Curb Appeal 101 | How to Have the Perfect Lawn

Having incredible curb appeal starts with a lush beautiful lawn and while it sounds pretty simple it can be difficult to achieve. Creating the perfect lawn that the neighbors will envy takes knowledge and a bit of work. So how do you have the best lawn on the block? Well, it comes down to how you mow and water your lawn.

This sounds easy, right? You simply mow the grass when it gets long and water when it’s dry. However, it’s not that easy, mowing and watering your grass isn’t one size fits all, there are a lot of variables that need to be taken into consideration. Let’s take a look at how to properly mow and water your lawn.

The Do’s & Don’ts of Mowing

Believe it or now there is a wrong and right way to mow your lawn. Cutting it short every other week rain or shine won’t produce a green, lush, perfect lawn. So let’s take a look at how to properly mow your lawn.

Sharpen Your Blade
Dull lawnmower blades will tear your grass. In turn, it will look messy, frayed and cause undue stress, which can make it more vulnerable to disease. So it’s important to sharpen your mower blades and keep them sharp.

Mow Dry Grass
Wet grass can easily clog your mower deck and cause an uneven cut, so you’ll only want to cut your lawn when it’s completely dry. In addition to mowing your grass when it’s dry the time of day you should mow it matters too. Never mow your lawn during peak hours of the day when the sun is strongest because the grass will lose water and won’t recover as quickly.

A sign your grass is in distress is if you smell that “fresh cut grass smell.” This is your grass’s way of trying to save itself from the damage inflicted. By mowing your lawn first thing in the morning, before 9 or 10 am, or in the early evening, after 2 or 3 pm will help avoid this.

Mow High & Mow Often
You never want to cut your grass too short. Many homeowners are tempted to do this thinking they won’t have to mow again for a while, but short grass is stressed grass and can lead to disease. So make sure your lawnmower is set at the right height, which can change throughout the seasons. In most climates, your grass blades should be 2 1/2″ to 3 1/2″ tall.

You never want to let your grass grow too high either. Just like humans grass can get sunburned too! When overgrown grass is mowed, even at the right height, the shaded parts of the blades are now exposed to the sun, which it had no previous exposure and can burn. Rule of thumb is to cut 1/3 of the grass length each time you mow.

Leave the Grass Clippings
No need to bag and trash your grass clippings, you can simply leave the clippings right where they fall when you mow. By grasscycling, yes that’s what it’s called, reduces the huge quantities of clipping going to landfills, and returns the decomposed clippings to the soil within a week or two acting as a lawn fertilizer supplement. However, this only works well when you cut 1/3 of the grass blade at a time.

Creating the perfect lawn that the neighbors will envy takes knowledge and a bit of work, but it isn't impossible if you properly do these two things. Find out now how to have the perfect lawn! #landscaping #homeimprovement Click to Tweet

The Do’s & Don’ts of Watering

In addition to properly mowing your lawn properly watering it is just as important. Like improper mowing, you can kill your lawn if you don’t water it correctly. Here are some excellent tips on how to water your lawn for the best results.

Automatic Watering Schedule
Having your sprinkler system on autopilot is a great way to ensure your lawn is being watered regularly. However, the watering schedule will need to be adjusted based on the season. So it’s important to have your automatic timer set accordingly. By doing so you won’t overwater your lawn, wasting water, nor will you underwater it.

Water Infrequently
Watering your lawn daily can make it vulnerable to fungus, disease, and weeds. So if you see puddles that’s a great indication you are overwatering your lawn. When this happens the roots aren’t getting enough oxygen and can lead to fungus and other types of lawn disease.

So it’s always best to water infrequently, but you’ll want to make sure your lawn is getting enough water based on the time of year and amount of rain it receives. If your grass turns a dull green that’s a sign it’s not receiving enough water.

Water Evenly
It is extremely easy to water your lawn unevenly regardless if you use a hose or have a sprinkler system. While having a sprinkler system makes it easy to water your lawn when needed you need to make sure all of the sprinkler heads are functioning properly to ensure water is being distributed evenly. A great way to see if your lawn is being watered evenly is setting out cups and seeing how much water they collect.

Water in the Morning
Watering your lawn in the early morning, before 10 am, is always best. Not only does the air tend to be cooler the winds are calmer too so there won’t be as much evaporation. Your grass will also have a chance to dry out before the sun is hot and beating down. You can certainly water late in the evening just keep in mind damp grass and cool air are the perfect condition for fungus and diseases.

Final Thoughts

Having the right mowing and watering strategy is imperative if you want the perfect lawn. By properly mowing and watering your grass it will grow stronger and in turn, look it’s best. If you have a landscaping service you’ll want to make sure they are mowing your grass correctly never assume they are. Last summer our landscaper ruined our lawn because they mowed on a schedule. Well, by the time they came for their “scheduled” visit our grass was so overgrown that when they cut it to the “normal height” what was left got burned.

In addition to having the right mowing and watering schedule, you’ll also want to make sure your soil is healthy too. If your soil isn’t receiving the right amount of nutrients you’ll never have the perfect lawn. So you’ll want to make sure your soil is rich and has the right underground animal and plant activity.

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Creating the perfect lawn that the neighbors will envy takes knowledge and a bit of work, but it isn't impossible if you properly do these two things. #landscaping #homeimprovement Click to Tweet

About the Author

Top Wellington Realtor, Michelle Gibson, wrote: “Curb Appeal 101 | How to Have the Perfect Lawn”

Michelle has been specializing in residential real estate since 2001 throughout Wellington Florida and the surrounding area. Whether you’re looking to buy, sell or rent she will guide you through the entire real estate transaction. If you’re ready to put Michelle’s knowledge and expertise to work for you call or e-mail her today.

Areas of service include Wellington, Lake Worth, Royal Palm Beach, Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, Loxahatchee, Greenacres, and more.

Curb Appeal 101 | How to Have the Perfect Lawn