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The state of our lawn care in 2014

This is my lawn care version of a ‘State of the Union Address’! No, I don’t see myself as the Obama of lawns, far from it, but I recently reviewed the progress that lawn care has made in the UK over the last few decades – and it is really exciting! It feels, at last, as if all the separate threads are beginning to come together. However, there is still some way to go. For now, all the good work that is going on is still uncoordinated and, in a way, letting down everyone from amateur gardeners to the big horticultural companies. So, let’s start by reviewing where we have got to, and then look at where we still have to go.

I think there are two hugely significant markers of just how far we have come:

1. Growth in the lawn care industry. Despite being metaphorically and often literally at the centre of our gardening for centuries, the lawn has always been the poor relation to the more colourful or tasty branches of horticulture and landscape design. However, as little as twenty years ago there were only a handful of lawn care companies; now there are hundreds! Clearly interest and demand for lawn help has been growing.

2. Increase in ‘the need to be green’. The lawn has survived the threat from hard landscaping and outlived the trendy alternatives like decking. In fact, whereas it was once pilloried as being the least ‘green’ part of our garden, the lawn is at last widely recognised to be one of the most environmentally friendly components and one that is essential to sustaining good biodiversity inside a garden. The buying public habitually inspects the packaging of fertilizers and chemicals and the industry tries to make green alternatives more widely available.

However…In a way, we’ve been running before we can walk. All this interest and enthusiasm for lawns has not been equalled by the correct skill and expertise to make sure we all get it right. And I think 2014/15 should be the year that we all come together to fill in the gaps and start building a coordinated approach to modern lawn care in all its diversity. And here’s how.

Embrace the lawn for the MANY things it is

Mention lawn care and many people still immediately think of Wimbledon or their local golf club with its pristine greens. And yes, there are thousands of proud gardeners up and down the land who maintain beautiful immaculately striped lawns. But there are also just as many who simply value an expanse of soothing green, a soft play surface for the children, and the relatively low-maintenance required for a simple, basic lawn. And these gardeners deserve just as much expert advice and product range as the specialists. My book, Modern Lawn Care, goes some way towards this by encouraging people to choose what they want from their lawn – and achieve it. But I feel that a lot more could and should be done to cater for the full spectrum of interest in lawn care.

Such as…Make it easier to be green

Knowledge is power (someone said) and in the world of lawns that means consumer choice. It’s all very well buying a ‘feed n weed’ product as a way to ‘manage’ the chemicals you put on the lawn, but unless you know what those chemicals are – and whether in fact you need them – you cannot know whether you are harming the environment or not. Just as the gardening media has until now deprived people of expert information, so I believe the industry has yet to exploit the potential demand for a greater range of products which can be used more judiciously and carefully. There may be a bit of ‘chicken and egg’ here; I’m not sure which should come first! But knowledge leads to interest which leads to demand which can only be good business. So who’s going to take the first step?
Lawn Care Operators need HELP

As interest continues to grow, on whose shoulders does this opportunity – or burden – fall most? That’s right, the lawn care operatives, expected to have all the wisdom, to offer all the options and to know all the answers. Often these are hard-working entrepreneurial people who have set up in business or bought into a franchise operation. Mostly they are giving the very best service that they can, given the restrictions. But there are restrictions. Did you know that there is no recognised professional training nor an accreditation? That’s not just bad for the customer but makes life a lot harder for the operative too. How can they possibly offer all the answers without suitable training and without a full range and choice of products?

So…If this is the state of lawn care today, we’ve a lot to be grateful for – and a lot still to achieve. But it’s one hell of a start and I sincerely hope that we shall soon see a combined effort to establish exactly what we mean by Modern Lawn Care. After all, it’s the future of our oldest gardening tradition that’s at stake!

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  • PRO
    +1 to the above & nicely summed up.

    The emergence of forums (such as LJN) can only help take the lawn care industry forward and provide a solution for delivering a level of training, reference & guidance previously not available.

    For many contractors it is not practical to take considerable time off during the working week to attend courses, so one solution would be workplace / online learning and CPD against some form of recognised level of competence.

    We have all seen a variable level of expertise from franchise concerns and independent operators and anything that can be done to raise the level would be beneficial.My guys who attended your Saturday 1day course had nothing but good to say.

