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Mitch's Mowing & Landscaping guide

How to Get an Overgrown Yard Back Under Control

A yard that has got away from you is fixable, and the order you tackle it in makes the job much easier. Long grass, hedges that have taken over the path, weeds through the beds and a pile of cuttings all need dealing with, but not all at once. Here is the sequence we use on overgrown yards in Kings Park, Ravenhall and Deanside, and how to decide what to do yourself.

Start with a proper look

Walk the whole yard before you touch anything. Note where the grass is longest, which hedges are blocking paths, where the weeds have taken hold and where the cuttings will have to go. Overgrown yards often hide things. Rubbish in long grass, a dead shrub, a branch that came down in the wind.

Take a few photos. They help you plan and they help us quote the job accurately if you decide to call.

Clear the waste problem first

A yard that has got away usually makes a lot of green waste, and a standard green bin holds about 240 litres. A cut of a long lawn plus a hedge trim will fill that many times over. If you start without a plan for the waste, you end up with piles everywhere and a yard that looks worse than when you began.

Decide first where it is going. We take green waste away on every job we do, so it never builds up behind the shed.

Cut the lawn in stages if needed

Very long grass cut in one pass leaves heavy clumps and can scalp the lawn. A single cut on an overgrown lawn sometimes needs more than one pass, and we say so up front. The first cut brings the height down. A second cut a short time later gets it to where it should sit and lets you see what is actually under there.

Once the lawn is under control, edging finishes it. A line trimmer along every path, drive and bed makes a lawn look cared for. Our lawn mowing and edging service covers one-off cuts as well as regular runs.

Hedges and branches next

Hedges that have been left for years are best brought back over two visits rather than one, because cutting all the way into bare wood in a single hit can leave bald patches. Branches hanging over a path, a driveway or a fence need taking back so you can get around the yard properly.

Young trees, self-sown seedlings along a fence line and dead limbs are another common find in neglected yards. We take on the ones we can drop safely from the ground. Anything big, near power lines or protected by a council overlay goes to an arborist.

Weeds, then mulch

Once the long grass and hedges are sorted, the weeds are easier to see. Pull taprooted weeds with the root, trace runners back and lift them, and treat bulb weeds like oxalis rather than pulling them, because pulling spreads them.

Then mulch the beds. Weeding without mulching is half a job, since mulch stops the next generation germinating. Mulched beds need a fraction of the weeding afterwards.

Keeping it from happening again

Most yards get away from people for a simple reason. The job is too big to start and too easy to put off. A regular run fixes that. If the yard is badly overgrown when we first look, we quote the first cut separately and the regular rate begins from the second visit.

Weekly, fortnightly or monthly on the same day each visit means the yard never builds back up. Call us on 0406 740 655 and we will come out, look at it with you and give you a fixed price.

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