So you’re thinking of buying a brand new lawn mower?  Stumped on which type to buy for the best performance?  Not to worry – let’s check out the differences, pros and cons between them now so you can make your decision with more confidence.

Let’s take a look at electric lawn mowers first.  You have two types here, the plug in variety or the cordless variety.  While the plug in variety could work in your own garden, you’ll soon tire of using it for your landscaping business.  For starters they don’t look too professional.  You’ll also be reduced to constantly asking your client where the nearest plug socket is.  And you also need to carry an extension lead with you at all times, not to mention a safety cut out in case you run over the cable.

Apart from this you also need to think about the practicality of using a corded lawn mower.  Supposing your latest client has a huge garden and the extension lead isn’t long enough?  You’d have to reject anyone whose garden was too big for you and your extension lead to handle.

What about cordless lawn mowers then?  Well these are better but once again you’ll always need to make sure the battery is fully charged.  And if you tackle a large lawn you might even need a spare battery (or two) to get through it.  You’re probably already thinking about what you would do with your second client; you either buy LOTS of batteries or you nix that idea altogether.

And so we come to gas lawn mowers.  Sure these can require a little more in the way of maintenance because you have to change the spark plug now and again and change the oil as well.  You’ve also got to fill her up with gas and make sure you have enough for the job.

But you’ve got a pretty robust lawn mower for the task.  You’ve got no extension leads or batteries to worry about.  Spares can easily be kept in the back of your truck too.

Perhaps best of all is the fact that gas lawn mowers have more power than any other kind of mower.  You’ll find tackling a large lawn is much easier with one of these, because they cut better, perform better and make life a lot easier for you.  Cutting your own lawn once in a while is one thing.  But when you are mowing five or six lawns a day every day for your clients, you’ll want a mower you can rely on and use easily.

If you were undecided at the start of this article you have probably just made your mind up to buy that brand new gas lawn mower by now!  Yes the price of gas isn’t too good.  But this kind of mower is an investment and it will give you plenty of good use provided you take good care of it.

Let’s imagine you have just completed an estimate for a lawn care job.  What comes next?

This is a question that is asked by lots of people who own a lawn care and landscaping business.  The important thing to realize is that the estimate is just the start of a process you should always be following.  No two business owners will have exactly the same process to be sure, but if you just give an estimate and then move on to someone else, you are going to lose a lot of work.

Let’s think about this in a bit more detail.  The customer comes to you and asks for an estimate for some landscaping or lawn care work.  You provide them with the estimate and they go away and think about it.

The next step is the most important one of all, no matter how experienced you are in business or how long your business has been running for.  You see, if you don’t follow up on all the estimates you give out, you will only ever snag jobs from those people who are eager to get the work done.  You are relying on your customer to be the pro-active one, when in reality you need to be pro-active too if you want to develop your business.

So the next step is to get in touch with them.  How you do this will depend on how the customer first makes contact with you and how you present the estimate to them.  You may provide an estimate without actually visiting them, based on sketches or descriptions of the work that needs to be done.  Alternatively you may already have visited their property to give a more detailed estimate.

A good way to encourage contact in the first place is to have a contact form on your website, by which people can get in touch with you by email.  But however you make that first connection with potential customers you need to get their phone number if at all possible.

As hard as it may be to believe, a phone number can make all the difference between getting a successful job and missing out.  You can send them the estimate for the work and then call them afterwords to make sure they have got it.  You might decide to ring them and follow up on the estimate the day after you send it.  In this case you could state that you will do this on the estimate itself.

The important thing here is that you do follow it up – even though you might be worried about doing so to begin with.  And if you change your whole way of quoting in the first place you may find the next stage is actually to begin the work itself.  There is never anything better than speaking to a customer on a face to face basis, although calling them on the phone is definitely the second best option!

All lawns need different amounts of care depending on the time of year.  What is good for them during the summer could be disastrous for them in the fall, so the more you know about what to do and when, the better the lawns you care for will fare.

