On the Sunshine Coast, as in Adelaide and most other areas of Australia, there are different levels of pride in one's lawns. Some are manicured meticulously and others have that unkept look. However there is one glaring difference between gardens here and in Adelaide (and it's not the water although it's still a factor)......it's the frequency of mowing. The sounds of mowers in Adelaide suburbs is always present but the chorus of mowers here on a daily basis is astounding. Yes, I know that people still choose to mow their lawns once a week or fortnight in Adelaide but they may end up with just a single catcher of clippings for their efforts. The degree of mowing here is a whole other ball game. To leave your front or rear yard in an unkept appearance leads to a jungle developing in a very short time. An unmowed lawn in these parts requires a machete to leave your house or GPS to even find it again once you go out. One is also not mowing while surrounded by that ever present dust cloud as is the case in Adelaide. More often than not, the grass is wet when mowed because there has been a break in the weather and everyone rushes to get the lawn cut before the next deluge, otherwise the jungle develops.
When we arrived at Becca's playgroup this morning, the grass surrounding the Mapleton Hall was 'long' to say the least. The landscape contractor had not done the job for a while (actually probably not that long really) and it showed. Our playgroup organiser rushed off in her car to get her dad to come and mow at least a small area so the kids wouldn't get lost because it was up to their waists. Her dad turned up and after mowing an area the size of a small Adelaide backyard, left a pile of clippings about four feet high and six feet around. No wonder the landscaper hadn't done it.......he was probably run off his feet with all the work around. Landscaping businesses are very common up here and they need to be. Of course some of the properties around this area are not exactly small either. Most have sprawling front lawns with even larger areas out the back on several acres or more.
The type of lawnmower used is also very different. It is more common to see $8000 ride-on mowers being used all over the Sunshine coast. The good old push mower is still used but mainly along small areas where the big ones can't get. Our neighbour over the side fence has been mowing his patch almost weekly lately. He uses his push mower along the fence and his ride-on for the bulk of the lawn. Every time he starts it, Karki flies inside the van and nearly strangles herself on her lead and harness in an attempt to get away from the noise. Steve and I just shake our heads as he drives the mower headlong into a deep patch of grass and stalls it. Then he has to start it again and on it goes like this for half an hour. When we first got here, and we commented on the amount of times he stalls the mower, people were telling us that sometimes it's because they've hit a snake or a blue tongue lizard. Now I just cringe when I think about the critters running or slithering for cover in his backyard.
Everywhere the girls and I walk, we are avoiding lawnmowers as they weave their way around people's yards and front verges. Even the caravan park lawns are mowed every fortnight with a ride-on mower. I do remember when we first arrived that the landscaper was only coming once a month but that quickly changed as the wet season kicked in. When I think about the time people put into their lawns around this area, it's a wonder they have time for anything else on the weekend. So if you are thinking that coming to sunny Queensland to live will give you a more leisurely lifestyle, consider the amount of time you will have to spend mowing unless you want to live in a green jungle or concrete apartment jungle.
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