Monday, September 12, 2011

Memories of Lawn Care...





My Uncle Michael loved to work in the yard. In fact, he was a self-described fanatic!




He was the first person I knew who had his own fertilizer cart and had a flawless bluegrass lawn. I was four years old when I first saw him work with his cart and I remember asking him what he was doing. He stopped and explained why it was important to "feed the lawn" on a regular basis to keep it healthy.




When my cousin was assigned the chore of mowing the lawn, my uncle insisted he mow one direction and then the other so there were diamond shapes in the grass. My cousin inherited his father's love for the lawn...as an adult, he spends hours fertilizing it, killing weeds, and making it beautiful and healthy.




My Dad liked to pick on his younger brother Michael. He knew how important that lawn was to him, but he still liked riding our horse (her name was Lucky) across Michael's front lawn. You can imagine how exasperated Michael became when he saw Lucky's hoof prints in his beautiful green turf!




If a healthy lawn and garden is important to you, you know how necessary regular maintenance is. September is the best time for planting grass seed -- early enough in the season for seeds to germinate and grass to grow before those cold winter temperatures settle in. At The Green Thumbers, we have a variety of grass seed types to fit your lawn's individual needs.




It is also the time for strengthening you lawn for the winter. Scotts Lawn Pro Super Turf Builder with Wintergard is an excellent fertilizer which will help your lawn to be ready for the winter months ahead (if You are fertilizing your lawn on the Scotts 4 Step program, this product is Step 4).




Growing a healthy lawn takes patience and skill, but with a little effort and care, you can have a beautiful, healthy lawn all year round. Hopefully, no one will make hoof-prints in your front lawn.