For starters you’ll need to keep an eye on any overhanging trees that allow leaves to fall on the lawn.  You will definitely want to clear these up as regularly as possible.  Not only will it result in a better looking lawn, you will also keep the grass uncovered.  If leaves are left to rot on the lawn they can discolor the grass underneath – especially if there are a lot of them.

You should also mow the lawn regularly provided it isn’t too wet to do so.  There is no reason not to mow the grass at this time of year, and if you do so it will stay healthier throughout the winter months when it is really cold as well.

If you know what kind of grass each lawn is made from you will have a better idea of how to handle it.  But since most home owners won’t know what it is, you should just apply some general tips and advice to make sure the lawn survives the winter in as good a condition as possible.

Watch out for weeds at this time of year as well.  Whatever you do, don’t ignore them and let them grow.  They are liable to be out of control by the time the next summer arrives.  Remove them and apply some organic weed killer to get rid of them completely.

As you can probably tell, every lawn needs certain jobs doing to it to get it through the winter and get it ready for the following year as well.  Now is not the time to neglect any lawn, even though most home owners will only use it during the summer months.  They’d certainly prefer it to look good throughout the year if possible.

Take this opportunity to dethatch the lawn as well.  You’ll be mowing a lot less as the weather gets colder.  If any thatch is left at the end of the main mowing season you will find it can do a lot of damage to the lawn over the colder months.  Rake it all out and get rid of it.

Don’t forget to aerate the lawn as well.  You’re liable to have wetter weather during the winter and if all the rain sits on top of the lawn it won’t get down to the roots to feed them properly.  By aerating it fully when you mow it as the fall starts, you will enable all the natural goodness of the rain to permeate into the soil.

As you can see there is a lot you should and shouldn’t be doing at this time of year.  Perhaps the most important thing not to do is neglect the lawn!

Don’t we all want a perfect lawn?  Most of your clients will, no doubt, so make sure you follow these five tips if you want to ensure every lawn you mow looks its best.

1.    Ensure you get the right mowing height.  You should look at trimming off around a third of the height of the grass.  If this is the first time you have mowed a particular client’s lawn and the grass is very long, don’t be tempted to cut it nice and short to begin with.  This will result in the grass experiencing shock, which is how you get that horrible brown color.  Always err on the side of caution.

2.    Sharpen your lawn mower blades.  You won’t get the best result with anything but good sharp blades.  Since you will use your mower virtually every day as a lawn care professional, you need to make sure your blades are sharpened regularly.  Check them at the start of every day to ensure they are ready for the work ahead.

3.    Mow around the edge of the lawn first.  This makes it easier to tackle the bit in the middle.  You also won’t be in any danger of running the mower off into the flower beds.  Instead you can go around at right angles to them and trim the edges first to help make the job easier.

4.    Work out which direction you are going to mow the lawn in, and stick to it.  Strictly speaking, for the best look you should go along from end to end, assuming those two ends are the furthest away from each other.  So if you have a garden that is four meters by six meters, go up and down the six meter stretch.  This gives the illusion of a longer lawn as well, thanks to the stripes.  Always defer to the wishes of your client however.

5.    Trim the edges for the perfect professional finish.  Once the lawn is mowed you can go around and trim up the edges finely using your trimmer.  You won’t need to do this every time but if the edges start looking straggly they will need cutting back.  Keep an eye on them and only trim them once the lawn is cut.  You will get a better finish as you can see what needs doing and how much.

Once you get the hang of following these five tips you’ll have a procedure to follow every time you tackle a lawn – whether it’s for a regular client or someone new.  People can tell whether you knowing what you’re doing or not; having a plan of action will mark you out as being confident and knowledgeable in your job.

One final point – if your client should ask why you aren’t cutting their lawn as short as they wanted it to be, make sure you educate them on the issue of shocking the grass.  They’ll be glad you didn’t do that, and they’ll also be sure to ask you back again soon to complete the job!