    What would you see as the next step?
  • Hi David.
    We are members of the Planet, where they have some very sophisticated information on lawn care, albeit in the USA.
    If you are not aware of their website, it is
    www.landcarenetwork.org

  • Hi Gary,

    the book is one simple step which gives people a simple guide of what to when, with what, for the best result, given that no-one wants to be a slave to their lawn!

    The trouble is that we do not have any training courses, useful for people doing lawn care.

    RHS courses are not really relevant from what I have seen and I get many people asking, where do we go?

    As referred in other reply, yes, of course there are tons of info on websites (even in UK) but thats half the problem with lawn care. Everyone's an expert and has an opinion.....which is fine, but we certainly cant use much info from the states unfortunately. Chalk and cheese....

    My next step is something along the lines of either online course or courses of some kind.

    I have a few ideas but need to do more work first, maybe get some colleges involved etc....

    Gathering opinions about what is required when quite a few feel that they are doing it 'alright' may be tricky?

    We have lots of people doing lots of different things, some good some bad...

    The book TBH, gives a very simple guide, the course I do, is basic, as you cant teach that much in 6 hours.....

  • David

    Where can I get a copy of your book, web search did not bring up any options.

    Like my lawncare library to be up to date !

  • PRO

    I got copies for my guys after the course - need to go to David's website (only current source) :

    http://www.davidhedges-gower.com/modern-lawn-care/

  • Yes, David, where can we get it, please, and where do we go to find out where and when your courses are running? What already recieved level of knowledge or experience is assumed for participnats? Basic, from what you have already said?

    Many thanks.

  • Hi Mike,

    I just do a single course at Waterperry Gardens each Spring, but that is basic too.

    Modern Lawn Care is about doing the right things as (hopefully) infrequently as possible, which means we need to understand what makes healthy lawns.

    I dont think we need major courses, but I think we need something whereby the UK lawn care market, barks from a similar tree.

    I have nurtured some of the most ridiculous turf quality in the country, but lawn care is so far removed from that, however its about detailing whats important....were not providing playing surfaces after all.

    Lawn care is full of keen, adventurous people as well as those chasing money with poor experience.

    However, I do believe we need a UK identity. Landscape Juice does a great job at pushing it forward, but I believe we need a UK body....a representation.

    Its a big business out there (100's millions) and to think no-one runs it is farcical IMO.

    I think we need a body that will give accreditation to members and set them apart from the others.

    Otherwise, its just 1000's of people all plodding away....with no guidance

    A bit like Old Trafford!! :-)

  • Perhaps you have a strong case but being honest with myself I do not know enough about the topic to comment. As I am now being asked to lay turf for customers it is after time I should be learning. So I've just joined the "Professional lawn care forum" here (is it very diffrent form the turf care forum?) as a start.

    But you still haven't told me the name of your book or where I can buy it. It sounds as though it will offer some hints and guidance towards further reading and learning topics even if it is too basic to answer the questions of a seasoned lawn care professional, which I openly admit I am not. So it is probably an excellent place for somebbody like me to start.

  • David,
    I have just ordered your book, I look forward to reading it.
    Thanks
    Mark
  • Hi Mike ,

    its called modern lawn care....available on my website; www.davidhedges-gower.com

    Its a start, where anyone doing lawn care (we all do a bit) can learn what it actually takes to look after healthy lawns.

    How far we take that depends on what type of lawn we are trying to create, however, what we normally learn from, is fellow 'turf care' pros, who, provide surfaces....lawn owners do not.

    Apart from that, the turf pros are generally working on their turf for much longer than any lawn care worker can.

    The book is a start, some areas may still be complicated, but even for 240 pages, you cant fit much in.

    It emphasizes, how we have a 3D vision on lawns, Grasses (not as many as you think), thatch (and how we need to control it) and the soils (the most important bit, which we never see or worry about)

    And how they all must work together....for a healthy lawn.

    Its a good read, but its a good start....








    Mike Goodman said:

    Perhaps you have a strong case but being honest with myself I do not know enough about the topic to comment. As I am now being asked to lay turf for customers it is after time I should be learning. So I've just joined the "Professional lawn care forum" here (is it very diffrent form the turf care forum?) as a start.

    But you still haven't told me the name of your book or where I can buy it. It sounds as though it will offer some hints and guidance towards further reading and learning topics even if it is too basic to answer the questions of a seasoned lawn care professional, which I openly admit I am not. So it is probably an excellent place for somebbody like me to start.

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