An unkept lawn is an eyesore to the neighbourhood and makes your house look neglected.
A tidy lawn planted with garden plants gives a distinct impression about you and your neighbourhood. The state of your lawn is critical to your neighbourhood street cred, as any dad would happily tell you. Let's start with the basics. Basic lawn care involves mowing, edging, and weeding.
Edging lawn involves trimming or cutting the edges of your lawn to existing hard edges such as gutters, the driveway and footpaths.
Weeding the lawn involves removing summer annual weeds (eg: crabgrass) as well as perennials such as dandelions.
The most important factor in having a lawn is to start with is good soil and the right turf. If your soil has a pH less than 6.5 or greater than 8 you will have problems establishing any kind of grass, and you don't get a good lawn.
If you have established an acidic lawn, you can bring the pH to between 6 and 6.5 by applying lime (calcium). To raise low pH levels apply the appropriate amount of ground limestone which should be worked into the top 15 cm of the soil surface before seeding or sodding your lawn.
After seeding or sodding your new lawn it will take about two months for it to become fully established and ready for mowing.If you have Bermuda grass, your lawn will need to be fertilised with nitrogen every three weeks during the growing season. The best way to do this is to use a slow-release fertiliser that contains a balanced blend of nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium). If you use a fertiliser with too much nitrogen, you risk damaging your lawn. The best time to apply fertiliser is right after mowing. If you have Kentucky bluegrass or ryegrass, fertilise them with an application of slow-release nitrogen-rich fertiliser once a year in early spring before fresh growth begins. You can also add phosphorus-containing sources (eg: bone meal) every three weeks during the growing season which will help maintain the colour and density of your turf. It's important to keep in mind that over-fertilising your lawn can do more harm than good.
If disease, pests or heavy traffic has damaged your lawn, it's best to start over with a new seed. Reseed your lawn in the late fall or early winter. If you're planning to seed, use a quality lawn seed blend that contains 60 per cent Kentucky bluegrass and 40 per cent full sun adapted perennial ryegrass. The best is watering early in the morning. A new lawn will need to be watered regularly for the first two weeks while it becomes established. After that, you can put the water restrictions, because after that water is needed only during periods of drought or when temperatures are above 30 degrees Celsius.
Most commercial lawn care companies use slow-release fertiliser which contains three essential nutrients: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). A balanced NPK ratio of 10-10-10 is ideal for most lawns. An application of 2 kg per 1000 sq ft would be sufficient for most home lawns; again this should be done just after grass is mowed to ensure it's absorbed by the roots.
Too much nitrogen can result in a rapid greening of your grass but increased grass growth slows down. You can even get low maintenance grass if that appeals.The Western Australian state government has some great information on lawn care.