Nobody wants to have the worst lawn on the block. It’s not only embarrassing but it’s a source of stress. Instead of going outside and enjoying your beautiful backyard, it just puts you in a bad mood every time you step outside.
While you know you’re in need of a lawn makeover, what you don’t know is exactly where to start. You want to be able to have a nice lawn but you don’t want to have to spend a ton of time or resources on it. You just want to transform your backyard with as few headaches as possible.
Defining the “Bad Lawn”
So, what exactly constitutes a bad lawn? The truth is, that could mean a lot of different things to different people. But for most, a bad lawn almost always includes weeds, thinned out areas, and lack of color.
Still, for the purposes of this article, we all have to be on the same page. For that reason, let’s define two different types of “bad lawns” so that we can refer to them as we discuss transforming your lawn.
- The “Just OK” Lawn: For the purposes of this article, the “Just OK” Lawn is the lawn that is not quite what you expected. It’s not as green as your neighbor’s and it’s certainly not as healthy as it could be. It’s not awful, but it’s definitely not great. You have intermittent struggles with issues like color, thickness, and weeds and you know it could be a lot better. If this lawn were to get a grade on a report card, it would get a C.
- The Nightmare Lawn: In this article, we’ll refer to the Nightmare Lawn as the lawn that is plagued with insect or disease damage, overrun with problematic weeds, thinned out in spots and maybe bare in others, and even browning. It’s in terrible shape. If this lawn were to receive a grade, it would receive an F.
A Timeline To Transform Your Lawn from Weeds to Grass
Both the Just OK Lawn and the Nightmare Lawn have problems with weeds—particularly the hard-to-control varieties like wild violets or nutsedge. But the timelines for transforming these lawns are going to be different based on their drastically different needs.
The Nightmare Lawn has a lot more issues going on with it that need to be addressed and naturally, that’s going to take more time.
Let’s break it down and look at what you can expect.
Transforming The Just OK Lawn
With a mediocre lawn, we typically tell our clients “give us a season to show you what we can do.” However, if you’re starting later in the season and we only fit in two treatments, you can’t expect that transforming your lawn will happen quite so quickly. You’re going to see a difference but it may take more than a season to truly come around to its full potential.
It’s fair to say that The Just OK Lawn is going to take at least a full year, maybe a year-and-a-half, to reach that premium category that you’re aiming for.
Transforming The Nightmare Lawn
If your lawn is completely overrun with weeds, as The Nightmare Lawn is, then it’s fair to say that it will take about double the time (as the OK Lawn) for transforming your lawn from weeds to grass. Oftentimes the lawns that we see of this poor caliber also have patchy and mismatched grass growing.
The Nightmare Lawn may also have an insect or disease problem that needs to get under control. Because of the steps that we must take for these issues, The Nightmare Lawn is going to get worse before it gets better. We likely need a season of remedy and then another season of a strong lawn care program before you’ll start to see your lawn transforming. It’s fair to say that it will take two years to turn that F-grade lawn into an A or B.
This may sound like a long time but we urge clients to recognize that great changes can’t happen overnight and that something like this is worth the wait. Try not to focus on the short-term goals but instead look ahead to the finish line. Any company that is trying to sell you on a cheap or quick fix doesn’t have that long-term, Grade A lawn in mind. What you really want is get to the root cause of your problems and fix them so that your lawn doesn’t go downhill again.
Maintaining Your Lawn Makeover
You’ve gone through the work and you’ve turned your lawn from a C or F into a Grade A lawn—now what?
At this point, it’s time to think about ongoing lawn maintenance. It doesn’t mean you can just drop the program. You’ve already invested into improving your lawn and neglecting it for even just one season could mean you’re back at square one again (or worse).
With that being said, a lawn that is truly healthy, thanks to a program that focused on good soil health, is going to take less effort to maintain. That means you’ll be able to reduce your chemical applications as your lawn starts to become naturally resistant to weeds, pests, diseases, and other health concerns. Even so, you’ll still need to keep up with a maintenance regimen including aeration and overseeding in order to keep your lawn looking truly top-notch.
Choosing a Lawn Company for Your Lawn Makeover
As you weigh your options for transforming your lawn it’s important to mention that the lawn care company you ultimately choose will make all the difference in how that process goes. You definitely want to choose a company that is going to focus on soil health and on not only making your lawn look good but also helping make your lawn truly healthy. That’s the end goal because that’s what is going to give you the best long-term results.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of companies that promise a quick fix and it’s just not realistic.
They might knock out your weeds for one season but they just keep coming back like an endless game of whack-a-mole.
Other companies might provide you with unrealistic timelines or even false promises, such as the idea that they can come out and service your lawn for just a single season and you won’t need to keep maintaining it for the long-term.
Those kinds of pitches are sales ploys and they’re just trying to reel you in. There is no such lawn care program that is once-and-done if you truly want the Grade A lawn. A lawn is an ever-growing and evolving living thing and it must be continually maintained.
Oasis Turf & Tree Produces Top-Notch, Healthy Lawns
At Oasis Turf & Tree we’re different from those companies that just try to reel you in by focusing on the short-term. Rather than trying to sell you on unrealistic timelines and false promises, we are fully transparent in how long it may take to transform your bad lawn.
Whether it’s The Just OK Lawn or The Nightmare Lawn, we typically underpromise and overdeliver which is the exact opposite of what most of our competitors do.
If you’re looking for a lawn makeover that will truly take your lawn to its full potential, then we’re here to guide you through that process. Choosing wisely and hiring a company that knows what is best for your lawn will rid you of the embarrassment you’ve been feeling about your bad lawn. In time, you’ll have the lawn that your neighbors envy.
If you’re ready for your lawn makeover and want to learn more about which lawn care program might be right for your Dayton, Ohio, Cincinnati, or Northern Kentucky home, request a quote, then sit back and relax as you see your lawn transform into the best one on the block.
Image Sources: dead grass, wild violets