Lawn care companies vary in some of the services they provide, and have other services in common, whether they are in the US or the UK. A full service lawn care provider will be tasked with the responsibility of assessing the needs of each individual garden and assuring the health of said garden. This will mean regular, seasonal treatment for pests and weeds, as well as the proper amounts of fertilizers. Specialists on both continents will need to know the growth patterns of various trees and shrubs, and have the expertise to trim and prune within healthy parameter for each species.
Gardens and Yards
Lawn specialists also must know about flowering beds. However, this is where the similarities begin to diverge.
In the UK, lawns are often considered part of the overall garden. In fact, a bed of shrubbery with edging next to lawn space is called a garden in the UK, while in the US it is usually called a yard. The word “garden” is usually reserved for a series of plantings that either produce flowers or vegetables, if you live in the US.
We have a beautiful yard. The lawn portion is neatly trimmed and kept beautifully green by my husband, and the planting beds, which I maintain, are covered with vinca for ground cover, with shrubbery placed around as specimen pieces. However, our neighbor who comes from Cornwall calls this our garden. I always do a double take, and have to remind myself that he’s talking about the whole lot of plantings.
The Place of Flowers
Lawn care companies in the UK may not tend to anything else besides the grass. It’s the same in the US. However, in the UK, lawn services often encounter more effusive plantings of flowers than you normally find in the US. Americans tend to keep their flowers contained in planters and flower beds. While these are used extensively in the UK as well, you’ll also find entire lots filled with only flowers. What appears to be a random scattering of oddly assorted flowers to the American eye is a carefully plotted and planted flower bed in the UK. Landscaping companies in the UK understand this. If you ask for an “English Garden” in the US, chaos ensues.
Shrubbery and Hedges
What is a “hedgerow?” We don’t have those in the US. If you call a lawn care service and say you need the hedgerow trimmed, you’ll just hear, “Wut?” on the other end of the line. Now, hedges are another matter. We have hedges. We also have foundation hedges, and parkway hedges. But a hedgerow? We’ve only heard about those from a Led Zepplin song.
Pests and Weeds
Things that would destroy your garden are very much the same in the UK and the US. You have grub worms, cut worms, aphids, and so do we. It’s the same with dandelions and other weeds. Lawn companies in both continents use similar methods to control both.
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