Sooner or later most home owners will ask you how they can get their garden paths and patios cleaned up and looking good again.  When this topic comes up it is good to be able to offer them a cleaning service using a pressure washer.

Pressure washing is one of the key tools of the trade when you have your own landscaping and garden care business.  And if you follow the following five points every time you tackle a dirty or grubby path or patio, you’ll have the job done to perfection in no time.

1.    Start at the highest point of the area you are tackling.  Always stand back and take a look at the area you have been asked to clean.  The last thing you want is to stand at the lowest point and end up being boxed in as all the water runs down to soak your feet.  A couple of seconds and some common sense is all you need here.

2.    Spray water onto the ground at an angle.  Once your pressure washer is set up and ready to go and you are wearing the right safety goggles, aim the nozzle at the ground at an angle rather than pointing directly downwards.  If you think about it, pointing it down will simply shoot all the dirt further into all those minute cracks and crevices.  So give the dirt a chance to escape right from the start by going at it at an angle.

3.    Put the right chemicals into the pressure washer and spray them onto the ground, once again using an angle to do so.  The chemicals will do most of the cleaning for you, and once again you have a chance to knock some of the dirt out of the crevices.

4.    Wait.  Don’t underestimate the power of waiting!  You need to give those chemicals a chance to do their work before you wash them off again.  This is a good time to prepare any other tasks you may have to do in the same garden.

5.    Rinse off the ground with fresh water, ensuring all traces of the chemicals are removed.  This should bring the patio or stones up beautifully, giving the home owner just the result they were looking for.

The task of cleaning any portion of ground like this shouldn’t take too long to do.  It depends on how big an area you are doing though, so bear that in mind before you work out a cost estimate for the job.

The other advantage of being able to offer a simple five step pressure washing service is that you can also be on hand to clean driveways if you want.  This isn’t strictly a gardening or landscaping job, but if you have the chance to earn a few extra dollars when you are at a client’s house using your pressure washer on their patio, why not go for an extra sale and an extra job while you are there?

Weed eaters are an important addition to every range of garden tools.  You may also know them as weed whackers.  But the most important thing to remember is that they are ideal for helping you to remove weeds that can damage a lawn and make it look unsightly.

There are three basic types of weed eater available, and the one you buy will depend on how often you are going to use it and how big your garden is.  The basic type is an electric model.  This has a plug on the end and is plugged into an extension lead running outside from inside the house.  It works well and will keep going as long as you need it to, but if you have a long garden you won’t find it ideal as you are limited by the length of the attached cord and the extension lead.

Secondly you have a battery powered weed eater.  As the name suggests this gets rid of the need for an extension cord, and you don’t have to worry about tripping over wires either.  On the disadvantages side you need to think about how long the charge will last for before it needs to be recharged.  You also need to remember to put it back on charge before you actually need to use it.

The third choice you have is a gas powered weed wacker.  These are arguably the best ones of all and if you happen to run your own lawn care business you really can’t consider using anything else.  You’ll need to have a supply of oil and gas to keep it running, so the main requirement here is to keep it suitably topped up at all times.  You also need to think about the additional maintenance and upkeep that it will require, due to it being more heavy duty in nature.

Gas powered models have the same advantage that chargeable battery ones have though.  You can take them wherever they need to go without worrying about running out of extension lead.

When you are thinking about which one to buy you should consider your budget as well.  The electric powered models will generally be the cheapest ones you can get, with the gas powered ones at the more expensive end of the scale.  But you need to consider what your actual needs are as well.  For example you won’t be able to run a lawn care business with an electric weed whacker because it is inconvenient to have to ask to plug it in the whole time.  You will also get more use and typically a longer life out of a gas powered model.  As you can see you do get what you pay for.

So whenever you are thinking of buying a new weed eater you should consider what circumstances you will be using it in.  This should help you decide which model you are better off buying to get the most out of it.

