Same. I've been living in apartments the last few years and now want to rent a house. The first question I'm going to ask is "Do I have to take care of the lawn?" And if the answer is yes, that's...
Same. I've been living in apartments the last few years and now want to rent a house. The first question I'm going to ask is "Do I have to take care of the lawn?" And if the answer is yes, that's gonna be a big strike. Call me lazy, but...I'm lazy.
Me too. I used to mow a huge lawn when I was a kid, and I made a solemn vow to myself that I will not mow again. If I ever buy a house, I'll pay someone else to do that. Too busy, especially since...
Me too.
I used to mow a huge lawn when I was a kid, and I made a solemn vow to myself that I will not mow again. If I ever buy a house, I'll pay someone else to do that. Too busy, especially since I'm only home a few hours a night and weekends when not traveling.
I'm not even busy. I work a 9-5, have weekends off, am single, and have no kids. I'm just lazy and like you, I did that stuff as a kid/teen and always hated it. Having a nice, well-manicured and...
I'm not even busy. I work a 9-5, have weekends off, am single, and have no kids. I'm just lazy and like you, I did that stuff as a kid/teen and always hated it. Having a nice, well-manicured and taking care of it is supposed to be some kind of point of pride. Pfft.
Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't want an overgrown lawn either (neither would the neighbors, HOA, or municipality, I'm sure). But I don't want to have to deal with it. If some neighborhood kid can mow for it $30, that's well worth it IMO.
Even better: don't mow it or pay anyone else to. Let it grow and become a prairie, or a paddock of different grasses & flowers. It's much better for the environment and can provide a superb...
Even better: don't mow it or pay anyone else to. Let it grow and become a prairie, or a paddock of different grasses & flowers. It's much better for the environment and can provide a superb habitat for bugs, insects, and other small animals.
You might be able to do that if you live out in the country somewhere, but most cities have bylaws about taking care of your yard, with restrictions on how tall the grass is allowed to get and...
You might be able to do that if you live out in the country somewhere, but most cities have bylaws about taking care of your yard, with restrictions on how tall the grass is allowed to get and similar maintenance requirements. For example, in my city, if you let your lawn grow past 15 cm (6 inches) tall, the city can order you to cut it. If you don't, they'll send workers to cut it and charge you for it, and potentially add a $400 fine on top. Here's the relevant bylaw page.
Yeah, those sort of laws need to change. Unfortunately, they have some valid rationales such as preventing fires or discouraging rat/mice infestations. But it's obviously clear it's not...
Yeah, those sort of laws need to change. Unfortunately, they have some valid rationales such as preventing fires or discouraging rat/mice infestations. But it's obviously clear it's not sustainable to allow everyone to have a monoculture of razor-thin grass on each section. They're ecological wastelands that do nothing but consume copious amounts of water.
I have never lived anywhere that would allow that - even when I lived on the edge of town and half the yard was field and half was, well, yard. If you didn't mow, you were fined sometimes up to...
I have never lived anywhere that would allow that - even when I lived on the edge of town and half the yard was field and half was, well, yard. If you didn't mow, you were fined sometimes up to $500 by the city.
Also, frankly, yards like that (where I live) are prone to snakes, and I don't want a snake on my porch (somewhat common near where I am from).
A major reason I purchased, instead of continuing to rent was so I could do my small part to eliminate a patch of useless grass from the city. The project is ~10% done. Been replacing sod with...
A major reason I purchased, instead of continuing to rent was so I could do my small part to eliminate a patch of useless grass from the city.
The project is ~10% done. Been replacing sod with native wildflowers, and encouraging clover to replace the grass. Grapes are replacing fencing (I use chainlink to support the vines, really)...
Grass is the laziest, and most useless of ground cover.
I'm not surprised. If you don't own the house, why would you invest the enormous amount of time (and money) to make a yard nice or to your exact liking? When you move, you can't take it with you,...
I'm not surprised. If you don't own the house, why would you invest the enormous amount of time (and money) to make a yard nice or to your exact liking?
When you move, you can't take it with you, so you're basically doing all that work for someone else (your landlord) to benefit from it when you move.
I understand that people like gardening and find it enjoyable, so maybe if that's your idea of a good way to spend an afternoon it makes sense but otherwise - why?
I live in Florida and don't irrigate. Our house actually has an irrigation system that was put in before we bought it and I just never use it. I just use Florida friendly landscaping (i.e., stuff...
I live in Florida and don't irrigate. Our house actually has an irrigation system that was put in before we bought it and I just never use it. I just use Florida friendly landscaping (i.e., stuff that can survive the harsh summers). I do mow my lawn every other weekend because otherwise the grass will just overrun everything. But our lawn looks perfectly fine without that stuff.
In general, if you don't own the property you live in, then you have to maintain it according to the landlord's preference.
Every place I've rented that had a lawn had a service come by and take care of the lawn and mow it regularly. If I was a landlord, I'd do the same. I wouldn't trust tenants to keep it looking nice because, as I said, it doesn't really provide any benefit to them to do all that extra work.
I highly recommend taking a look at the University of Florida's Florida Friendly Landscaping site. It's a bit dense but it has a really good resources for how to create/maintain a yard that is...
I highly recommend taking a look at the University of Florida's Florida Friendly Landscaping site. It's a bit dense but it has a really good resources for how to create/maintain a yard that is suitable for the weather we have down here.
