Lawn Wars

Sometime in the history of the Mormon pioneers who settled Utah someone stated that one day the people would make the desert bloom. This certainly has come to pass, though only with much sweat and toil on the part of generations of settlers to the area. As a resident of this state, I feel some obligation to honor that legacy and keep a nice green lawn despite what nature intended for the area. Yes, yes, the ethical considerations are plenty, but in the end I have too much pride to allow my lawn to turn brown and die. It would really make my place look run down in my neighborhood.

Preserving the integrity of my lawn is truly a struggle. I have some little experience, but few tools and less time. The first fight that I had to win was against the dryness of the climate here. To that end, a previous owner of my home installed a sprinkler system in the ground. My problem was figuring out how to make it work. To stem the tide of drought, I purchased and used an oscillating sprinkler that attached to my garden hose. This device did true yeoman's work, and after two weeks the lawn had sprung back to nearly green. Then, with the aid of my neighbor and my father-in-law, I managed to engage the sprinkler system. This represents a major victory, as it allows me to water my lawn unsupervised and far more thoroughly with somewhat less waste. The lawn is now on par with my neighbors', at least in terms of color.

The second major fight is the massive incursion of weeds throughout my yard. On Memorial Day I spent a good deal of time digging the weeds in my front yard and flower beds out by hand. This made a vast improvement in the appearance of my yard, but I need to follow up to eliminate the many small weeds that have since appeared. There is one area in my side yard where I still have some two-foot high weeds. Those must wait until I purchase a shovel and I can dig them out.

My mower and trimmer continue to work well, and allow me to give my yard a more tidy appearance. I know that the fight for my yard will be ongoing, but I think that I've turned the corner. I truly feel that I am at the maintenance stage, and I am no longer playing catch-up. Hopefully this is the case, and I can keep my yard well-maintained all year.