Landscaping in NW DC is so...ugh

[Anonymous]

There are many affluent neighborhoods in NW DC. Residents are definitely doing well. However, the landscaping, yards and curb appeal in these neighborhoods are so bad.
Weed is everywhere. They don't care so much about keeping their yards nice and beautiful. No manicured lawns. You can tell that they don't value landscaping. Even the city doesn't value landscaping on the streets.
Why is that? I can't imagine this is about money and cost.
You drive in many average suburbs around here and you'll see a very different picture. Nice and beautiful manicured lawns.
Are DC residents just more nasty? I don't get it.

[Anonymous]

A lot of DC is wooded (older neighborhoods) so manicured lawns are a little harder to attain.

I imagine culturally there's more pressure in a suburban neighborhood to have a nice lawn.

In DC itself, there are different approaches here. Look at two equally wealthy neighborhoods like Spring Valley and Cleveland Park. SV is more suburban character and has the lawns you're thinking of. Cleveland Park is more wooded and wild. I think both are nice.

[Anonymous]

Manicured lawns are an environmental waste. Clover lawns and easy to manage perennials are the better way to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Manicured lawns are an environmental waste. Clover lawns and easy to manage perennials are the better way to go.

+1 I hate manicured lawns. So fakey fake.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are many affluent neighborhoods in NW DC. Residents are definitely doing well. However, the landscaping, yards and curb appeal in these neighborhoods are so bad.
Weed is everywhere. They don't care so much about keeping their yards nice and beautiful. No manicured lawns. You can tell that they don't value landscaping. Even the city doesn't value landscaping on the streets.
Why is that? I can't imagine this is about money and cost.
You drive in many average suburbs around here and you'll see a very different picture. Nice and beautiful manicured lawns.
Are DC residents just more nasty? I don't get it.

Will be moving to a SFH in the 'burbs in a year or two and do expect to possibly annoy my neighbors with my refusal to use pesticides for a picture perfect lawn and plant a ton of native perennials to keep the bees and butterflies happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Manicured lawns are an environmental waste. Clover lawns and easy to manage perennials are the better way to go.

+1 I hate manicured lawns. So fakey fake.

+2 I also just find them so boring. Do better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Manicured lawns are an environmental waste. Clover lawns and easy to manage perennials are the better way to go.

Ok. I don't disagree. But these neighborhoods have grass lawns. They are not maintained and look ugly. If you keep grass, you should at least maintain it.
Look at the sidewalks. They are full of grass with weed. If it was only the weed, that would be fine, but the worst thing is that nobody is even cutting the grass. It either looks thin and dead or neglected like a forest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Manicured lawns are an environmental waste. Clover lawns and easy to manage perennials are the better way to go.

Ok. I don't disagree. But these neighborhoods have grass lawns. They are not maintained and look ugly. If you keep grass, you should at least maintain it.
Look at the sidewalks. They are full of grass with weed. If it was only the weed, that would be fine, but the worst thing is that nobody is even cutting the grass. It either looks thin and dead or neglected like a forest.

Shrug. I live in NE where litter blows like pollen down my street. Unmanicured lawns in NW aren't a concern, and if I were rich enough to own a SFH in NW, I'd pay to have the lawn replaced with something more fun and that provides better shade than a vast hot *ss lawn to bake in in the humid DC sun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Manicured lawns are an environmental waste. Clover lawns and easy to manage perennials are the better way to go.

Ok. I don't disagree. But these neighborhoods have grass lawns. They are not maintained and look ugly. If you keep grass, you should at least maintain it.
Look at the sidewalks. They are full of grass with weed. If it was only the weed, that would be fine, but the worst thing is that nobody is even cutting the grass. It either looks thin and dead or neglected like a forest.

Speaking only for myself here, and living in Chevy Chase, DC, my two options are to spend all the hours from 6 PM till sundown doing my own lawn, or paying an outside firm $800 a month to achieve your aesthetic goal. It would be far cheaper to just get guys to cut the grass, but to achieve what you’re actually talking about is about 800 a month

Does that answer your question?

[Anonymous]

I live on the Hill and I love all the cute things people do with their tiny yards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Manicured lawns are an environmental waste. Clover lawns and easy to manage perennials are the better way to go.

Ok. I don't disagree. But these neighborhoods have grass lawns. They are not maintained and look ugly. If you keep grass, you should at least maintain it.
Look at the sidewalks. They are full of grass with weed. If it was only the weed, that would be fine, but the worst thing is that nobody is even cutting the grass. It either looks thin and dead or neglected like a forest.

Speaking only for myself here, and living in Chevy Chase, DC, my two options are to spend all the hours from 6 PM till sundown doing my own lawn, or paying an outside firm $800 a month to achieve your aesthetic goal. It would be far cheaper to just get guys to cut the grass, but to achieve what you’re actually talking about is about 800 a month

Does that answer your question?

800 a month? It that what it costs? That's not what people pay to get it done in the burbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Manicured lawns are an environmental waste. Clover lawns and easy to manage perennials are the better way to go.

Agree, however many yards around here can't even manage clover lawns and perennials.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Manicured lawns are an environmental waste. Clover lawns and easy to manage perennials are the better way to go.

Ok. I don't disagree. But these neighborhoods have grass lawns. They are not maintained and look ugly. If you keep grass, you should at least maintain it.
Look at the sidewalks. They are full of grass with weed. If it was only the weed, that would be fine, but the worst thing is that nobody is even cutting the grass. It either looks thin and dead or neglected like a forest.

I think maybe you’re mistaking liriope for grass. It is often planted in the tree boxes and this time of year is not its best moment. But mainly I think you just prefer areas with less tree cover and more chemically managed grass, so just go there! No one is forcing you to be sad about the tree box liriope.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Manicured lawns are an environmental waste. Clover lawns and easy to manage perennials are the better way to go.

+1 I hate manicured lawns. So fakey fake.

My neighbors would TP us if we had a manicured lawn, lol. So hideous when you realize what you are actually looking at.

[Anonymous]

Lawns are an abomination.