The Homewood-Flossmoor Park District takes pride in our 30+ parks scattered throughout the Villages of Homewood and Flossmoor. These parks provide a wide variety of turf and amenities, from wide open fields to large playgrounds and specialty parks. Park maintenance is achieved through our staff of dedicated grounds workers.

There is a large dichotomy of opinions on maintaining turf conditions in parks. Many residents expect parks to be in pristine condition, well-groomed and without weeds. Others favor a more natural look and are more weed-tolerant. In many cases, park use may demand less weeds, for example on a groomed ballfield or at the golf course. Other parks may have dedicated open space that requires less stringent weed control.

Our team of experts have a goal to use the smallest amount of the safest chemicals to achieve the desired result for each park. The Park District also uses alternate solutions when possible, such as natural soil conditioners, to help choke out weeds. Chemical use over the last five years has been reduced significantly. The Park District will continue to monitor best practices and alternative solutions to turf management and adapt district practices as new information becomes available.

Every park is inspected three times during the growing season, with the final inspection in the fall of each year. The inspection evaluates overall turf condition, amount of weeds, presence of grubs and crabgrass. Results are used to determine the amount of intervention needed for the following year. There is no “one size fits all” approach; based on the inspection results, each park is put on a maintenance plan for the following year.