Lawn Care · Nashville, TN
The Nashville homeowner's guide to lawn care
What the work involves, what drives the price, what your options are, and what a bad job looks like — written so you can judge any lawn care company in Middle Tennessee, including us.
Estimate request
How big is the lawn, and what is wrong with it?
Straight to us, and a reply the same day.
By Michael Blair, owner, Nashville's Lawn Care · who we are
Warning signs
How to know you need us
Recognize one? Have it looked at before it grows.
- Crabgrass or nutsedge taking over by midsummer
- Bare or thinning patches under trees and along drives
- Standing water or moss where the ground stays wet
- Turf that browns in July no matter how much you water
- Beds losing their edge and mulch thinning out
- Scalping and ruts from a mower deck set too low or turned too tight
Your options
More than one right answer.
Not every thin lawn needs new sod; sometimes it needs aeration, seed and a higher mowing height. We put the cheaper fixes next to the bigger ones.
Weekly mowing and maintenance
Mow, string trim, edge and blow. The basic program, and the one where consistency does the work.
Fertilization and weed control
A season-long program timed to your turf type, with pre-emergent going down before soil temperature rather than by the calendar.
Aeration and overseeding
The single best thing you can do for a fescue lawn in Middle Tennessee, and it belongs in early autumn.
Bed and landscape maintenance
Edging, mulch, shrub pruning and seasonal color — the part that makes a maintained lawn look designed rather than just cut.
What it costs
What actually drives the price.
Lawn prices follow the square footage, the slope, the grass type and how far it has been let go, which is why we price after seeing the yard rather than over the phone.
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Lot size and obstacles
Price follows mowable area and how much of it is trimmed by hand. Beds, trees and fence lines add time that open turf does not.
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Service frequency
Weekly service through the growing season costs more per month and less per visit, and keeps you inside the one-third rule that keeps turf healthy.
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Turf type
Fescue and bermuda want opposite things at opposite times of year. Which one you have decides the whole calendar, not just the price.
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Treatment program
Fertilization, pre-emergent and weed control is a separate line from mowing, and the pre-emergent timing matters more than the product.
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Condition at the start
A lawn that has been neglected for a season needs a renovation before it needs a maintenance plan, and that is honest to say up front.
Estimates are free, written and without obligation. Anything found only after starting is priced up front.
What happens
From your call to the finished job.
Walkthrough and quote
We measure, look at the turf type and the trouble spots, and quote a program rather than a mowing price alone.
First service
Usually within the week. The first cut on a neglected lawn is a clean-up cut and we will say so.
Season program
Treatments land on soil temperature and turf type, which is why the dates move slightly year to year.
Autumn renovation
Aeration and overseeding in September and October, which is when fescue actually establishes here.
Done badly
What goes wrong, and why it matters.
Shortcuts that cheapen the quote and cost you later. Ask anyone you are considering about them.
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Cutting too short
Scalping fescue in summer is the fastest way to lose it. Height is shade for the roots.
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Pre-emergent by the calendar
It has to go down before soil temperature hits the germination point, which in a warm February is earlier than most people apply it.
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Watering little and often
Shallow frequent watering grows shallow roots. Deep and infrequent is what survives a Tennessee August.
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Overseeding bermuda in autumn
Right for fescue, wrong for bermuda. Doing the same program on both turf types is how a lawn gets worse on a schedule.
Before you hire anyone
Six questions worth asking any lawn care company.
Including us. If a lawn care company cannot answer these easily, that is the answer.
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Will it be the same crew on the same day every week?
A route that holds its day is the whole service. “Sometime that week” is a company that has oversold its routes.
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What height do you cut fescue in July?
Three and a half inches or higher. A crew that scalps it to finish faster is why the lawn browns out every summer.
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Who applies the weed control, and are they certified?
Commercial spraying needs a Tennessee applicator certification. The name of the person holding it is the right answer.
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Is the price for the season, or per visit with extras?
One number for the season, one for treatments, in writing before the first cut — not a base rate that grows.
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What do you do when it rains on my day?
The answer names the make-up day and who tells you. Silence and a missed week is the wrong answer.
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Are you insured if the mower throws a stone through my window?
Liability insurance, and a certificate you can see. A company that hesitates is a company with a truck and a hope.
FAQ
Choosing a lawn care company in Nashville
How do I choose a lawn care company in Nashville?
A crew is not sent until we have its insurance certificate on file and, for anyone treating a lawn, the Tennessee applicator license the state requires for commercial spraying. Ask the six questions below of anyone, including us.
Should I get more than one quote for lawn care?
Yes — and compare the scope, not the total. A Nashville lawn is priced by the square footage that actually gets cut, the slope, the edging, and how many obstacles the mower has to steer around — not by the size of the house.
Is the cheapest lawn care quote usually a bad idea?
Not automatically; a low number is information. It rutts the yard and spreads disease; a rain day is a moved day, not a ruined lawn.
Do I need a permit for lawn care in Nashville?
Mowing needs no permit from Metro Nashville and the surrounding counties; anyone applying weed control or fertilizer commercially must hold a Tennessee Department of Agriculture applicator certification, and ours do.
How far in advance should I book lawn care?
A first cut in Nashville is usually scheduled inside the week; in April, when every lawn in the region wakes up at once, it can run to two, and we say which.
Free estimate
Ready to hand the mower over?
Give Nashville's Lawn Care the address and a word on what the grass is doing; the reply is a written estimate at no charge, with no commitment attached.