On the receiving end of a few good-hearted jokes from his buddies about his obsessive mowing tendencies, B.J. Waeger’s efforts recently received a different type of attention.

Waeger’s immaculately manicured lawn was awarded the Silver Spade Award for the month of April.

The Silver Spade is an honor presented by the Kingfisher Lions Club during the spring and summer months to homes with extraordinary landscaping and beauty.

Entering their fourth year at the Country Lane address on the northwest side of Kingfisher, Waeger and his wife Ashley enjoy the home with their daughter, Harlie (11) and son, Hunter (10).

A year-round lush, green lawn which rivals professional baseball fields is one of the most striking features of the home’s landscape.

Overseeding his lawn with perennial ryegrass in the fall, Waeger said, provides a perpetually green lawn throughout the year.

“Working with the grass is my passion,” he said. “I follow baseball ground crews on Twitter and like to see how my lawn compares to professional golf courses and ball parks.”

In the spring with temperatures in the 70s, he said the ryegrass “will really take off” and the bermuda will take over as the summer heats up.

With all that growing comes a lot of mowing.

At the height of its growing season, Waeger said he mows almost every other day to keep that “professional ball field” appearance.

It requires the right amount of watering and fertilizer at the right time and he usually uses a mulching mower to redirect nutrients back into his lawn, he said.

Another trick he uses is never mowing the same direction twice in a row, as his wife will attest, he said.

When they were first married, Waeger said Ashley had mowed the lawn and when he came home from work, his response of “that’s the direction I mowed last time,” was not very well received.

Laughing, he said, “I don’t think she mowed again for several years after that.” But now when Waeger is busy with harvest at his job with Sooner Cooperative, both Ashley and Hunter help out with the mowing.

Admitting he is a little obsessive about his mowing, he said it is a stress reliever for him and that he probably picked up his perfectionistic tendencies from his father, Sheldon Waeger.

As a young boy in Kingfisher, his father coached the American Legion baseball team and was responsible for maintaining the grounds of Homier Field.

“I would help my dad with the mowing and learned a lot about taking care of the grass and work ethic from him,” he said.

“I bonded a lot with my dad while working together at Homier Field.”

Just as the American flag waves proudly over baseball diamonds throughout the country, the stars and stripes are proudly displayed atop a 25-foot flag pole set deep in Waeger’s front lawn.

The focal point of Waeger’s outdoor landscaping may be his gorgeous lawn, but the winding flowerbeds full of colorful flowers, trees, bushes and lawn ornaments beautifully complement the landscape.

Near the entryway, a weeping evergreen is surrounded by bright pink peonies and periwinkles, white geraniums, pampas grass, and hydrangeas, while an OSU Pistol Pete metal decoration stands guard near a tropical hibiscus bush.

Along the winding sidewalk, the silver spade is proudly displayed next to a fighting yellowjacket wooden mascot and a red knockout rose bush. A blue atlas cedar stands nearby, amid a splash of colorful red and white blooms contrasted by multi-hued coleus.

In the backyard, a large patio, above-ground pool, cascading water fountain and fire pit await friends and family, along with hanging pots bursting with vibrant pink and yellow blooms, lilies, roses and a weeping cedar.

Waeger takes a lot of good-natured teasing about his lawn obsession, but he said he enjoys working on his lawn and it adds curb appeal to the neighborhood.

Having started a professional lawn care business, Waeger said, his desire is to help people have beautiful lawns that stand out.

“I named my business Next Level Lawns,” he said, “because I want to take it to the next level helping people have something to take pride in and bring attention to their lawns.”

Even though his friends give him a hard time about his mowing tendencies, that may come to an end soon.

They’ll be mowing their own yards, as Waeger has overseeded their lawns with the prolific perennial ryegrass…at their request.

Learning from his dad’s example, Waeger said he takes satisfaction in keeping his lawn looking nice as well as helping others attain a beautiful lawn.

“Keeping a well-manicured green lawn year-round is something I enjoy and take pride in,” Waeger said.

He compares it to “having a good summer tan year-round.”