for birds, a place to hang a hammock, visual interest, and even food, if you want to try growing fruit trees. And they slow down the growth of the grass beneath them.
- Plant more shrubs. Shrubs do most of the above, and many have beautiful flowers. They can also be used to create a hedge or screen for privacy.
- Plant ground covers. These are herbaceous perennials that spread horizontally, replacing that pesky grass. Options include some fragrant herbs like thyme and flowering plants like alyssum.
- Put in a patio. Use pavers under garden furniture, and you won’t need to move it around to mow that area.
- Plant flower beds. The possibilities are endless: annual, perennial, fragrant, nostalgic, your favorite colors – you can go wild with this.
- Use mulch around your trees, shrubs, and flower beds. Wood chips last more than one season, conserve water, check weed growth and make it easier to mow around the new plantings that will transform your real estate.
- Just don’t mow so much. You don’t need to keep your lawn shaved. You can easily let the grass grow for 7-10 days, unless it’s been raining a lot. The more you mow grass, the faster it grows. Don’t encourage it. If you have enough acreage, you can even leave small islands of un-mown areas, as small as 3 X 10 feet. Toss in some native wildflower seeds and watch what comes up. You’ll create a refuge for toads, frogs, turtles, lizards, birds and beneficial insects.
Links
Ground covers
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/groundcovers/tips.cfm
Patio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-M20Q2DVvs
Mulch
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/trees-new/text/muching.html