On a scale of 1-10 I'd give it a 5. Looks alright, probably average.

5? Average? darn that hurts. I'll keep trying. Gives me something to shoot for.

picture shows too much other stuff, which is all doing 8 to 9 out of 10, but the picture does not really give us a great shot of just GRASS.

That said, what I can see does in fact look average, perhaps a hair above average. But prove us wrong and get us a lawn specific shot.

looks like poor drainage in the center of the photo, i dont see any grass there.

Looks magnificent!
Don't let these jealous nabobs get you down!

I don't think they're being jealous. I think they're comparing the lawn to what you could get with a high input lawn using elite cultivars. I've seen pictures of some of those lawns, and I think that if you use those as a 10, your lawn is a 5.

Before you get too upset, I should point out that my lawn would probably rate a 3 or maybe a 2 on that scale, because I'm working toward a very low input lawn that can get by with little water in desert conditions.

If you're trying for an acceptable lawn that has decent color with relatively low input, you've got it. You've probably got a better lawn than most of your neighbors.

If you're trying for a showcase lawn, you'll need to kill your existing lawn and seed or sod with elite cultivars custom chosen for your location.

i guess the humor in my post went right over your head evilscott..

Also can you get a 10 lawn without a reel mower?

Heck no, Mike. The best a Rotary will ever produce is a 7.5 As for the OP, I concur with the 5 rating. You have a nice, green lawn that is probably better than most. Keep in mind that everyone else in your neighborhood probably has a 0-1. I do think you were actually trying to show off your pond under the pretense of "check out my lawn". There is nothing wrong with that. You have a nice yard.

Seems nobody has answered the OP question, LOL!

> " What do you think, am I doing OK."

To answer that - yes, it is OK.

reelfanatic what height do you cut your lawn at? I cut my small supina bluegrass lawn 20mm high with a push reel mower.

@Mike..... I used to cut my Riviera Bermuda at 3/8ths, but have found better results with 1/2 inch. I cut my Rye at 5/8ths. I'm sure you would agree that there is no better cut in the world than reel! In my opinion nothing is more tragic than the guys who do everything right and have excellent, dense turf with great color, and then cut with a rotary.

Your yards and gardens and pond are lovely.

FWIW, a room full of yard whackos is a tough place to troll (in the nice sense of the word) for a yard compliment. Most of here are zealots seeking perfection. In other words, as comics would say, we're a tough room.

But, as for me, I think you are taking a great approach. Good, sustainable practices that lead to a solid, enjoyable result. My personal taste lends toward a nice mix of lawn, beds, ponds and trees. That makes the perfect LAWN pretty much impossible.

So, don't let the hissing and booing on the grass itself dissuade you. Remember you are working a tough room to play on grass. The big picture is very nice. ;)

I appreciate the comments. I visit many forums here on GW. I have never posted on the Lawn forum so I thought I'd jump in, post a pic and start some snarkiness. Since I suffer from low self esteem (but very nice grass) my therpaist encourages me to mix it up every now and then. THANKS.

How does that make the perfect lawn impossible?? The flowers in front dont affect the lawn. In my front yard i have tall trees but they're spaced out. In my back where its much shadier i have supina bluegrass which is a very shade tolerant grass.

Only in the small super shady areas like between my treeline and the fence i cant grow grass. Theres lots of other stuff to plant though. If i wanted to walk there i would have planted a short ground cover plant or moss. I dont want the maintenance so i planted barmboo and japanese painted ferns, i dont like hostas. I had to kill the poison ivy that used to own most of that area but left some virginia creeper on the fence.

Some of the guys here work on high end golf courses so they have pretty high standards for grass even when its surronded by pretty plants and water LOL.

Damn, if you are getting a 5, then i will probably get a 3! looks good to me! Dark green and weed free!