Have You Ever Mowed A Lawn And Washed A Driveway

What are the best ways to put gravel down over grass (without removing the grass) so that grass/weeds never grow back? I.e. What's the best/cheapest way to do it without removing the grass?

Lay down a double layer of the toughest, thickest landscaping fabric you can find: if you can tear it with your hands, you don't want it. Phone a good landscaper and ask them where you can buy the fabric that the pros use. When you are laying the fabric make as few slits as possible and overlap each seam by at least 3'/1 metre. If you don't have access to the fabric you can use leftover shingles. Make sure there are no gaps.If this is not going to be a driveway then use washed rock instead of 3/4" crush (gravel), and make sure it is as clean as you can find it. Weeds can gain purchase in sand and in small particles, and 3/4" crush is mostly sand these days, not gravel. Some of the quarries you don't have access to will probably have the best, cleanest washed rock, so ask a good bobcat/skidsteer contractor if they can get a hold of really clean washed rock. Ask if they can get you a sample before you agree to use their services for anything.Have the bobcat spread out the gravel evenly, then rake it smooth by hand. You need 4-6" minimum thickness to prevent the sun from penetrating down to soil and starting weed growth. 8-12" deep is better.If this is going to be a driveway or a compacted surface where heavy wheeled objects move back and forth on, then use washed rock combined 50/50 with 3/4" crush (gravel). Have the bobcat operator mix the two or put down the washed rock first.Have the bobcat spread out the gravel evenly, then rake it smooth by hand. You need 4-6" minimum thickness to prevent the sun from penetrating down to soil and starting weed growth. 8-12" deep is better. Pack the gravel down with a tamper for every 4-6" of gravel laid. Go over the entire area with 4-5 passes before putting down more gravel.After you're done, take care that topsoil or sand never get dumped on the gravel, as these finer particles will trickle into the gravel and create a substrate for weeds to grow. Don't let snow removal companies dump on your gravel either, the snow contains particulates and sand that will seep into the gravel when the water melts.

Would you rather mow the lawn in the hot summer or shovel snow in the frigid winter?

I would much rather shovel snow in the freezing weather than be outside in the brutal heat, chopping grass. We have a cordless electric mower that is nice and quiet, but is a bit heavy. And since both my sister and I are rather small, we have some difficultly pushing it if the grass is heavy or wet.Fortunately most of our yard is sand and rocks so we don’t have much grass to actually mow. Which is good, because the mosquitoes, flies and other flying beasties usually quickly detect us and attack. We travel a lot in the summer, so we’re fortunate to have a kid near us that likes to make a few bucks mowing lawns. And he takes care of our yard when we’re gone or when the grass is just too heavy for my sister and I to deal with.I love being outside in the snow, or even better, when it’s actually still snowing hard. Where we live gets tons of snow, sometimes wet and heavy snow, and unfortunately at times it gets too heavy for my scrawny arms. So the same kid that chops our grass comes over with his snow blower and helps out. He does the heavy snow in our driveway while my sister and I have fun shoveling the walk, steps and porch, and usually end up goofing off and throwing snowballs at each other. Of course our kitties watch intently from the windows or porch.So for us, winter is a whole lot more fun to be messing around outside than the summer. We know how to dress so we never really get cold, and the horrible bugs and heat are gone. Snow is so much fun to mess around in and I could never live in a place where it doesn't snow. A lot.The snow makes everything seem so fresh and clean.The ice in the stream in back of our house makes lovely works of art.The little pond near us isn’t frozen yet, but gets misty and really creepy this time of the year.Our cat, Crazy Walter, used to love being out in the snow. :) All photos by Anna Kristian.

Is home and lawn appearance a priority to you?

Yes, I am afraid that I might be hopelessly bourgeois when it comes to the outward appearance of my home.I love coming home. Driving down the little road, past the other houses, and turning down that last dead-end street when I’ll see my home. I know some great people who seem to mow their lawn once a year, who never even washed the exterior of their house, but if that’s what I saw when I pulled up my driveway it would depress and stress me out. It wouldn’t feel welcoming to me, and I would know that anyone else arriving felt the same way, which is the opposite of what I want.My house sits on a very large property, and the front yard has a circle drive with a lawn in the center. There’s a small lake, and a swing under a couple of very old trees. There is more lawn between the driveway and the house, and a stone walkway with a trellis leading up to the front porch. With a bird bath and some flower beds right in front of the house, the white two story house with the wide columns really isn’t an innovative or architecturally interesting home, but it’s the one I’ve always dreamed of. I wanted it so bad that my husband, originally an architect, agreed to build me something that gave him no opportunity to indulge his more creative instincts. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful home, but it’s a lot like many of the other plantation style homes in this part of the state. It’s the kind that I would have fantasized about living in if I’d driven by and seen it, though, which might be why I love coming home to it.This is what a wanted; a house that feels like a home, one that makes visitors feel welcome and peaceful. My husband and I both love to have friends over, family members are always stopping by, and now our kids are having play dates. We also value our privacy, and our cats don’t like strangers, so we can keep one side of the house – the one with our private rooms – closed off from the rest. I’ve always hated hosting large gatherings because someone inevitably wanders into my bedroom or even closet, or they decide to use one of our bathrooms, but this house means that I can fill the place with people and feel completely comfortable knowing that they’ll stay in the common areas.It would have been silly to put so much thought into a layout designed for company if I didn’t keep the house ready, but it’s not like we’re afraid to actually use it; we just put stuff away when we’ve finished with it, and we pay someone to do the daily cleaning and gardening.

I am 14 and I am going to start babysitting, lawn mowing and car washing for other people, what should I not do during this?

Henry, I think you should start mowing lawns. Forget the other stuff. Think of this as a business. Get up early, eat your bowl of oatmeal, and get to work before it gets too hot. People are going to want to give you work so take this seriously.Wear professional looking clothes and appropriate gear. Show up at the same time every week and before you know it you’ll have all kinds of other work. If you like the work you can have a decent little business before you graduate from High School.You can sell the business, keep it growing, hire employees that run it while you are away at College, etc. Again, this is a great business if you like it. Study turf grass or horticulture and you can be a millionaire by the time you are 40, no kidding.Take it seriously and have fun! Mike

What kind of chores do you consider worthy of pay to children?

I see myself debating this same question not too long from now… my kids are still pretty little, so chores are rewarded with candy and star stickers most of the time. Once they’re older and able to do more things, I think the chores they do that benefit everyone, not just themselves could be rewarded with some cash. Chores like cleaning ones own room or doing ones own laundry won’t qualify. Those will be expected to be done without reward because this is life. But if they can do something for the whole family, like vacuuming the whole house, cleaning the bathroom, washing and drying the dishes, things like that, I’d have no problem giving them a bit of pay. I would hope that they’d learn that helping others and contributing to the good of the family is a reward in itself, but I’d be a hypocrite… I wouldn’t mind getting paid being a stay-at-home mom and doing all the things I currently do without getting so much as a thank you. One can dream.