Lawn care in South Austin, home base and the busiest route on the schedule
South of Oltorf and down past Slaughter Lane is where the crews start their day. Ranch homes from the 1960s and 70s on big lots in 78745, the 1990s and 2000s streets of 78748 and 78749, Circle C and Shady Hollow with their HOAs, and more live oaks than anywhere else in the city.
South Austin's yards split by decade. The 78745 grid between South First and Manchaca, built from the 1950s through the 70s, is ranch homes on quarter-acre lots with mature live oaks and pecans, St. Augustine in the shade, Bermuda creeping in from the sunny edges, and sprinkler systems that were added by one owner and forgotten by the next. 78748 and 78749, south of William Cannon toward Slaughter Lane, are 1980s to 2000s subdivisions on smaller lots with younger trees and builder lawns. Circle C and Shady Hollow are master-planned communities with architectural review, larger lots and greenbelt edges with deer. Underneath most of it is Blackland clay, which grows a lawn well, cracks in August, and sends water into side yards in a storm.
The calls follow that split. In the older grid: St. Augustine thinning under oaks that have grown since the lawn went in, chinch bugs in the sunny strip, a limb over the roof of a house whose previous owner never pruned, and the irrigation that soaks the sidewalk. In the newer streets: builder Bermuda that was never fed, a sprinkler system a decade old, a creek-side yard that floods. In Circle C: HOA letters about the front beds and the question of converting a front lawn to natives, which the HOA allows with a submittal.
The trees are the thing. South Austin's live oaks are the city's canopy, most of them over the 19-inch threshold and many over 24, and the rules on pruning in the oak-wilt window and on not removing them without a permit are taken seriously here. Being the home base, South Austin gets the fastest scheduling in the service area.
What South Austin yards get
Home base scheduling
The first stops of the day; mowing starts within a week, walk-throughs within a couple of days.
Shade lawns
St. Augustine managed under the oaks, Bermuda in the sun, and the line between them drawn honestly.
Oak care
Pruning in the July-to-January window with cuts painted; removals only with the city's permit.
Clay drainage
French drains, swales and dry creek beds for the side yards that flood off Blackland clay.
Older sprinkler systems
Audited and repaired by a licensed irrigator; beds moved to drip.
Circle C and HOA submittals
Front-yard changes submitted before the work, including native conversions.
Neighborhoods and roads
- 78745 grid (South First to Manchaca)
- 78748 (William Cannon to Slaughter)
- 78749 (Oak Hill side)
- Circle C Ranch
- Shady Hollow
- Slaughter Lane corridor
- Westgate & South Lamar
- Cherry Creek
- Garrison Park
- Onion Creek
- Travis Country
- Southpark Meadows area
Services in South Austin
- Lawn care, mowing, beds and mulch, sod
- Tree trimming, tree removal, stump grinding
- Landscape design, patios and walls, xeriscaping, lighting, irrigation repair
Asked in South Austin
How quickly can mowing start in 78745?
Usually within a week; South Austin is the first route of the day.
My St. Augustine is thinning under the oaks. What now?
The canopy has closed since the lawn went in. Options: thin the canopy a little in the pruning window, switch the deepest shade to a groundcover or a mulched bed, and keep the St. Augustine where it still gets three or four hours of sun.
Can I convert my Circle C front lawn to natives?
Yes, with a submittal to the architectural committee showing the plan and plant list; Texas law limits an HOA's ability to refuse drought-tolerant landscaping. The submittal is part of the quote.
Who permits a tree removal in South Austin?
The City of Austin, for any healthy tree 19 inches or more in diameter on developed residential land. Most of the live oaks here qualify. The contractor measures and files first.
My side yard floods every storm.
Blackland clay and a yard graded toward the house. A swale, a French drain or a dry creek bed to the street fixes it; the walk-through happens after a rain if possible.
Is there a travel charge?
No, anywhere in the service area. South Austin is the closest of all.
Nearby: Kyle · Dripping Springs · Lakeway · whole service area