This week, like every other week, I try and focus on an area which affects the every day Canadian. For me, it is easy to discuss low mortgage rates, the rise of real estate prices in Hamilton, a potential crash, or generally how mortgages work. Today however, I will discuss grass. Yes I know, boring.

When I first bought my home in 1997, I was more attracted to the lot than I was to the two-storey dwelling. The land was approximately 43 feet by 143 feet and quite private by the survey standards. The previous owners had not been the best landscapers around town and that was okay. Hey, I had no where to go but up.

My first mission was to pull the weeds and trim the bushes. Next, I would feed the grass with seeds and fertilization. The only problem is the soil…it was clay based. Needless to say, the grass needed immense help. Luckily, one of my clients was a groundskeeper at a golf course. He told me to go to Millgrove Supplies, and that is exactly what I did. Did it help? It absolutely did. From there, the grass had been improving and I was becoming more content with the process of our grass appearance. I was on my way.

Slowly, a new problem began to arise: clovers. Well back to the Home Depot I went. Sidenote, whatever it was that they sold me… it didn’t work. Needless to say, the clovers continued to grow and before I knew it, they were joined by some dry spots and dandelions.

Sometimes I stand on my driveway and look around at my neighbours lawns and think “how is it that their grass looks effortlessly phenomenal and why can I not have a lawn like theirs?!”.

I am currently 52 years old. I have had many years as a homeowner. And I cannot, for the life of me, perfect my grass. Is it an art form? Is there a secret strategy that I don’t know about? Whatever the solution, I realize I need help with this. I now have a new-found respect for the great groundskeepers of the country. Hey, maybe I can hire one? For now, I think I’ll stick to mortgages.

Robert Floris is an independent mortgage broker at Mortgage Architects in Hamilton Ontario.