The old canal line runs straight up through Hamden, and in late May the grass along it comes in fast and green the way everything here does once the ground finally warms. EMPIRE LAWN CARE & DESIGN LLC keeps that same green in order on the lawns nearby — steady mowing and lawn care, plus design work for the beds and plantings that give a property its shape. The simple version of this craft has its own reward: an even cut, a clean line where turf meets walkway, a yard that looks deliberate rather than merely alive. They work Hamden and the towns gathered around it between the ridge and the river.