Lawn mower options for 0.75 acres?

[slowmover]

Public gardens and arboretums much my favorites. Take a notebook.

Also bound to be some garden clubs. Tours.

Someone out there has a design worthy of emulation.

Drainage is the big problem. Areas where topsoil washed away are first priority. Assume topsoil depth varies and map/chart it on graph paper.

The house could be 60-years old, but you may still find buried builders trash.

Have utility locators mark path of buried lines. Painted. Take pics from different aspects. (A new sewer line may be installed without removing old. If not deep enough it affects water flow. Etc.

I’m in favor of having a surveyor out so that one can make accurate marks (I use an angle grinder at alley & street concrete; a notch). A neighbors fence that encroaches, etc, it’s best to address early and rectify.

Lawns add stability like no other planting. And can be removed piece by piece. Treat it right and you’ll build topsoil once problems remedied.

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[redpoint5]

I've got little space to work with and no front lawn (trees/shrubs/flowers and barkdust), so the project should be relatively easy.

My thought was to take some photos and post to a landscaping forum for ideas, but then I wonder if that annoys those whose passion is landscaping, or if they would say I should be paying for expert opinion.

Among my biggest concerns is that the irrigation was not moved when the yard was "redesigned". I've got sprinklers popping up from the gravel pathway, and sprinklers that are set about 1' inside of the edge of the lawn, missing all the plants along the fenceline and some of the lawn.

The south side is about 15' wide between house and fence and has raised beds installed, but nothing planted. It slopes heavily toward the west. I'd want the most hands off stuff planted possible since I don't want to spend much time there. Automatic drip irrigation would be easy to install though since the valves/control is already installed nearby.

[freebeard]

Someone out there has a design worthy of emulation.

Drainage is the big problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcAMXm9zITg

Originally Posted by redpoint5

I'd like to get better at landscape design, but because it isn't a strong interest of mine I'm not likely to get very good.

I studied it in college and worked in commercial landscaping after that. A big part of it is plant identification, matching and contrasting foliage, etc. But you can do a lot with rocks. We (fam) used to visit Petersens Rock Garden in the 1950s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petersen_Rock_Garden

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by freebeard

I studied it in college and worked in commercial landscaping after that. A big part of it is plant identification, matching and contrasting foliage, etc. But you can do a lot with rocks. We (fam) used to visit Petersens Rock Garden in the 1950s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petersen_Rock_Garden

I've watched that video before. Perhaps you shared it previously?

Oregon allows rocks to be gathered from quarries they maintain with a $10 permit. There are some nice flat slabs to be had if you get enough muscle to load it into a truck.

I'd really like to find some long lasting perennial flowers to plant. I can't be bothered with any annual plant. The neighborhood has some nice examples to emulate.

One day I'd like to get into beekeeping as a small hobby, but that can wait. Not even sure I'd harvest the honey; I just find bee/ant behavior fascinating.

[freebeard]

Pretty sure I didn't, but the local example pales next to wikipedia.org:Ferdinand_Cheval's Le Palais idéal (the "Ideal Palace") in Hauterives, France

For the next thirty-three years, Cheval picked up stones during his daily mail round and carried them home to build the Palais idéal.[1] He spent the first twenty years building the outer walls. At first, he carried the stones in his pockets, then switched to a basket. Eventually, he used a wheelbarrow. He often worked at night, by the light of an oil lamp.[1][2]

This home had a stone wall 3ft high and 100ft long wrapped around the foundation. It was all from a local quarry, hauled with a pickup truck. Laid by my mother and her grandson.

For vegetation, consider native plants. And rhubarb.

In temperate climates, rhubarb is one of the first food plants harvested, usually in mid- to late spring (April or May in the Northern Hemisphere, October or November in the Southern Hemisphere), and the season for field-grown plants lasts until the end of summer. In the northwestern US states of Oregon and Washington, there are typically two harvests, from late April to May and from late June into July;[7] half of all US production is in Pierce County, Washington.[8] Rhubarb is ready to consume as soon as harvested, and freshly cut stalks are firm and glossy.

[redpoint5]

I let some wild rhubarb grow as I mowed around it growing up, but I don't have a use for it and don't find it particularly attractive.

[Daschicken]

Originally Posted by ps2fixer

FYI, water cooled mowers is a quite old. Honda mowers got all of those checks too, liquid cooled, oil pump + filter, twin cylinder, rubber engine mounts, shaft drive with a true gear to gear transmission but shifts like a hydro-static.

Not much goes wrong with these, deck rusts out after 20+ years of use if not cleaned ever, pto clutch + break generally is the first clutch to go and the second clutch, the drive clutch is the other wearable item. Change the belt every like 15-20 years and keep the fluids in check. Not sure if it's true, but I read that JD assisted with the design with Honda so probably why the two are similar.

Btw, did I say this was a mid to late 80's lawn mower? They also made some models in the 90's.

I have previously seen those on YouTube, pretty cool. I went ahead and checked the engine size, 358ccs. Pretty small! I wonder how the engineers justified that one to the bean counters. I have a feeling that finding a decent one for a decent price would be difficult. My brother’s house needs a lawn tractor, so I think it’s time to look for another LX188.

[aerohead]

I'm in my second year with a 21-inch cut,Kobalt,80-Volt,steel deck mower from Lowes.We have 40-acres of park and trails where I live and I've mowed many acres a day,alternating rest breaks/cool downs,with charging.I carry the spare battery in my carpenters tool belt along with a water bottle.By the time I've depleted both Lithium batteries (about an hour and a half) I'm ready to go to the house and get out of the heat while the batteries recharge.It's different from my Honda mower,but the electric is much lighter,does everything the gas mower did,is great on hilly terrain,and a lot easier on my worn out body.I'm on a wind power option from my electric coop,and I feel better about the zero-carbon.Don't miss carrying a gas can to town either!