The housing market has been booming the past year or so, thanks in part to the pandemic. Many couples and families opted to say goodbye to townhome/apartment life so that they could have a more comfortable place to be while they social distanced and had limited entertainment options. Of course, one of the biggest advantages to buying a home is having your own yard to play in and enjoy! But if you recently bought your first home, you might be more nervous than excited about all the maintenance your lawn requires. Lawn care can be intimidating, especially to beginners. Here’s a lawn care guide to help you get started.
Stick to the basics first
Instead of jumping into aeration, fertilizing, and de-thatching right off the bat, start out simple. You can always learn more complex tasks as you go! Here are some good starting points for beginners:
- Which lawn tools are essential and which ones aren’t
- How to upkeep and work a lawnmower
- When to water and how much
- How often and what length you should mow your grass
- How to stay safe while operating lawn care tools
Lawn maintenance can be a rewarding task, but initially, it may seem like a chore. So learn the easy stuff first, and you’ll gain both knowledge and confidence instead of getting discouraged.
Expect to make mistakes and grow
It’s not realistic (or fair) to expect the same quality from yourself that you would from a professional. Lawn care isn’t rocket science, but it does require some skill and know-how! As a beginner, you might have high hopes and expectations for yourself. But if you’re attempting to do your own lawn care for the first time, you have to give yourself some grace.
Thankfully, nature can be very forgiving. So if you accidentally mow your lawn when it’s damp one time or forget to take your dog elsewhere to do its business and it stains your lawn, it isn’t the end of the world! Do your best knowing that you may make mistakes as you learn.
Hire a professional for the first year
If you’re a new homeowner and have never taken care of your own lawn before, we highly recommend hiring a professional for at least the first year. Homeownership takes a lot of responsibility, and crash-coursing it all at once might just be too much. Hiring a lawn care expert to handle your lawn care needs might be particularly helpful if you don’t have the budget to invest in your own equipment because of closing or startup costs.