During conversation the words lawn care and landscaping are often used interchangeably, it’s easy to do. It’s all greenery, right? But caring for a lawn and garden space is an important part of being a homeowner, tenant, business owner, or property manager, so understanding the difference is important, especially if you require help with a specific task. In the world of garden design, treatment, and garden maintenance, the distinction is essential.
What is lawn care?
Lawn care involves the routine seasonal tasks you need to do for the upkeep of an established lawn to keep it healthy and promote growth.
Mowing the lawn
Mowing is possibly the most influential factor of lawn health. It encourages dense growth to create the favoured luxuriant green carpet look which also helps prevent weed growth.
Aerating the lawn
This is done by hand or using a machine to mechanically remove small plugs of thatch to improve the natural air exchange between the soil and atmosphere. With reduced soil compaction, improved fertiliser uptake and reduced water puddling, lawn health is greatly improved.
Weed control and soil cultivation
Weeds are a big problem for lawns and flowering gardens, they drain the soil of the nutrients the lawns and flowers need to thrive. Garden bed edging creates a physical division between the grass and borders keeping mulch and fertilisers where they need to be to help lawns and plants remain healthy and stop the spread of weeds.
What is landscaping?
Landscaping is the transformation of an outdoor area through intentional planting, construction, or rearranging existing vegetation to enhance the aesthetic of the property through cohesive design strengthened by landscape edging.
- Creating defined zones e.g. outdoor kitchen, wildflower meadows etc
- Defining paths through the lawn
- Creating a driveway
- Installing features such as ponds or pergolas
- Planting foliage to flower through the seasons
- Creating rockeries
- Building a patio or outdoor kitchen
- Introducing different textures
The crossover between lawn care and landscaping happens because the lawn is very much a landscape feature – the two are intrinsically linked despite their differences.
Why is garden landscaping important?
Landscaping unleashes the full potential of a garden space. Although primarily concerned with enhancing the beauty of a garden, landscaping brings other benefits to an outdoor space.
A garden you love to be in
The most successful garden landscapes are lifestyle affirming meeting the needs of you and your family. A specialist garden designer will create a design to your brief- a sun catching patio for sundowners, an area of lawn for ball games or a special place of zen-like calm for a hammock.
A garden to add value to your home
There is no doubt a landscaped garden adds dollars to the value of a property. With increased kerb appeal and features designed to enhance the aesthetic of the property, the impact on resale value and rent values the return on the investment is always healthy.
A garden designed to bring environmental benefits
Landscaped gardens provide environmental benefits to a property. Designed for the climate, they help homes stay warmer in winter and cooler in summer, reduce the risk of flooding and reduce soil degradation.
