Lawn Care & Landscaping

I really let this place go for the past few years. I’ll be honest – I was on strike. After living in Connecticut and Florida, where competition among neighbors for the greener lawn is a bit higher than it is here, I had enough. I really didn’t even want to look at a lawn. And […]

I know, I know, I have railed against mowing the lawn for years now. It’s just that now I have a new lawnmower. One that I can sit on and not cause my back to absolutely kill me after a few minutes of walking. Over the past three years, I’ve gone from not mowing much […]

When we lived in Connecticut and then Florida, there were these rules – some unwritten and some written. Rules that said each and every property needed to have its lawn mowed and that it needed to look “tidy.” I sort of agreed with the rules, as they were most likely aimed at forcing the not […]

I did a lot of work outside yesterday. Honestly, my goal was only to trim a few shrubs out front and call it a day. I didn’t want to go overboard. But what I ended up doing was trimming three shrubs out front, hack down a big tree-like bush on the side along with some […]

Alright everyone, I’ve decided to get off my duff and start cleaning things up around here. I thought I could just sit back and fall into oblivion for the rest of my life, but unfortunately I’ve been raised to pick up after myself. I just can’t sit here any longer watching the grass grow. It’s […]

If there’s one thing I really didn’t want to get into down here, it’s “fixing up the house.” I’m so over that. Ever since we purchased our first house back in New York, I’ve been dumping loads of time and money into making things look and feel nicer. Well, one can only be duped so […]

Yep, that’s what we had. A long, hot Summer drought. I am not sure if a drought was ever declared around these here parts, but a drought is what we had. I know that when there is hardly any water in the river down the road, we have problems. On top of the lack of […]

Earlier this year, I put together a few quick compost piles. I made the containers out of simple rabbit fencing (or whatever it’s called). You can see them in the photos below. Ever since I put these things up, we have been collecting anything that will break down. Basically, that was just our food scraps. […]

This is a real problem. Moles and Voles eating the roots of Holly bushes, that is. It’s infuriatingly maddening. It’s time, labor and money down the drain. I have read articles on the internet about people having big beautiful Holly bushes suddenly get brown and crispy. They wondered what in the heck was causing the […]

Okay, so I am probably thinking the same thing everyone else out there is thinking right now. What is the best cool season grass for heat and drought? That’s right. If you are reading this post, you most likely live in the “cooler” areas of the U.S. and are experiencing very stubborn and annoying heat. […]

Yes folks, it’s that time of year again. Time for your beautiful green grass that you worked so hard on to turn brown, crispy and ugly. As an avid grass watcher and nurturer, I have to confess that it’s a bit nerve racking to watch something like this unfold. I suppose I don’t care. True, […]

This is an awesome post. I went organic this year and I am so glad I did. Okay, let me give you a little background – We moved into this house a few years ago. When we moved in, the lawn was in terrible shape. There were weeds and bare spots all over the place. […]

Let’s get this out in the open. I didn’t even know Neseed existed until today. I think Neseed stands for “Northeast Seed.” They operate out of Hartford, CT and sell nice 50lb bags of sun and shade mix grass seed. I told you in my last post that I ran out of seed for my […]

I suppose it is the season. Yes folks, it’s back. Spring in the Northeast. Well, I guess it’s Spring anywhere in the Northern hemisphere, but you know what I am talking about. Springtime means getting your lawn back into shape. I know, I know…it looked so good when you put it to bed in the […]

Last year’s growing season taught me some lessons about lawn care. Some of the lessons were kind of expensive and some not so much. Here they are for you to browse: – Don’t waste your money on all those products on the store shelves. – Lawns want moisture and organics. If you have neither, you […]

This is a simple post. There are two things I want to show you. 1. A Kentucky Bluegrass seed germinating 2. The new Pennington Smart Seed sun and shade mix grass seed popping up through the compost I put down last week Boy, they aren’t kidding when they say that Bluegrass seed takes over four […]

I told you I was going to take some pictures of the leaf mulch and compost. You should have never doubted me. My little plan of mulching the leaves into the grass instead of raking them up is working out very well. You would be amazed at how much you can condense a big pile […]

This is a project that I have been waiting all year to do. It’s called, “Overseeding the lawn” (the correct time of year). Every time I have put down grass seed, it was during the hottest, driest time of year. The seed didn’t do much because there was nothing much to do. Eventually, I think […]

I am eagerly awaiting September 1, so I can overseed the lawn. I know I have mentioned this on more than one occasion, but I guess I’m just excited. I went over to the Depot today to look for a new lawn spreader. Actually, I went to Sears first. No luck at either place. They […]

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I went up to Home Depot yesterday and picked up some Ortho Weed B Gone Plus Crabgrass Control to deal with the weeds that are popping up all over the lawn. This is a selective herbicide, which means that the chemical only kills the weeds, not the actual […]

I always thought that crab grass seeded itself once a year. I think I am wrong with that assumption because I was just outside looking at the grass when I noticed fresh seeds on a fresh chunk of crab grass. Remember, it’s still Spring. Is that weird? How in the world does crab grass seed […]

I know I am probably beating a dead horse here, but I wanted to post a few photos of today’s lawn dethatching. Yesterday, I showed you some photos of dethatching the front lawn. Today, I am going to show you some photos of the back yard getting dethatched. I know, very exciting. Actually, I dethatched […]