When you are landscaping peoples’ gardens for them you will eventually come across the need to provide an area for a playhouse.  Kids love these and to have one of their own is likely to be a dream come true.

But putting them together can be a nightmare.  While you can buy ready made kits with all the parts you need, you can also get hold of various sets of plans.  These playhouse plans tell you what you need to buy to put the playhouse together, and they also provide detailed instructions on how to construct it once you have the parts.  As such it is very important that you have the right set of plans before you begin.  If you have a plan that isn’t well put together you will struggle to make the best of it.

The plans need to provide a suitable playhouse for the kids in the family.  If there is just one child then a huge playhouse is not really necessary.  But if several children are going to be using it on a regular basis then you need to find something larger.

Size is not the only thing you need to bear in mind when you are looking at plans though.  For instance you should think about the number of rooms the playhouse consists of as well.  A playhouse can be anything from one room on one level, to a multi-level construction that has several spaces inside it to play in.

This brings in another important facet worth thinking about before you decide on any one specific design.  Cost will be important for many people and you may have a budget to stick to.  But bear in mind too that kids have active imaginations so even if they happen to keep on talking about a castle you don’t have to build them one.  Instead you have to provide a solid well built structure that they can turn into anything they want.  This is why sticking to one or maybe two rooms is often better than trying to build something really elaborate.  It gives them a greater degree of freedom.

A good set of plans will include all the dimensions you need to be able to translate those plans to the size of garden you have.  You’ll need to have enough room round it not only to build it but for the kids to play in it happily.  Remember too that people will want to walk around it to reach other areas of the garden, so think about this as well.

Once you have chosen the best plan you should know exactly what timber you will need to buy to construct the playhouse itself.  This should be easy to ascertain from the plans, which is another reason for comparing different plans before you decide on one in particular.

Kids will love a solid playhouse in the garden.  And with good construction it should last many years as well.

If you are thinking about fertilizing a customer’s lawn and you’re not sure which fertilizer to use, it’s worth finding out some basic facts about the stuff to help you along the way.

For starters not all fertilizers are the same.  It’s important to take a good look at the packaging before you decide what to buy, rather than going on price.  While the same three basic ingredients are used in all fertilizers, not all of them will appear in every bag you buy.  This is why it’s important to make sure you know what you are buying and using each time.

Lawns need many more elements than just three things if they are to survive and flourish.  But with that said you won’t need to provide all of them yourself as the lawn will get much of what it needs directly from the soil underneath it.

Fertilizer is used to provide potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus more than anything else.  But as we have already discovered you won’t find these three ingredients in every single bag on sale today.  If you want a good all round fertilizer it is important to check the contents to ensure these three ingredients are all inside the bag.  If you find something that only has one or two of them it might be cheaper, but it won’t necessarily bring the results you really want.

Of course every lawn will be different.  For instance one lawn might be perfectly okay with its phosphorus levels, but it could be lacking in nitrogen.  If this is the case you will find that you won’t need an all round complete solution, as a fertilizer with phosphorus included will suffice for its needs.

How do you check what you need for any particular lawn?  The answer is simple – you’ll need a kit that enables you to check the content of the soil under the lawn.  This will tell you what it already has in abundance and more importantly what it needs from now on.  You can then buy the appropriate fertilizer for that customer’s lawn.

As you can see, as a lawn care specialist it pays to have a few bags of different fertilizers in your truck for these kinds of occasions.  You can build up to this stage as you get more experience and more customers.  Make sure you have some soil testing kits in your truck too.  This way, you can test the soil on the spot and treat it at the same time as well if you have the right mix of fertilizer the lawn needs.

Fertilizer can’t always be applied straightaway though.  A lot could depend on the weather.  For instance if you are in the middle of a heat wave it would be better to wait for it to subside before applying the fertilizer.  But it should be well watered in whenever you apply it, to make sure it does its job perfectly.  Always read the instructions and go from there.

