No idea what most of my lawn is, but several years back I put in a bunch of zoysia out front, where the water company decided they needed to dig up my yard (along with everyone else's in the neighborhood) to replace some infrastructure. They left a mess that we all had to deal with, and after a little research I did zoysia plugs because it's supposed to grow a thick root structure that chokes out competing weeds. I don't really see a difference now, but eh . . . Anyway, a couple years ago I switched from doing my lawn myself to paying a lawn service, and I'm considering dumping them because all they do is mow. They don't clean up yard debris and they aren't maintaining the lawn properly.
Here's my front lawn right after mowing. A bit dry. And here's the back, just after a rainstorm, complete with visiting ducks.
My yard looks similar to Lanzman's picture. I don't plant grass, I just mow whatever grows. I don't plant grass because I'm not a "lawn guy" (I'm into trees and flowers) but I actually like mowing my lawn - it's my favorite outside chore. That said I already mentioned the bahai grass that pops up now and then but thankfully never gets a foothold too often in my yard. That would be my "most hated" I guess. Centipede grass is another pain-in-the-butt grass. I don't know if clover falls under grass or "ground cover" but some years I have a lot of it and that is some lush, wildlife friendly stuff to have in your yard.
well that totally makes me because I eat the small leafed clover with the yellow flowers. It's sweet tasting. I don't know about the big leafed clover with the purple flowers. As for not having lawns I agree with that! I'd rather have wildflowers but the homeowners association would descend upon me like hungry wolves. When I was in Bosnia almost all the houses (not apartments in cities obviously) had wildflowers covering their property with their free-range super healthy looking chickens eating all the bugs and seeds. Even if I can buy chicken at the grocery store I'd have a lot of wildlife in general in my yard if I could just do that, but I guess lawns are now part of accepted & expected American culture. That said I do have one area of my backyard dedicated to growing wild flowers and I might expand that area next year.
Mowing my lawn turns out to be about 3/4 mile of walking/mowing. It takes about 25 minutes to mow it. Another 10-15 to trim, edge, and clean up with the leaf blower.
I had little choice! All the subdivisions in my county have a homeowners association. I'm sure I could have found an older home built before they had them, but I only had a few days before my time to find a house ran out and I would have to pay out of pocket for motels. I was still in the army and just got transferred from Germany - I only had a few days and yes they do count the weekends and holidays against you. I couldn't live in Richmond County (Augusta) because the schools were terrible, but more neighborhoods didn't have homeowners associations. The better schools were my priority of course. I was also getting a VA loan and they are pretty picky on houses they will finance.
If the grass is dry and not too long my entire yard takes about 30 minutes to mow, maybe another 15 to weed wack but I don't use a leaf blower. Luckily I have no hills to mow because that can be dangerous! Going on three (maybe four) years on my cheap mower with a two year warranty!
my Murray brand mower was $ 120 about four years ago. A similar type (but improved) is only about $20 more - not a bad deal! I bought one for my son as a sort of housewarming gift. And it has the Briggs & Stratton 300 engine which is very dependable. So yeah I was thinking about battery powered when mine does give out but as long as mine still works great and starts with just a gentle tug I can't complain. It is "self propelled" as in I propel it myself! But I might get the blade sharpened. I've tapped the concrete a few times so I guess I'm about due for a sharpening or maybe I'm order a new blade. I just remembered! Do NOT try this at home!
I had to buy a new mower 2-3 weeks ago, my previous one suddenly got hard to pull start. I try to start to start it, and it sticks and takes a lot of force to pull. I guess I can't complain too much, it lasted 14 years. Only changed the oil on it once, changed the plug once (4-5 years ago), never sharpened the blade, only replaced it once (8-9 years ago). I think I only added oil twice, if that. It still started on the first pull after running it for the first time each season. The first start of the season took 3-4 pulls to get it started. Never winterized it or did anything you're supposed to when not running it for the winter or storing it for four or so months. It was a Toro Recycler, Briggs and Stratton motor, I think. Bought another Toro, with a Honda motor this time.
Two weeks ago, the neighbor across the street was getting their lawn mowed by a service. I pulled into my driveway, I always back in. And right after I shut off the engine, and was about to get out, their mower slung a rock and shattered the passenger front window. The tint keep it from completely shattering and showering glass over the car. It was freaking loud, like having a firecracker go off next to you.
I'm glad I don't have to worry about "winterizing" because you have to cut your grass year round (most years) here in Georgia. That said I did notice with the mower I bought my son that there's an advisory about not using 15 percent ethanol gas, you can use 10 percent only. I believe this is because if the mower sits for a long time with a tankful of the higher ethanol gas it can cause problems. I probably have a similar advisory for my four year old mower but because it never goes longer than a month in the winter without being used, the ethanol percentage is a moot point.
I sharpen the blade on my mower at the start of every mowing season. For my Newton electric mower I actually have two blades that I swap out. On Holly's mower . . . well, I can't get the blade off of it, so I sharpen it in place.
