Things Homeowners With Expensive-Looking Yards Never Do

Ran across this article and thought the H&G board might enjoy discussing their opinions on some of these.

https://obsessedlawn.com/mt/things-homeowners-with-expensive-looking-yards-never-do/

I'm guilty of a couple of these, admittedly. Heck, the very first one I could never bring myself to do. I feel like I need a physical barrier.

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1. Leave garden beds without a crisp, cut edge

This is the one. If you fix nothing else, fix this.

A designer can look at two identical beds and tell you which one cost money — and it’s almost always the one with a clean, spade-cut trench between the lawn and the mulch. That dark, defined line reads as intentional. It frames the planting the way a mat frames a print.

Plastic scalloped edging doesn’t do it. A hand-cut trench does.

Grab a half-moon edger or a flat spade, cut a shallow V-shaped groove along the bed, and pull the loose soil back into the bed. It costs an afternoon and nothing else. The mulch sits lower than the turf, water stays put, and grass stops creeping in.

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I have seen common bermuda cross almost any barrier or canyon I put in front of it. I have a hard time believing this would eliminate that problem.

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8. Line plants up in single-file soldier rows

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18. Neglect the front entrance and door approach

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Guilty.

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23. Let weeds creep into beds and cracks

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Guilty, but this is more a time issue. I usually take care of it, but sometimes it takes a while before I get around to it.



There are also quite a few things on that list that really irks me when I see others doing it. Specifically these:

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2. Pile mulch into ‘volcanoes’ against tree trunks
3. Reach for dyed jet-black or rusty-red mulch
4. Scalp the lawn by mowing it too short
19. Dot the path with cheap solar stake lights
21. Leave trash cans, hoses, and tools in view

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