Why Hiring a Professional Lawn Care Service Is Worth It

Every spring, homeowners in the Roaring Fork Valley face the same question: should I take care of the lawn myself, or hire someone? If you've been doing it yourself and feeling like it's an endless time sink — or if your lawn never quite looks the way you want — here's an honest look at what professional lawn care actually provides and why most people who try it don't go back to DIY.

The Real Cost of DIY Lawn Care

DIY lawn care seems cheaper on the surface, but the actual costs add up quickly:

Equipment

• Quality mower: $400-$2,000+
• String trimmer: $100-$300
• Edger: $100-$250
• Blower: $100-$300
• Spreader for fertilizer/seed: $50-$200
• Gas, oil, maintenance, blade sharpening, winterization
• Storage space for all of it

Before you've done any actual lawn care, you're $800-$3,000+ into equipment — plus ongoing fuel and maintenance costs every season.

Products

• Pre-emergent herbicide: $30-$60 per application
• Fertilizer (3-5 applications per season): $100-$250 total
• Weed control products: $40-$100
• Grass seed for patching: $30-$80

Your Time

This is the biggest hidden cost. Mowing, edging, trimming, and cleaning up takes 1-3 hours per week depending on property size. Over a 20-week growing season, that's 20-60 hours of your summer spent pushing a mower — hours you could spend hiking, biking, skiing, or just relaxing on the patio you paid so much to have.

If you value your weekend time at even $30/hour, the time cost alone is $600-$1,800 per season.

What Professional Service Actually Includes

When you hire a professional lawn care service like Taylor Made Lawns, you're not just paying for someone to mow. You're getting a complete system:

• Weekly mowing, edging, trimming, and blow-off — every visit, consistently
• Spring start-up with pre-emergent weed treatment
• Fertilizer applications timed through the season for optimal results
• Seasonal weed control — ongoing, not one-and-done
• Professional-grade equipment maintained to commercial standards
• Sharp blades that cut clean (not tear) every single week
• Expert eyes on your property weekly — catching irrigation leaks, disease, pest issues, and thin spots before they become expensive problems

The Consistency Factor

The biggest difference between a DIY lawn and a professionally maintained lawn isn't any single thing — it's consistency. Professional service means your lawn gets the right treatment at the right time, every time, regardless of whether you're busy, traveling, tired, or just don't feel like it.

Lawns reward consistency. The same mowing height every week. The same watering schedule. Fertilizer at the right intervals. Weed control when weeds are most vulnerable. Over a full season, this consistency compounds into a dramatically better-looking lawn.

When DIY Makes Sense

To be fair, DIY lawn care works well in certain situations:

• You genuinely enjoy yard work and consider it relaxation, not a chore
• You have a very small property (under 2,000 sq ft of lawn)
• You already own quality equipment and enjoy maintaining it
• You're knowledgeable about fertilizer timing, weed identification, and irrigation management

For everyone else — especially busy homeowners in the Roaring Fork Valley who'd rather spend their summers outdoors doing something fun — professional lawn care is one of the best quality-of-life investments you can make.

What It's Like Working with Taylor Made Lawns

Here's how it works:

1. Free on-site visit: Anthony comes to your property, looks at your lawn, and gives you an honest quote
2. Custom seasonal plan: Based on your property's size, condition, and needs
3. Reliable weekly service: Same day, every week — you don't need to be home
4. All products included: Fertilizer, weed control, pre-emergent — it's all part of the program
5. Direct communication: You deal with the owner, not a call center. Call or text anytime

We serve the entire Roaring Fork Valley from Aspen to Glenwood Springs, and we're adding new clients for the upcoming season now.