The Perfect Yard

Chapter 2. Yard Duties in Writing

Nothing causes more yard misunderstandings than unwritten duties. “I thought you were mowing” is a common sentence in rentals. A short written plan, attached to the lease, solves it.

An everyday example: A family renting a house in Arizona assumed the owner’s landscaper handled everything outside, since the owner had used one before they moved in. The owner assumed the family would water the trees during the hot months. By midsummer, two young trees were struggling. Nobody had done anything wrong; they had just never talked about it. The owner and the family sat down with a simple one page yard plan: the landscaper would handle trimming and the irrigation system, the family would check that the drip lines were running and report any dry spots, and the owner would check the system each spring. The trees recovered by fall, and the plan stayed with the lease from then on.

What to Write Down

• Who mows, and how much of the yard.
• Who waters, and how, including any sprinkler or drip system.
• Who rakes leaves and clears snow.
• Who trims bushes and small trees, and who handles large trees.
• Who cleans gutters, which always stays with the owner or a pro.
• Whether residents may plant gardens, add pots or decorate, and where.

Safety Always

Residents should never climb onto roofs or use ladders for yard or gutter care, and should never do tree work near power lines. When in doubt, leave it for the owner or a pro.

Bunkly’s field tipDraw a simple sketch of the yard and shade the parts each person cares for. A sketch settles in seconds what a paragraph can leave unclear.

This is a short sample from The Perfect Yard. The full book has all 10 chapters, a checklist for every chapter and the worksheets.