Why should you care for your Burke lawn?

Living in the quaint neighborhoods of Burke, Virginia, everyone has a yard.  And as the token veteran of lawn care near me, and the businesses that represent this, I am often asked for lawn care advice.  despite the different forms of the questions, most of the time it really boils down to the following question: should I even bother caring for my lawn?

I say the answer is yes, not only because I spent several years of my life providing lawn care here in Burke.  Here are some reasons why I think it’s important to give your lawn proper attention.

Prato inglese

1)  It can cost more to do it the wrong way.  I’ve seen some pretty bad lawns in my lifetime, and I quite frequently get asked “how to I get my lawn back into shape?”.  More times than not, it involves either dozens of hours on the part of the homeowner, or thousands of dollars paid to a lawn care professional.  For example, I’ve seen lawns that are so inhabited by weeds that the only solution is to strip everything out and put fresh sod in.  If you’ve dealt with sod before, you know it’s expensive.

Giving lawn proper maintenance isn’t really all that expensive.  And unlike most things in Fairfax County, it’s cheaper than in many parts of the country because of so much competition here.  If you do it yourself (and do it the right way!) it’s even cheaper.  I prefer to think of lawn care as a utility necessary to keep your house in order.

2)  A well-kept lawn can increase your property value.  Annecdotally, when my parents went to sell their house in Mclean, they hadn’t kept up their lawn at all.  It was mostly weeds, which they cut short to look presentable.  It was fine with them, but nearly every couple coming by the house commented on how terrible the lawn looked.  I can’t say for sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they got a lower selling price because of it.

This article by Virginia Tech’s turfgrass extension examines the effects of landscaping on home prices.  The results are impactful.  It does not go into how a properly manicured lawn affects home prices, but I think it’s reasonable to assume that a horrid looking lawn will certainly detract from your home’s value.

3)  Your lawn is the frame for your home.  Our home is more than just a place we live in.  They represent what we’ve worked for and where we’ve raised our children.  We go through lots of effort to afford our homes and beautify them, so I think it only makes sense to pay equal attention to the lawn.  My mother, an art teacher, used to say that a bad frame can ruin a masterpiece work of art.  I think that lawns and landscapes are the perfect frame to your house, and that not giving your Burke home the lawn care it deserves is like putting a priceless piece of art in a Walmart frame.

-Joe F.

Joe is a guest writer for us.  He currently lives in a lovely Burke home (with an impeccable lawn, of course) with his Wife and two kids.

Avatar

Scott Johnson

Scott is a research analyst and writer for the LawnStarter blog. He's a lawn care expert, avid gardener, and dog lover.