how much maintenance do you do yourself?

[Mike Franco]

Over the years, I've had to hire and fire a bunch of gardeners.

They all ended up getting lazy and not showing up eventually. The last gardener, despite telling him not to, would scalp my tall fescue grass during the heat of the summer, and that would cause the grass to nearly die because it was too short, and the soil was getting baked. Plus, he probably brought weed seeds from other houses on his mower, and there was a big bermuda grass infestation. And the leaf blower was just aggravating the weed seed situation, contributing to a lawn full of weeds.

I ended up having to rip out half the turf, digging up all the bermuda, and replanting seed.

Although I hate to have to do it, now I do my own yard maintenance. I let the grass grow 7" long, to shade the soil and keep moisture and help prevent weeds, so I only mow once every 6-8 weeks. I spray preemergent weed killer, apply fertilizer. And the results are better than what I pay others to do.

I just haven't found a single reliable contractor. They're all minute men. They work for 5 minutes, collect their $35, and get out quick.

you want it done right, gotta do it yourself.