Landscaping in NW DC is so...ugh

[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.

Even out here in the burbs, there is no imagination in landscaping. Same stuff all the time. Compare that to New England, where you see tons of perennials used, etc. I think it’s the landscaping companies driving it. I plant perennials and they are pulled out constantly. I put little markers next to them - ignored. I’ve had companies kill shrubs and plants through improper pruning - will not let them do any of that now. And they mulch to the point of death to the plants because they cover them completely or they put so much around trees that they get rot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I do this. Keep a Burpee catalog on hand, as well as some information from environmental sources, because HOA will come after you. You can easily combat this because your ‘weeds’ will be in the Burpee catalog and they can’t scream that they support green practices and then refute your environmental sources. They back off fast

[Anonymous]

I grew up in NW DC and now live in Silver Spring and OP is totally right. The lawns in my area are all neat and tidy. I went for a walk around Chevy chase DC and was jarred by how not as neat or well cared for the lawns are.

In my neighborhood most people care for their lawns themselves. Some people get lawn services but not many. My guess is that most people in Northwest DC don’t have the time or maybe even the skills to care for their lawns themselves, but the lawn services are really expensive since there aren’t any working class people in the area. And maybe for some reason upper middle-class white people in DC aren’t as obsessed with keeping their lawns neat? Certainly seems that way

I don’t really care one way or the other. I don’t particularly prefer one way or the other. But what was jarring is that when I first moved to my neighborhood, I felt the tidiness of the lawns was a bit much. And then when I went walking around Chevy Chase after a while, I was like, what’s up with all these people who don’t cut their lawn? It was interesting because my perception changed based on living in a neighborhood with neater lawns for a while.

[Anonymous]

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

Not necessarily. I don’t know if the original poster would consider my lawn neat enough. But it looks neat to me. And all my husband does is cut up with a electric lawnmower. It’s not really environmentally taxing to do that. We don’t put any chemicals on it. But we don’t have super perfect lawn with no clovers etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can’t imagine judging the yards and gardens of anywhere right now. It’s March.

It's not different in the summer or in the fall. Yards and gardens in DC look sad all seasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

PP here. Yes, during the growth seasons and cleanup months (Oct - Dec 1). For a 5500 sq ft property with multiple trees, shrubs, some lawn and perennial beds. In 20015 near Reno Rd. Again, this is the rate to achieve what OP describes. To just have a crew come and cut your grass and weeds every two weeks with their pick up truck would cost less I’m not denying that. But for fertilizing weeding mulching composting trimming trees shaping bushes. Yeah that’s what it costs. Planting annuals, overseeding as needed, edging, aeration. Dividing perennials …. Planting bulbs, cutting back the daffodils when they turn brown. Pulling weeds.

Ok fine. But my point is that the yards in DC area suburbs look much better. You are saying it's because maintaining a yard is expensive.
Do residents in the suburbs have more more money than those in NW DC? Nope.
If it's not money, what is it?
Others are making it about the climate. The climate is the same in the suburbs.
Maybe it's just that people in the suburbs care more about their yards? If it's true, why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in NW DC and now live in Silver Spring and OP is totally right. The lawns in my area are all neat and tidy. I went for a walk around Chevy chase DC and was jarred by how not as neat or well cared for the lawns are.

In my neighborhood most people care for their lawns themselves. Some people get lawn services but not many. My guess is that most people in Northwest DC don’t have the time or maybe even the skills to care for their lawns themselves, but the lawn services are really expensive since there aren’t any working class people in the area. And maybe for some reason upper middle-class white people in DC aren’t as obsessed with keeping their lawns neat? Certainly seems that way

I don’t really care one way or the other. I don’t particularly prefer one way or the other. But what was jarring is that when I first moved to my neighborhood, I felt the tidiness of the lawns was a bit much. And then when I went walking around Chevy Chase after a while, I was like, what’s up with all these people who don’t cut their lawn? It was interesting because my perception changed based on living in a neighborhood with neater lawns for a while.

THIS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

We have zoysia grass. It naturally prevents weeds and takes care of itself. Dream grass.

Zoysia is an ecological wasteland.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I pay 600/month in McLean, it includes everything, weekly lawncare from April to October, fall cleanup, spring clean up, mulching, trimming of shrubs etc, fertilizing the lawn, aeration etc. My yard does look like but there is a cost.

[Anonymous]

I find this thread hilarious. We own a SFH in NW DC. You might have scoffed at my front lawn before. The grass has some weeds in it and we only mow every 3 weeks or so in the summer. Longer grass has longer roots and is therefore more drought-resistant. Also, it’s just not a top priority for us.

I’ll never spray chemicals on my lawn to kill weeds or keep it manicured. I’ll never water my lawn unless I just overseeded it. And I’m not going to hire an overpriced landscaping company that will send a bunch of unskilled labor to mow my grass within an inch of its life and kill shrubs and trees through improper pruning (this has happened to multiple neighbors).

[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.

Grass should not be cut when it is dormant and should not be cut until it as least 3-4 inches high. Our grass is still dormant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t imagine judging the yards and gardens of anywhere right now. It’s March.

It's not different in the summer or in the fall. Yards and gardens in DC look sad all seasons.

I disagree. I love walking the neighborhood and garden watching. People are finally breaking out and adding variety and personality to their yards. There is no one right way to care for your little piece of the earth. But I agree, there area few houses, two in particular, who mow once a year and leave it to the jungle to take back its own the rest of the year. I assume elderly, absentee homeowners, or mental health issues in those cases.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

We have zoysia grass. It naturally prevents weeds and takes care of itself. Dream grass.

Zoysia is an ecological wasteland.

But it looks like a fairway. So that’s my priority.

[Anonymous]

Natural / wild spaces are the thing to do now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I do this. Keep a Burpee catalog on hand, as well as some information from environmental sources, because HOA will come after you. You can easily combat this because your ‘weeds’ will be in the Burpee catalog and they can’t scream that they support green practices and then refute your environmental sources. They back off fast

If you live in Maryland unasked to the Low-Impact Landscaping Bill, even an HOA can't come after you.