Grounds maintenance is the practice of keeping outdoor and indoor areas clean, attractive, and orderly. It involves activities such as mowing, gardening, and pruning trees or shrubs to ensure that vegetation is aesthetically pleasing, organized, and safe. Grounds maintenance workers also take care of indoor gardens and plantations in commercial and public facilities, like shopping malls, hotels, and botanical gardens. The primary goal of land maintenance is to maintain the value of the property and to make sure that garden areas remain functional and pleasant.
Gardeners or land managers often have the horticultural and technical knowledge needed to lead a land maintenance team or department. Landlords prioritize land maintenance to boost occupant morale, attract and retain businesses, and protect real estate investments. Schools and higher education institutions carry out land maintenance tasks to guarantee the safety of students and teachers and promote “green learning” by allowing horticulture students to do homework as part of their course studies. Grounds maintenance contracts usually run year-round, with a basic level of services provided regardless of the time of year, and then specific services are added on a timely or seasonal basis.
However, there are certifications and training available to help grounds maintenance workers improve their land maintenance job skills and advance their careers. Cemeteries rely on maintaining the grounds to keep their environment peaceful and on their commitment to preserving the memory of loved ones who passed away too soon. Certain facility maintenance programs, such as FMX, can also provide more detailed information to field teams by delivering maps, instructions, and checklists attached to a work order. In addition to general lawn care and maintenance, grounds maintenance workers maintain the visual appearance of properties by uprooting weeds, mulching trees, mowing grass, and preserving plant life.
Some examples of predictive land maintenance are gardeners who use weather sensing sensors to anticipate changes in golf courses, or greenhouses that program sprinklers to turn on when a low level of moisture is detected in soil moisture meters. Grounds maintenance workers perform a variety of tasks to achieve a pleasant and functional outdoor environment. Some examples of corrective ground maintenance include repairing irrigation pipes after a main water pipe breaks, changing the blade of lawn equipment after hitting a rock, or charging a dead golf cart battery.