Steps are a wonderful way to add variety and interest to any landscaping design.  As a landscaper and lawn care expert you will probably end up creating steps in several gardens for clients over time, depending on what they want to achieve.  There is no doubt they can provide a focal point and a point of interest as well, and they are ideal for breaking the garden up into different areas and sections.

It is vital to take a look at the whole layout of the garden as it exists at the moment before doing anything else.  You’ll notice that you can sometimes see where the steps should naturally be without even having to focus in on them to any real extent.  For instance not all gardens are naturally flat as a pancake, so where a difference in levels occurs you could choose this as a prime spot for some steps to be installed.

Remember too that when we say steps, it doesn’t necessarily have to be plural.  You could happily install just one step if it works to do so in the area you are landscaping.

One thing to bear in mind for starters is that when you are creating a set of outdoor steps, each one is a lot more generous than stairs you would have indoors.  Instead of having a flight of stairs, steps move back from you at a slower pace, with the depth of each one being more than it would be indoors.  Always make sure you keep this point in mind before you tackle a design for garden steps – you will likely need more room than you think you will.

You also have to add a slight tilt to the steps as well.  Imagine if it rains – the last thing you want is water collecting on every single step as it does so.  Regardless of the type of surface you use you should construct the steps so the water can run off and down them.

Design is difficult because it can vary so much depending on the rest of the garden.  Don’t be afraid to mix your materials though – steps edged with timber and packed down with soil and gravel look stunning, as do those which mix timber and slate for instance.  Think about how the rest of the garden will be put together and go from there.

Steps are useful in many situations, either to add interest or to provide a break from one area to another.  They are perfect in gardens which have a natural slope to contend with though, and indeed they can totally transform areas like this by allowing you to create terraces instead of coping with that slope.

In short make sure you consider steps in every garden landscaping design you come up with.  Even though you won’t always use them, you cannot doubt the attractiveness and practical nature of them when you do.  Could your next landscaping job have steps included as part of the design?

Have you ever noticed how some people seem to be able to bring out the best in orchids?  They are not the easiest plants to grow or maintain, and yet some people always get the results they want.

There is a lot to think about when you have an orchid and you are trying to get the best from it.  For instance it is possible to get flowers on it quite consistently and yet this doesn’t happen for many people who have one.

The big secret – perhaps the most important one as far as the orchids themselves are concerned – is to focus on the amount of water you are giving it.  While the orchid looks much like any other plant you might be surprised to know that it has more in common with the cactus than anything else.  Some people joke that if you know someone who forgets to water their plants, you should give them a cactus because they can go without water for quite some time.

Orchids are the same in this respect.  They are not quite on the same scale as cacti, but they certainly don’t need regular watering to the same degree as the rest of your house plants probably will.  Check the soil every now and then to ensure it isn’t dry, and water as necessary to keep it moist.  You should never flood it with water though as this can greatly shorten the orchid’s life.  You can also preserve the flowers more readily if you take care when you water the plant.  If the flowers become wet they will suffer because of it.

Some people find that as with any plants, orchids grow better when they find the best place in the house to sit in.  In this case the bathroom is a good venue to try.  Ideally you should put the orchid somewhere where it won’t get soaked for the reasons given above.  The damp conditions will benefit the orchid though, which is why this room is a good bet to try.

One of the biggest secrets involved with orchids however is to identify exactly what kind of orchid you own.  All plants come in different varieties and what works brilliantly for one may fail miserably for another.  Just as people are different and some love the sun while others shy away from it, you will notice that your orchid might behave slightly differently from what you would expect as the norm.

Once you have identified your plant you can find precise care instructions to help you nurture and develop it.  Treating all orchids exactly the same is one of the reasons why some people habitually end up killing theirs off.  By doing some research before you buy your orchid you can be sure of which one will thrive the most in your home.  You can also ensure you have the exact spot for it that it will appreciate at all times.

What are you waiting for?  Go and take care of your orchid now.