What is on this site
This site is for people who want to grow and maintain a healthy lawn—or just fix the one that’s already struggling.
Every guide, tip, and troubleshooting article is written to help you understand what’s happening in your soil, why your grass behaves the way it does, and how to adjust without wasting time or money.
The content is organised by what you’re trying to do: planting new grass, fixing bare patches, dealing with weeds, or keeping things green through drought. Each section starts with the basics and moves to deeper details, so you can skip to what you need without reading everything first.
| Where | What is there | Go here if |
|---|---|---|
| The Homepage | Latest guides and seasonal checklists | you’re unsure where to start |
| Guides | Step-by-step lawn care from scratch | you’re planting new grass |
| Troubleshooting | Weeds, brown patches, and uneven growth | your lawn looks sick |
| Tools & Gear | Reviews and buying advice | you need a mower or spreader |
How to read a page here
Every page starts with a clear goal—what problem it solves or what task it covers. Numbers in the subheadings tell you the order of steps, so you can follow along or jump straight to what you need.
For example, a guide on overseeding will list *Step 1: Test your soil*, *Step 2: Choose the right seed*, and so on.
Units are always in imperial (feet, pounds, gallons) unless otherwise noted, and timings assume average conditions. If your climate or soil is unusual, the page will mention adjustments you might need to make. Ignore the ‘Further Reading’ section on your first pass—it’s for when you’re ready to dig deeper.
Look for the *Key Tools* box near the top of most guides. It lists exactly what you’ll need before you start, so you don’t waste time hunting for supplies halfway through. If a step feels confusing, the *Common Mistakes* section at the end will warn you what usually goes wrong.
When it does not work
Some pages assume you have basic tools or a specific season. A guide on winterising your lawn won’t help in July, and a soil-testing article won’t make sense if you’ve never taken a sample.
If the advice feels off—or if you’ve followed it exactly and nothing changed—check whether the page was written for your climate or grass type first.
Before you give up
- Confirm you’re using the right grass type for your region (cool-season vs. warm-season).
- Double-check that you’ve applied treatments at the correct time of year (e.g., fertiliser in early spring, not midsummer).
- Look for a *Climate Notes* box—some guides adjust for drought, heavy rain, or high altitudes.
- Try a smaller test area first (like a 3x3-foot patch) before treating the whole lawn.
Who we are
This site is built by someone who’s spent years learning from failed lawns, stubborn weeds, and the occasional triumphant patch of grass that just *clicked*.
| The colophon | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Imani Yamada, who has been digging, planting, and cursing crabgrass since childhood, and now shares the lessons—both the proud and the painful—with anyone who’ll listen. |
| Tested in | A 1970s split-level backyard in Portland, Oregon, where the soil is stubborn clay, the summers are dry, and the lawn still manages to surprise her. |
| Written with | A tattered copy of *The Lawn Care Bible*, a $40 push mower from 2012, and a notebook full of half-finished experiments (most of which ended in mulch). |
| Learned from | A high school agriculture teacher who swore by ‘less is more’ with fertiliser, and a neighbour whose lawn was always green—until she revealed it was mostly clover. |
| Still getting wrong | The exact ratio of sand to topsoil for every possible patch of dirt. (Spoiler: There isn’t one.) |
There’s no single right way to have a lawn. Some people want a lush carpet of grass; others just need something that doesn’t look like a war zone.
What matters is that you end up with something that works for *you*—even if that means accepting a few weeds or a patch of dirt where the kids play.
If you need something that is not here
This site covers the most common lawn problems, but every yard is different. If you’re dealing with something unusual—like a lawn that’s been chewed to stumps by animals, or soil that’s so rocky it’s mostly pebbles—let us know.
The contact page is the best place to ask whether we’ve missed a topic or if you’ve stumbled on a trick that might help others.
The guides are grouped by category: Advice, Aphids, Blooming, Companion Plants, Container Gardens and Diseases.