Excuse us, church maintenance committee. We hate to barge in, but we couldn’t help overhear you saying something about your committee member Duane doing your landscape maintenance.
Nothing against Duane. He’s a superstar in your church choir. But you might want to rethink this.
Sure, Duane could mow and spread some mulch, and he might have time to pull some weeds.
But there’s a lot more landscape maintenance going on out there on your property.
Or, at least there should be.
“Most churches can’t handle it all themselves,” says Alex Moore, senior commercial landscape account manager at Hatcher & Associates.
Remember, we’re not just mowing. Professional weekly landscaping maintenance includes a lot of other services that keep your church grounds looking appealing and well tended — all the time.
“It’s important that church grounds look respectful for weekly church services and those special times of year like Christmas and Easter,“ Moore says. “You want the most aesthetically pleasing grounds possible.”
Here’s a look at a few crucial Memphis church grounds maintenance tasks. Go ahead, run it by Duane. We’ll wait.
Mowing: A Memphis Church Grounds Maintenance Staple
Mowing is easy enough. And if Duane misses a week, no big deal. What difference does one extra week make, right?
Plenty. Your curb appeal is at stake.
Here in the mid-South, things grow fast. During that extra week, weeds take over, your lawn gets shaggy, seed heads sprout.
Don’t risk it. Weekly maintenance by commercial landscape services means crews stay on top of the mowing, so your church turf looks great all the time.
Proactive Plant Pruning
Don’t let your church grounds plants, shrubs, and small ornamental trees get overgrown.
When they get too big or out of control, they cause visibility and safety issues around doors and windows. They can obstruct your signage and traffic signs on your property.
It costs less to prune plants now than it does to tear them out and replace them later.
Memphis Church Grounds Maintenance Includes Tending to Trees
The good old dependable trees on your church grounds are pretty low maintenance — until dead branches suddenly crash down from above, threatening pedestrians, parked cars, and your church building.
Hatcher crews keep a close eye on your church grounds trees, checking for dead and dying branches that should be pruned out before they take an unfortunate and potentially costly tumble.
Another reason for proactive pruning: Mature trees can shade the grass too much, causing it to struggle and even die.
Thinning the branches can let more sunlight in, for happier, healthier turf.
Spring Clean-up
Winter causes extra Memphis church grounds maintenance— it leaves a real mess.
There are leaves, weeds, fallen twigs, and branches to remove, as well as any unsightly litter.
Getting rid of this winter yuck spruces up your property, but it’s good for your landscape’s health, too. Lingering soggy debris can attract pests, cause mold, and smother your lawn, blocking the air and sunlight it needs to thrive.
Turf and Bed Programs (Weed, Feed, Insect Control)
Duane’s starting to get pretty tired, but he can’t skip this vital trio. It’s a Memphis church grounds maintenance must-do to keep your landscaping healthy.
Weed Control
Weeds compete with your lawn for water, sunlight, and important nutrients.
Not only that, they look terrible, making your property look neglected and untidy.
Pre-emergent zaps weeds before they can sprout, while post-emergent jumps in to banish any that sneak through.
Keeping Pesky Bugs at Bay
A host of damaging insects, from aphids to grubs to mites, can harm your lawn, wreck your trees, and munch your plants and flowers down to the stems.
The right pest control at the right times can save your landscaping.
Fertilizer Treatments
Your grass needs nutrients to thrive.
Fertilizing is a year-round process. What if Duane forgets the spring application or gets too busy in the fall?
Trees, shrubs, and groundcovers need their dose of nutrients, too.
Fertilizing, weed and pest control are best left to pros, Moore says. 
“You can’t send somebody to Lowe’s and find what we use to treat crape Myrtle bark scale,” he says. “Lots of homeowners think they can use whatever insecticide is in their garage.”
But bark scale needs a systemic insect control, applied by professionals.
That’s just one example.
Applying fertilizer and weed control is tricky. Timing is crucial. So is spreading the right amount. There’s measuring, calibrating, not to mention figuring out which products to use in the first place.
To be honest, Duane’s a little overwhelmed.
Memphis Church Grounds Maintenance: Irrigation Management
Irrigation is one of those things that’s easy to take for granted. Turn it on, and water comes out.
Until it doesn't. Then, you panic.
Avoid the stress by including irrigation management in your church grounds maintenance.
This includes proper start-up and shut-down procedures for backflow devices and irrigation lines and monthly service checks to make sure your irrigation system is covering every inch of your landscaping and running just right — without wasting water.
Once colder weather moves in, it’s important to get all the water out of your irrigation system’s valves, pipes, and sprinkler heads. If water freezes and expands, your pipes break. Avoid that expensive repair.
The Tricky Scheduling of Memphis Church Grounds Maintenance
“Most churches want their landscape maintenance done between Wednesday and Friday,” Moore says, “so it looks nice for Sunday services.”
What if Duane isn’t available then?
“We can schedule our crews so we’re not interrupting any church activities,” Moore says. “Scheduling is important at a church. You don’t want noisy power equipment during events.”
What if there’s a wedding on Saturday?
“Say a church committee has a member do the mowing and it takes them eight hours, so they plan on him mowing Friday, the day before a wedding,” Moore says. “But it rains Friday, so they’re out of luck.
“We have more manpower to get it mowed quickly before that wedding. Some churches have large turf areas. We can get it done in a timely manner.”
Keep Expert Eyes on Your Property
The more time our account managers and crews spend on your church property, the more we get familiar with it, which means we notice even tiny changes over time.
We’re more apt to catch things before they go wrong.
Hatcher account managers do these eagle-eye inspections as part of their jobs, but they also train the foremen who are on properties even more often, so they look for potential problems, too.
They catch potential problems before extra costs catch you off guard.
Give Duane a Break: Trust Your Memphis Church Grounds Maintenance to Hatcher
Is it really feasible for Duane to handle all these tasks?
Wouldn’t you rather have him rested for choir practice?
Put the safety and appeal of your church grounds into the hands of professionals.
Are you ready to boost the appeal of your commercial property with high-priority commercial landscape services that will make your property shine? Talk to one of our commercial landscaping experts today! We’ll meet at your property, create a custom plan, and get you on your way to enjoying a beautiful, worry-free property.