I'm excited about this grass I bought (yes I'm old) and feel the need to tell everyone about it. No mow fescue blend. I seeded some this spring, cut it zero times, and it's barely ankle high. I...
I'm excited about this grass I bought (yes I'm old) and feel the need to tell everyone about it.
No mow fescue blend. I seeded some this spring, cut it zero times, and it's barely ankle high. I understand that once it is better established, it'll get taller and flop over like in the pictures on that site. I watered it for the first two weeks to get it to sprout, then zero watering all summer. But it rains a good bit here, so ymmv on that front. And fertilizer is not recommended, all the fescues in this blend have a low nitrogen requirement.
If you're in a cool season grass zone and have a jerk HOA or somebody insisting you plant and maintain grass, check this stuff out.
Watering lawns ought to be illegal anywhere served by the Oglala aquifer.
Wow, I'm surprised people care about lawns on rented property at all.
Literally the main reason I rent is specifically to not care about lawns.
Same. I've been living in apartments the last few years and now want to rent a house. The first question I'm going to ask is "Do I have to take care of the lawn?" And if the answer is yes, that's gonna be a big strike. Call me lazy, but...I'm lazy.
Me too.
I used to mow a huge lawn when I was a kid, and I made a solemn vow to myself that I will not mow again. If I ever buy a house, I'll pay someone else to do that. Too busy, especially since I'm only home a few hours a night and weekends when not traveling.
I'm not even busy. I work a 9-5, have weekends off, am single, and have no kids. I'm just lazy and like you, I did that stuff as a kid/teen and always hated it. Having a nice, well-manicured and taking care of it is supposed to be some kind of point of pride. Pfft.
Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't want an overgrown lawn either (neither would the neighbors, HOA, or municipality, I'm sure). But I don't want to have to deal with it. If some neighborhood kid can mow for it $30, that's well worth it IMO.
Even better: don't mow it or pay anyone else to. Let it grow and become a prairie, or a paddock of different grasses & flowers. It's much better for the environment and can provide a superb habitat for bugs, insects, and other small animals.
You might be able to do that if you live out in the country somewhere, but most cities have bylaws about taking care of your yard, with restrictions on how tall the grass is allowed to get and similar maintenance requirements. For example, in my city, if you let your lawn grow past 15 cm (6 inches) tall, the city can order you to cut it. If you don't, they'll send workers to cut it and charge you for it, and potentially add a $400 fine on top. Here's the relevant bylaw page.
Yeah, those sort of laws need to change. Unfortunately, they have some valid rationales such as preventing fires or discouraging rat/mice infestations. But it's obviously clear it's not sustainable to allow everyone to have a monoculture of razor-thin grass on each section. They're ecological wastelands that do nothing but consume copious amounts of water.
I have never lived anywhere that would allow that - even when I lived on the edge of town and half the yard was field and half was, well, yard. If you didn't mow, you were fined sometimes up to $500 by the city.
Also, frankly, yards like that (where I live) are prone to snakes, and I don't want a snake on my porch (somewhat common near where I am from).
A major reason I purchased, instead of continuing to rent was so I could do my small part to eliminate a patch of useless grass from the city.
The project is ~10% done. Been replacing sod with native wildflowers, and encouraging clover to replace the grass. Grapes are replacing fencing (I use chainlink to support the vines, really)...
Grass is the laziest, and most useless of ground cover.
But its apparently the most effort. Perhaps it could be considered the least creative.
I'm not surprised. If you don't own the house, why would you invest the enormous amount of time (and money) to make a yard nice or to your exact liking?
When you move, you can't take it with you, so you're basically doing all that work for someone else (your landlord) to benefit from it when you move.
I understand that people like gardening and find it enjoyable, so maybe if that's your idea of a good way to spend an afternoon it makes sense but otherwise - why?
I live in Florida and don't irrigate. Our house actually has an irrigation system that was put in before we bought it and I just never use it. I just use Florida friendly landscaping (i.e., stuff that can survive the harsh summers). I do mow my lawn every other weekend because otherwise the grass will just overrun everything. But our lawn looks perfectly fine without that stuff.
Every place I've rented that had a lawn had a service come by and take care of the lawn and mow it regularly. If I was a landlord, I'd do the same. I wouldn't trust tenants to keep it looking nice because, as I said, it doesn't really provide any benefit to them to do all that extra work.
I’m in Florida now and that sounds awesome not having to water. What do you have if not st. Augustine?
I highly recommend taking a look at the University of Florida's Florida Friendly Landscaping site. It's a bit dense but it has a really good resources for how to create/maintain a yard that is suitable for the weather we have down here.
The plant selection guide (large PDF file warning!) is a great place to start.
Oh neat ! I’ve seen that page but didn’t know that PDF existed. Too bad there’s not a bigger culture of lawncare people who can help cultivate this.
I'm excited about this grass I bought (yes I'm old) and feel the need to tell everyone about it.
No mow fescue blend. I seeded some this spring, cut it zero times, and it's barely ankle high. I understand that once it is better established, it'll get taller and flop over like in the pictures on that site. I watered it for the first two weeks to get it to sprout, then zero watering all summer. But it rains a good bit here, so ymmv on that front. And fertilizer is not recommended, all the fescues in this blend have a low nitrogen requirement.
If you're in a cool season grass zone and have a jerk HOA or somebody insisting you plant and maintain grass, check this stuff out.