Lawn care 101? Please help me not be "that" house.

[mskitkat]

I mostly hang out on MM and ML, but DH and I just bought our first house, and we're in need of serious lawn help. DH and I are not gardeners. Not in the slightest. I kill all plants and have never tried to maintain a lawn before. If it were just a straight up "mow and weed" lawn, we could (probably) handle that, but it's not.

We bought a heavily wooded property. I love all the trees, but I have no idea how to maintain the lawn. The house had been sitting vacant for a few months, so there's no just keeping up with whatever the previous owners had. Right now, it kind of just looks like a house got plopped down in the middle of a camp site. For example, there's no grass in my back yard. There is some 6" high weed looking plant I don't know that is all over, though. Can/should I mow this just to get it under some sort of control?

The front yard is just as bad. I'm not even sure where to begin beyond mowing what very little patches of grass there are and flailing at overgrown bushes with pruning shears.

What's the best way for me to go about learning how to take care of this lawn? Hire someone for a one time visit? Is there a good reference book? Maintaining your lawn for dummies? Please teach this home owning newbie.

[mskitkat]

Sept 14, 2014 10:14:32 GMT -5 @juno said:

I grew up on a wooded lot, and lawn in the woods just isn't practical. Between the lack of sun and competition with trees for resources, you just setting youself up for an expensive failure or maintenance. Lawn is pretty bad for the environment anyway even if you didn't have to use tons of chemicals to keep it going in shade. You could do understory shade plantings, a moss lawn or other creative solutions, depending on your zone.

My parents mulch liberally, have gravel and stepping stone paths and use all manner of shade perennials. You can hire a landscape designer by the hour to give you a drawing and plant list. s/he should be able to give you a low-maintenance plan if that's what you want.

That is a great idea. I'm not interested in trying to force a lawn where there isn't one. I just want our yard to look a little more intentional and under control, you know?

[treedimensional]

mskitkat, I think a good first step would be finding someone to identify what kind of plant your existing groundcover is, and what other plants are comprising your palette. That takes someone with broad plant knowledge, such as a nurseryman, landscape designer, or an extension agent.
Extension services may have agents bios / CV posted online (they do that here in VA).

[caddywompus]

When I moved into my house, I took a nighttime "Community Education" class that was taught by a landscape designer. It was 1 night a week for about 6 weeks. He taught us all about grass, trees, plants, etc, and was a great resource to pick his brain (for only the $30 fee for the class!) At the end we all had to draw up a landscape plan for our lots, and he gave everyone feedback and ideas. It was a great investment!!