Fun Lawn Care Facts and Lawn Care Tips

I wanted to share fun lawn care facts and tips with you in an effort to lighten things up a bit. Some of the information you may already know and some of it may surprise you. In fact, to some of the information you may say “who cares”. Being the lawn care fanatic that I am, I think these facts are fun and quite interesting. Just think, you could be the hit of your neighborhood's block party this summer.

Fun Lawn Care Facts

• Fun Fact 1 - The average homeowner spends approximately 4 hours per week caring for their lawn. Depending on where you live that is approximately 150 hours (cooler climates) to 208 hours (warmer climates) per year. Breaking that down even further that is 5 to 8.5 days out of each year.
• Fun Fact 2 - According to the 2010 National Gardening Association Survey, Americans spend on average $363 per year on their lawn and gardening activities. In the United States, that is equal to approximately $30 million dollars per year. That is some serious money.
• Fun Fact 3 - 85 million households in the US have private lawns.
• Fun Fact 4 - According to the 2010 National Gardening Association Survey, 22 million homeowners hire a lawn care professional to handle their lawn care and landscaping needs. That is at the lowest level it has been at in 5 years. That means there are a lot more do it your-selfers out there. Even more reason to visit lawncare-made-easy.com.
• Fun Fact 5 - There are approximately 50 million acres of grass in the United States. Approximately 21 million of those acres are in our front and back yards.
• Fun Fact 6 - The average lawn size for a home is 1/5 of an acre.
• Fun Fact 7 - 80 million pounds of pesticides and 70 million pounds of chemical fertilizer are applied to our lawns in the United States each year.

Important Dates in Lawn Care

Lawn care facts wouldn't be complete without important dates in lawn care.

• Important Date 1 - In 1830, Edwin Budding (an English Engineer) received the first patent in England for a reel type lawn mower. In 1868, Amariah M. Hills of Connecticut received the first patent in the United States for a reel lawn mower.
• Important Date 2 - In 1871, the first lawn sprinkler was patented. J. Lessler of Buffalo, New York received the first patent. Many lawn sprinklers were invented earlier, but in 1871 the first patent was issued.
• Important Date 3 - In 1919, the first gasoline powered lawn mowers were manufactured in the United States by Colonel Edwin George.
• Important Date 4 - In 1929, the first patent in the United States for a power rotary mower was issued to Benjamin F. Gravely.
• Important Date 5 - In 1992, the US Lawn Mower Racing Association (USLMRA) was founded. The USLMRA is the oldest and largest national lawn mower racing sanctioning body in the United States.
• Important Date 6 - In 1997, Ryan Tripp (a 12 year old boy), set a world record by riding a lawn mower 3,116 miles from Salt Lake City, Utah to Washington D.C. Ryan's purpose for this incredible endeavor was to raise money for a baby in his hometown that needed a liver transplant. Ryan raised $15,000.
• Important Date 7 - In 1999, Ryan did it again. He set out to mow the lawn of every state capital in the United States in 75 days. Ryan accomplished his goal while promoting awareness of organ and tissue donation.

Do you want to stretch your precious mowing time?

Lawn care facts wouldn't be complete without a little bit of nonsense. Some may think you are crazy, whatever floats your boat. If you really like mowing your lawn or have a lot of spare time here are some tips:

• Tip 1- Use the smallest possible mower on your lawn.
• Tip 2 - Leave plenty of obstacles. Don't remove your kids toys or the dogs poop.
• Tip 3 - Design your yard so it has plenty of corners and angles on your lawn.
• Tip 4 - Mow the lawn when it is wet out. The clean-up from this in itself will keep you busy for hours.
• Tip 5 - Wait to mow the lawn until it is way too long.
• Tip 6 - Bag your grass clippings.
• Tip 7 - Use a real old mower with dull blades.
• Tip 8 - Fertilize, fertilize, fertilize. This will make your lawn grow like crazy.

Important lawn care facts to ease your mind

• Tip 1 - Quit being so neurotic.
• Tip 2 - Your lawn doesn't have to be completely weed free or the perfect color green.
• Tip 3 - Your new motto should be: “My lawn is perfect as long as it looks good from my neighbor's yard.”

I would love your input in this section. If you know any fun lawn care facts or dates related to lawns and lawn care, please send them via the Ask Walt page. All facts must be verifiable. Your fun fact will be added to this page along with your first name and where you live (state and country only).

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