Weeds are nearly omnipresent :-) They will appear regardless of how new the landscape may be, although maintaining a thick, healthy lawn mowed high will reduce their numbers. And I see nothing wrong with the hydrangeas, although the siting of that one behind the tree leaves something to be desired! Those are just the spent flowerheads and can be removed right below the old blossom.

That grass looks dreadful. First things first, you really need to get your mower blades sharpened. Tearing up the grass like that is bad news, the mower should leave a fairly clean cut. Are you sure you don't have the blade(s) on backwards? I've never seen it that bad.

How often are you watering?

Hi,

Thanks for responses.

Watering - The grass is watered daily for 6 minutes, and it's actually growing very fast. The plants are watered every other day for 15 minutes.

Cutting - We were traveling right after installation and the grass was like a meadow after 3 weeks. We have a professional gardener mow with a traditional reel mower. He said for the follow ups he would used a trimmer. The grass looked good after he mowed but I had a disagreement over something else and have to find a new gardener. In the meantime, I cut the grass with a trimmer attached to a base: http://www.blackanddecker.com/products/lawn-and-garden/lawn/lawn-mowers/20v-max-lithium-12-in-3in1-compact-mower/mtc220

Does it look like a disease on those grass spots?

Thanks again

Ok. First things first, you need a mower. A plain old rotary push mower will do just fine for that size lawn. You have to stop shredding up the grass with that string mower, it's bad for the grass and an invitation for disease. A lawn that size will probably take 2 minutes to mow yourself.

The frequent watering is causing disease in the grass. Discontinue the daily watering and wait until the grass begins to show signs of drought stress to water again. At that point, water until a 6" screwdriver easily penetrates the soil all the way to the handle. It may take 2 hours or 15 minutes depending on your sprinkler output. Then wait to water again until you signs of drought stress. And so on. This will encourage the roots to "seek" water deeper and prevent your grass from being constantly wet.

thanks for the advice...I was just going with what the landscaper said I could use a trimmer... and he also set the system for 6 minutes a day.

And how often or at what height should I mow the lawn?

Thanks

j4c11 is providing great advice. In what city do you live? What type of grass is it? Mix ratio? How much sun / how many hours of sun does your yard receive daily? It will make a difference on your lawn's survival next Summer.

and there is a lot of edging with the planters and the brick wall. How do I take care of it with a traditional push mower?

Thanks

When I hired this landscaper, which was highly recommended, I requested a drought resistant, slow growing lawn. But while I think he installed a drought resistant lawn, I don't think it's slow growing.

The 90/10 one.
http://www.deltabluegrass.com/reside...rcialvarieties

I am in San Francisco. The area gets good sunlight, I would guess 6 hours of direct sun light.

And how often or at what height should I mow the lawn?

Mow to 3.5"-4" and often enough that no more than 1/3 of the blade length gets clipped. So when it gets to about 5"-5.5" it's time to cut.

As far as edging, it's ok to use a string trimmer for that. Get as close as you can with the push mower and finish with the string trimmer along borders/walls.

But while I think he installed a drought resistant lawn, I don't think it's slow growing.

While fescue and KBG do ok, they're not exactly drought resistant. If fertilized, they will indeed grow vigorously. Sounds like a zoysia lawn would better fit your requirements, maybe folks closer to your area can chime in.