lawn care in Texas

[indigo_rose99]

The dangers:

• sunburn


• sun stroke


• dehydration


• mosquitoes


• chiggers


• mold (allergies)


• oak, grass (allergies)


• attack plants (don't know what they are, but they leave welts if I wear a short sleeved shirt)

Some background: We live in suburbia. You can translate this as: really small lawn. The drought of 2011 (that never really ended) killed most plant life and led to a nice thick layer of dead grass and mold under any live weeds and grass.

What to wear:

• long-sleeved wicking t-shirt


• wicking (long) pants


• tall socks, with pants tucked in


• heavy hike boots


• leather gardening gloves


• sunglasses


• ugly cloth hat with brim on all sides (washable!)


• breathing mask


• sunscreen on the back of my neck (the only spot not covered by cloth)

Ugh. l feel like I'm garbing up for war every time I step outside to do battle with the energetically growing weeds (because grass only grows on the side of the house next to the neighbor who actually sometimes waters his lawn). Must... slice...them...before...taller... than...me!

Comments

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

You only have one kind of attack plant? Because there are also the kinds with burrs, with thorns, and with itchy poison (as well as your welty poison).

You might like a nice, wet bandana around your neck to help you be a little cooler. It's not like you're going to be keeping your clothes dry anyway.

[indigo-rose99.livejournal.com]

No burrs, a few with thorns. Mostly variations on the itchy ones.

Reminding myself to do the bandana thing next time...

[reedrover]

Have you considered tearing out all of the lawn and putting in some decorative gravel? I hear xeriscaping is all the rage...

[indigo-rose99.livejournal.com]

*laugh* Yes. Yes, we have. I guess there are a few things holding us back:
* sheer laziness. Ugh. Work. Ripping out the current plants. With our luck, it would all come together to have us ripping it out on the Hottest Day in Three Summers. Which would be ripping hot, given our summers.

* Money. That gravel costs a lot! Plus the labor having someone truck it here. Plus more money if we want them to lay out the gravel instead of doing it ourselves.

* Foundation. If we xeriscape, then how will that impact our foundation during the yearly drought? Our driveway is now 2 inches higher than the sidewalk... So stuff is already moving. I want it to Not Move further. Foundation repair is insanely expensive. And annoying.

Yeah, so far laziness has won. A friend did the whole gravel thing and I'm waiting to see the longterm impact. Does it save effort or do they still have to weed? How often do they have to redo the gravel (it seems to be traveling toward the neighbors and the street)? What about the watering and foundation impact?

[reedrover]

Ahhhh. I totally get it. My parents (in CA) ripped up the lawns when they ripped up the house, and got an in-ground sprinkler system included in the landscaping. So they can water the few precious plants (and the foundation) separately from the gravel and stone walkways that have thyme "grout" separately from the weird groundcovers, etc. But I'm sure that was $$$. It's either $$$ or EFFORT, and I can see where laziness could win over either one. Besides, you are waiting on first-hand reporting from a local test run first, right?