Toowoomba’s top lawn lords 2024

While his front lawn is nice, his backyard is beyond incredible, lush and green, and whoever has seen it wants you to know it is the best. Meet Toowoomba’s master mowers and lawn lords.

Lawn lord Simon Neuendorf with his backyard lawn, Saturday, May 18, 2024. Picture: Kevin Farmer

As the weather becomes frosty, the days of keeping your grass clipped daily starts to wane, and as things slow with the weather, there is one lawn lord who has managed to keep his lawn spick and span, clean and crisp.

Polling against nine other lawn lord competitors, 39-year-old production manager and father-of-two Simon Neuendorf from Centenary Heights has taken the top blade with an incredible 28 per cent of votes.

1. Simon Neuendorf

Lawns were part of his life when he grew up in Lilydale, and the master mower would work at his grandfather’s lucerne farm as a kid, often mowing the farm areas.

In 2017 he got “hooked” watching people renovate their lawns in spring through the Facebook group Australian Lawn Fanatics, he said.

He admitted being a lawn lord needs incredible patience to achieve the results of enjoying time with the family in the backyard.

“Sometimes it is like watching grass grow,” he said.

Mr Neuendorf said he grows Kikuyu grass variety and during the growing season, mows it every second day.

Lawn lord Simon Neuendorf with his backyard lawn, Saturday, May 18, 2024. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Once a year, he said he’ll give it a makeover, renovate the lawn and reinvigorate it when needed with feed supplements.

His top three tips include:

1) Be patient- changes take time. Take photos- helps to be able to look back and see the changes over time.

2) Mow often- probably the easiest thing to do. Mowing often limits weed growth and helps keep the grass healthy. Should never mow more than 1/3 of the leaf off at once.

3) Join a lawn group: lots of information to be found online by searching and people are generally happy to share tips.

While Mr Neuendorf took first place with a leap and a bound ahead of second and third, the competition was as tough as mower blades.

2. Elliot Faulks

Lawn lord Elliot Faulks with his front yard lawn, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Elliot Faulks in Kleinton came second with 14 per cent of votes powering the lush soil between his feet, which he said has mostly been through trial and error, and said he is still learning.

The 42-year-old small business owner and father-of-two has lived in Toowoomba his whole life.

“The fascination began as a child, helping my grandfather with his lawn,” Mr Faulks said.

“He had a Scott Bonnar, I myself a Rover Select (pictured).

“Fascination turned into obsession … my wife would say because I’m OCD.

“Perhaps, but I just like things neat, tidy, in order.”

His top tips for lawncare:

1) Regular maintenance, a healthy lawn is a good lawn. Mowing regularly promotes healthy growth, development, behaviour.

2) A good feed program will do you wonders. Fertilisers, both granular and liquid. Pest management if required. Weed management, both pre and post emergent.

3) Watering … most lawns only require around 10mm – 20mm of watering per week, which is very minimal, to keep it looking good. Coupled with a good lawn program, any lawn can thrive.

4) You don’t have to spend lots to have it looking good. Invest in the right products, ask those you know. There’s also a few good groups on social media to be in, a wealth of knowledge available.

5) Do your homework, especially if selecting a new lawn. With so many turf varieties, it’s imperative you choose what’s right for you. Many factors to consider in selecting a new turf variety … foot traffic, drought tolerance, frost tolerance, water requirements, blade/leaf width … to name a few factors.

3) Chloe Whitby-Volp

Chloe Whitby-Volp has come third as Toowoomba's top lawn lord of 2024. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Coming in third place, with a mere two votes behind Mr Faulks was Chloe Whitby-Volp of Meringandan West with 13 per cent of votes.

The 32-year-old insurance worker and mother-of-two who mostly works from home and said that lawn care, for her, is a “bit of family trait”.

“My Dad, for as long as I can remember has taken a lot of pride in his lawn and my pop (dad’s dad) was the same,” she said.

Also, just my love for the outdoors, how much a green lawn can brighten your day and make your home stand out from the rest.”

Ms Whitby-Volp said she has a busy household, as her wife is an emergency nurse, and they have a three-year-old and an 11-month old.

She said the biggest challenge is watering, and does rely on rain water to cover the 400m2 of lawn.

“I try to use the rain to my advantage and put fertiliser or liquid products that need to be watered in down before the rain arrive,” she said.

“I have been known to be applying products in the rain.

“Also, the less you water your lawn the more you train it to be drought resistant and overall you have to water it less.”

She said the best thing about her lawn was the satisfaction of no prickles along with watching it thrive.

Her top tips include:

1) First thing would be to join a lawn page on a social media platform as a lot of people ask questions that can really benefit you also. You can also ask questions and get advice on what you can do if you are struggling with something with your lawn. I have a Instagram page called ‘my lawn journey’ I outline what products I use and am happy to answer any questions you have to get a nice lawn.

2) Find a lawn care brand that works for you, your lawn type and get a program sorted. I use LawnPride products and they really work well on my wintergreen couch. They also have a free program you can access on their website outlining when to apply their products. You don’t have to follow the program exactly, but the better lawn you will have if you do.

3) Mow regularly. This depends on your lawn type, but for warm season grass’ like wintergreen mow it 2-3 times a week in the warm seasons and once a fortnight in the cooler months (possibly less). It might not look like it’s growing much in winter but it still benefits from a mow. I mow with the catcher on mostly, however your lawn does benefit from having a mulcher plug to put some nutrients back into the lawn. I mulch mow once a month.

4) Use soil wetters, they help the water reach the roots of your lawn. Your lawn could become hydrophobic and the water will literally run off the top of your lawn, soil wetters break down this layer and overall, makes your watering more efficient.

5) Do a yearly renovation. This removes thatch which can prevent water getting into the soil to the roots. Also, a renovation can help your soil profile by aerating and adding any nutrients like gypsum etc. This renovation should be done when the weather is consistently warm so mid to late spring for our area.

A big congratulations to all the nominees and their lawns.