Durham, NC - Last year, Marsha Newby didn't like the way her lawn looked. Her grass wasn't growing very well, and in spots where grass was sprouting through the soil, too many weeds poked through, too.

After having little luck on her own, she learned about a Duke employee discount for Durham-based Green Earth Lawn Care and decided to give the service a try. Faculty and staff receive a 10 percent discount on all lawn and garden services from Green Earth through PERQS, the employee discount program.

Despite the excessive heat and relatively dry weather this summer, Newby's lawn is doing a lot better at her Durham home.

"My grass was growing until we got our first hot spell,” said Newby, departmental business manager for the Department of Pediatrics. "I was just having a difficult time getting it to grow."

With the PERQs discount from Green Earth, Newby said she saves a little more than $30 total on a 12-month care plan. Along with Green Earth Lawn Care, Durham's Agape Lawn Company and Star Landscaping and Handyman Service also offer PERQS discounts.

The owner of Green Earth, Terry Pigford, visits once a month to care for Newby's grass as part of a lawn maintenance service.

"I don't water my lawn every day because of local water restrictions, but Terry puts down all the right nutrients to get it to grow," Newby said. "During the spring, he put a lot of hard work into getting my lawn prepped for the summer, and it’s worked wonderfully."

As part of a lawn care plan, Green Earth offers mulching, fertilization, seeding, mowing and more. The company also tills, fertilizes and plants gardens, removes trees and debris and grinds tree stumps. The Duke employee discount can be applied to any work.

Estimates for lawn care are free and final cost varies on the kind of work that needs to be performed and square footage of a lawn. Once a price is determined and agreed upon, customers can make one lump payment for service or for a maintenance plan, break up payments into monthly installments.