Lawn Care vs. Lawn Maintenance

The terms “lawn care” and “lawn maintenance” are often used to refer to many of the same products and services, and you might be wondering what the difference between the two is (or if there even is a difference).  Though many people (even in the landscaping business) use these terms interchangeably, there is a subtle difference between the two.

Lawn care is focused on the health of your lawn.  While a healthy lawn does generally look better than an unhealthy one, the appearance of your lawn is not the primary purpose of lawn care.  Services like weed and moss control, power raking, and lawn fertilization would be considered lawn care.  Pest control and soil treatments are also types of lawn care - though they do not specifically target your grass, they improve its health by improving the soil it grows in and removing pests that might like to eat it or nest in it.

Lawn maintenance, in contrast, focuses primarily on the appearance of your lawn.  Everything from edging to landscaping is considered lawn maintenance - even practices that do not promote the health of your grass could fall into this category (grass paint, for example, does nothing besides make your grass look healthier than it actually is).  Even cleaning up debris from your yard is considered lawn maintenance!

As an example that we are all familiar with, think about how we care for ourselves.  When we go to the doctor for a check up, we call it “healthcare”.  The doctor is mainly concerned about your health; your appearance is a secondary concern (if it is a concern at all).  A haircut, on the other hand, would be considered “maintenance”.  While it might make you feel better, it is much more of a cosmetic procedure than a health issue.

Unfortunately, the distinction between “care” and “maintenance” is not always clear (whether we are talking about our yards or our bodies).  Some tasks and services could easily be categorized under either, and sometimes it is the perceived intent of the task that determines its classification.  Tree and shrub pruning, for example, is often called lawn maintenance.  This is because, often, the primary purpose of trimming a tree or shrub is to make it look better or fit nicely into a certain space or design.  The removal of dead or diseased branches also improves the plant’s health, however, so it could easily be considered lawn care as well!

So next time you are looking for lawn services, you might be able to tell what the intention of the service is based on whether it is called “lawn care” or “lawn maintenance”.  Just remember that while there is a definite difference between the two terms, many things can easily be classified as both.  A service that is called “lawn maintenance” can also be good for your lawn’s health, and a service that is called “lawn care” can also help make your yard look great!