Now, if only DH were reading this instead of me!

Thats the first rule of mowing in my book.Thanks for the reminder. This should be sent to all who mow.

I say get a bag mower.

I'm not sure why, but the very few places in my yard where the soil is good enough for grass to grow, have very few weeds except for dandilions and blackberries, which are pretty easy to keep uprooting before they go to seed.

On the crummy parts of my yard, even weeds have a hard time, but there are some, and if my beds were near them, this mowing tip would be an excellent idea.

However, where I have amended the soil in raised beds ... there are such a quantity and variety of thriving weeds that they are a major source of feed for my compost heap!

If I cared about the grass, I would worry about weeds spreading from the beds into the lawn.

:)
Personally, when it comes to grass, I'd rather kill it than mow it!

Awww, but the dogs like it! Beats mud, too.

>> Personally, when it comes to grass, I'd rather kill it than mow it!

Exactly. When my dear neighbor (or park managment) made me mow the grass in the hidden parts of my yard, I "mowed" with a mattock. Cut it REALLY short and threw it, roots and all, into the compost heap.

Now I have to decide what to sow there, between the bushes, to keep the weeds from discovering it. Sedum or creeping thyme, whichever it is that didn't all die already.

There is one really big Hosta, plus one very small one that is 85% holes from slugs. But I don't like Hostas, and it makes it hard to get a wheelbarrow or hose through there!

HA! Wish I could get the landscapers/mowers on the estates to do this. Oh, I forgot - they don't have to weed the beds!

There's a very short grass seed mix called "no mow" at High Country Gardens. I'm thinking of using it. FIRST, I shall cover the tall grass with newspaper and soil/compost, then sow groundcover, possibly that grass mix. Thyme is wonderful to walk on! And I have a cinquefoil I brought home October 2010 in a 3" pot that's almost covered my (small) front yard already. It's evergreen! Wish I could remember its name. It's very low and has yellow flowers that come early and stay long. THAT's going into the backyard, too.

I don't think I would like a yard without grass. It's part of my upbringing.

My yard has some grass, but mostly dandelion, plantain, clover and (UGH!) Creeping Charlie that the chickens won't even eat. This stuff keeps the mud at bay as well as grass. Except for the Creeping Charlie, we'll eat it in some form.

My lawn is a mixture of whatever the local field pastures are, dandelion, clover, buttercup, English daisies and spring crocuses I added, and some sort of smelly purple weed I've never bothered to ID (I just call it stink weed). We never formally leveled, raked and seeded it - just started mowing around the house as we were building it. It is nowhere near a manicured lawn, has low and high spots here and there, and I don't get tweaky when anyone drives on it, including my husband on his tractor. We mow it about every 5-6 days in the early growing season, then weekly through summer and fall. We have two mowers, one is a rider, the other is a tiny little battery mower for the tight spots and my herb garden, which has narrow grass pathways. We mostly use mulching blades, although I usually bag up at least one load for the chickens. We use the lawn for croquet, corn hole, bocce ball, badminton, and just sitting around in chairs. I love the feeling of bare feet in the grass.

Back to the original posting, I agree that if one throws grass with a mower, always aim it away from the flower beds. Grass is a tenacious plant and always tries to infiltrate my beds. I edge in the early spring using a square spade and making a deep cut, then kind of trench it up so there is a slope between the edge of the grass and beginning of flower bed. After edging, I put down a heavy load of compost/mulch. Even so, grass and buttercups are my most persistent garden weeds.