Content about Lawn care

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) officially issued the trademark for a variety of Menards lawn and garden products.

The Eau Claire, Wis.-based home center retailer filed its application Aug. 2, 2011, and was officially given the trademark March 20.

The yard and lawn applications include lawn mowers, mechanical spreaders for seed and dry lawn chemicals, and mechanical lawn aerators. The brand also applies to power tools such as blowers, edgers, lawn trimmers and hedge shears.

Channel analysis

Consumer research from the Port Washington, N.Y.-based NPD Group showed sales in the Fertilizer-Herbicide-Pesticide (FHP) category are growing — up 5.5% from a year ago to $1.31 billion. According to NPD, sales may be boosted by a DIY approach to lawn care, a low-cost alternative to hiring professional lawn care services. 

An article in the Columbus Dispatch reported that a new herbicide is suspected of killing thousands of trees in a problem that's causing havoc among nursery companies.

The name of the suspected herbicide is Imprelis. It was introduced in the market by DuPont last fall and is used by lawn-care companies. The newspaper reported that about 75% of Ohio landscapers and golf course superintendents used Imprelis this year. 

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Kohler Co. of Kohler, Wis., has recalled 10,000 lawn tractors sold under the Cub Cadet, Troy-Bilt and Husqvarna brands because of the possibility of injuries to users.

A wire connector on the lawn tractors’ engine can become disconnected, causing the operator's seat switch to fail. When this happens, the blades will not shut down, posing a laceration hazard to consumer.

Electric corded lawn mowers accounted for only 6% of the walk-behind market in 2010 — but that’s up from 2.9% in 2009, according to data from consumer research firm The NPD Group.


Soaring fuel prices, tougher government emissions standards and a general trend toward environmental stewardship have given rise to more cordless electric walk mowers and manual mowers, especially for homeowners with smaller lawns. And powered mowers are feeling the trend, as well.


Over the decades, lawn care has grown into a national passion that has proved to be a resilient home improvement sector, even in tough economies. Sales of lawn mowers, however, are slumping, according to data from Port Washington, N.Y.-based NPD Group. In 2010, the dollar-volume estimate for riding mowers was $1.57 billion, down 11.6% from the prior year. Walk-behind mowers slipped 17.3% to $1.16 billion. Here’s a breakdown of recent consumer activity.

Several years ago, the couple down the street -- one of them a landscape architect -- decided to tear out their front lawn and put in a drought tolerant garden. This being Southern California, no one batted an eye. In fact, San Diego Home & Gardens magazine did a photo spread on the project.