I have been beating myself up over this one for a few days. I have gone back and forth, looking on the internet, trying to determine if I need to have the lawn dethatched. I know, I know…as my father would say, “Just mow the lawn and get on with your life.” Well, unfortunately, I […]

I think the first thing you need to do is to recognize that your lawn has crabgrass growing in it. Sometimes, crabgrass isn’t all that obvious. Actually, if your lawn looks great during the hot summer months but not in the spring or fall, you might have a crabgrass problem. This type of weed loves […]

Okay, today is no doubt the nicest day of the year so far. It’s mid 60s and sunny. I can’t complain about that. Yesterday, I had 15 yards of mulch delivered from the place down in East Hampton. I got it for $22 per yard, plus $8 for delivery (per yard). That’s $30 per yard […]

I think that’s a myth. There’s no such thing. I’m sure people go out to do a big cleanup every Autumn…you know the kind, when the kids jump in the huge piles of leaves, but it’s unrealistic to think that you don’t have to keep cleaning all season long. I have already done two big […]

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, lawn aeration was on my list of things to do. I think I mentioned that I was going to purchase a plug aerator next Autumn. Well, as with many things I say I am going to do in the future, this got done a little faster […]

A few days ago, I gave up. I admitted to myself that my patchwork ideas and techniques were no match for this large semi-terrible lawn. Sure, it was beautiful during the Summer, but now its true self is showing. Ever since it started getting chilly outside, parts of the grass have been turning brown. I […]

I think I would like to start this post off by making something clear. I would like to let you know that there was a time in my life when I had a half ounce of coolness. Sure, everyone I have known throughout my life might disagree with that statement, but I know, in my […]

If you are wondering why my back is a little sore, it’s because I shoveled about thirteen yards of mulch last night and this morning. Laura helped out last night, and a good helper she was. I posted some pictures a while ago of some areas that I wanted to mulch. Many of you probably […]

I don’t know if you are aware of this, but I have been busting my butt to get the front sidewalk area of the house landscaped. It wasn’t all that difficult because things were in pretty good shape. I really like mulch areas, so I decided to add a few. Keeps the weeds down, if […]

There is something that really bugs me about myself. I think I’ll tell you what it is. My brother has the same problem. We I get something in my head, it rarely leaves until I satisfy it. Many times, it has to do with a project I am doing and it involves me going to […]

As you may know, I have been doing a lot of work outside trying to make things look nice. A lot of sweat has gone into these projects. Things are rolling along smoothly and actually getting somewhere. I have been visiting the local hardware store every few days to get a yard of mulch. I […]

Well guys, this is what it ends up like. Just in case you weren’t aware of how pitiful things can get when you’re older…yes, we get excited about new lawn mowers. Gone are the days of comparing skateboards, bicycles, motorcycles and finally cars. Now, we get a pellet stove and a John Deere and have […]

I am not sure how I get myself into these messes. I had a second to spare this afternoon, so I decided to put a shovel in my hand. Then, I went outside and started looking around. I had planned on doing all the mulch beds in the Spring, so what the heck was I […]

Laura and I have been walking quite a bit. We are up to 3.7 miles per walk now. I never really thought that walking was much exercise until recently. When I hit that three mile point, I start feeling it. The feeling has been less and less intense though, so I guess I am getting […]

So, I did it. I jumped on the Milky Spore bandwagon. Yesterday, I was thinking about how much I hear about this Milky Spore stuff. You know, Milky Spore is the thing that causes Milky Disease in grubs. It’s powder that you sprinkle onto the ground in a grid that takes years to work. Some […]

I picked up the last bag of grass seed today. Again, I got the Vigoro Contractor’s Blend. Last night, I looked up some stuff about grass seed. I learned all about Ryegrass, Fescue and Kentucky Bluegrass. I thought I had it all down pat. When I went into the Depot today, I made sure to […]

I don’t know, but it is starting to get annoying. If you remember back at the beginning, we had a few spots in the lawn that needed seed. Well, I seeded them. Within a few days, grass started to grow. I just thought this was the cat’s meow. I couldn’t believe it because I have […]

I did a bunch of weeding yesterday and then pulled out the weed whacker. I cleaned up all along the front edge of the garden and really was quite proud of myself. Today, I was outside doing something when Laura decided to visit me. I asked her to look how nice the front of the […]

I pull the lawnmwer out twice a week. This is so I don’t kill myself. I am not sure if I told you or not, but I am going to skip the ride-on-mower purchase and stick with my pushmower. I am doing this for a few reasons. First, I just bought the push mower. I […]

I finally finished raking the leaves. There were a lot of them. I can’t say I liked doing this particular job for many reasons. One reason I didn’t care for this activity would be that it wasn’t much fun, with the presence of gnats coming in at a strong second. Apparently, gnats live in old […]

I just finished up with the latest mulching. I think it looks pretty damn good. I had some extra mulch, so I used it in the front yard where the dirt is like concrete. I covered that area right up. I put a bunch around the trees, so they are good. Now all I need […]

Hopefully. No, I mean it. You knew I was going to get some more mulch by the way I was writing, right? I mean, I mentioned it here and here. I just had one last part of the backyard to smooth over. I also wanted to mulch around all the trees I planted. The dirt […]