Turf & Lawn Blog

With recent press about wildlife gardening and drought-resistant planting, you may have decided to grow a wildflower meadow. But what do you need to do to establish one? 1) Choose your type of meadow: annual or perennial? Perennial wildflower meadows need poor soil, because then grasses compete less with the wildflowers. Annual meadows need rich soil, so are ideal if you’re converting an existing garden border. If your heart is set on a perennial meadow, then you may want to remove the top layer of soil, and rotavate and sow directly into the subsoil. 2) When Should You Sow Your Seeds?...

From early September until the end of October or early November is the best time to plant spring bulbs. So how about planting some in your lawn? They will naturalise over time, and become a key part of your spring garden, brightening the place up with their cheerful colour. Adding bulbs to the lawn is a very good way to get additional spring colour into a garden where there isn’t much space for bulbs in the garden beds, or just to add an accent of colour in the middle of all that green. So what sort of bulbs are suitable, and...

With wildlife gardening currently so popular, and many people asking about wildflower meadows and whether they should convert a section of their lawn to a meadow, we thought it might be helpful to provide a summary of the pros and cons of wildflower meadows, to help you make up your own mind about them. On the plus side Once established, wildflower meadows need a lot less work than a traditional lawn. For example, you don’t have to mow wildflower meadows every week during the summer. In fact, you only have to cut them once a year, and you can use a...

Increasingly, many gardeners are choosing to develop part of their lawn as a wildflower meadow, as well as keeping some as a beautiful patch of lawn turf. So we thought that, as well as providing advice about autumn maintenance of lawns, we should also provide a little guide to maintaining a perennial wildflower meadow. Meadows only really need to be cut once a year. When you cut a perennial wildflower meadow depends on the type of plants and flowers within it, since you basically need to cut it when flowering has finished. So if you have spring flowering perennials, then you...

If you’re not careful, your lawn may be invaded by weeds, including coarse grasses, clovers, and daisies. If you can clearly distinguish different types of grass in your lawn turf, you probably have coarse grasses present. Your lawn may have patches of grass that grow at different rates, or perhaps have a ‘peppered’ look, which means annual meadow grass is present. These grasses may have arrived as seeds spread by birds, or perhaps in unsterilized topsoil used for top dressing. They can easily take over during winter, when lawn turf tends to stop growing, but these coarse grasses continue. What can...

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has launched a new initiative, called ‘Giving Nature a Home’, designed to encourage gardeners to think about wildlife in their gardens. The thinking behind the campaign is that as ‘wild’ habitats disappear in favour of housing, gardens become ever more important as a potential resource for wildlife. And since lawns often take up quite large parts of gardens, they’re well worth thinking about if you want to make your garden wildlife-friendly. So what can you do to make your lawn part of a nature-friendly garden? First, don’t try to kill all the weeds,...

How should you care for your lawn as autumn approaches? September is the best time to treat your lawn for all kinds of problems. Follow this easy how-to guide, and your lawn turf will be set up for spring next year!  1. Stop feeding Yes, really. It’s time to stop applying summer fertiliser to your lawn now. Any more nitrogen-rich feeding will encourage soft growth that will be prone to infections as well as frost damage. 2. Scarifying Scarifying means raking your lawn, either with a lawn rake, or an electric scarifier. This will remove the thatch, the under-layer of grass,...

This is a simple name for a complex problem. Dry patch describes a condition where the soil in your lawn becomes water-repellent in patches (or hydrophobic), causing patches of brown, dead grass. No matter how much you water, or it rains, the ground in the patches remains absolutely dry. The causes are complex and not well understood, although one contributing factor is thought to be fungi coating the soil particles with water-repellent chemicals. Although not generally pathogenic and damaging to the plants themselves, they can nevertheless cause a major problem to the lawn as a whole. How will you know if...

The previous article on lawn problems mentioned that patches can often be caused by lawn diseases. One of the most common is the fungus red thread (Laetisaria fuciformis), which generally develops in late summer or autumn, especially when the weather is wet.  Red thread usually develops on grass that is badly aerated and low in nitrogen. Even if you regularly apply nitrogen, heavy or prolonged rain may wash it away. The patches caused by this fungus often appear reddish at first, although they will later turn to lighter brown or look bleached. The patches are usually between 7.5cm and 25cm, although...

Brown, dead patches can appear in any lawn, and are a very common problem. Fortunately, it’s usually possible to identify and treat the cause, and therefore cure it. There are a number of causes of dead patches. First, when did your patches appear? If after mowing, they may be due to spilt oil or petrol, which can kill lawns. Avoid topping up your petrol or oil on the lawn, and do not overfill tanks. Alternatively, if you have a few high spots, they may be getting ‘scalped’ by the lawnmower, and you may need to raise the height of the blades...

Why do problems occur in lawns, and what can you do about it? In this series of articles, we plan to provide information about common problems, what causes them, and what you can do to prevent or cure them. The first in the series is about moss, lichens and algae. Lichens, algae and liverworts can appear in lawns in shady patches, especially if the drainage is poor, as they like the cool, damp conditions. Compacted soil seems to be especially prone to growth, so the drip line of trees can be a problem area. What can you do about it? Well,...

After the recent hot, dry weather, many of us are currently staring in dismay at a poor dried out brown area that used to be a beautiful lawn. But surely now is not the time to embark on extensive repair? What about if it’s dry throughout August too? So what can we do to keep the lawn going for the rest of the summer? First of all, and most importantly, don’t stop mowing! Yes, we know that the lawn is very short and seems to be suffering. But do keep mowing, albeit with the blades set a little bit higher than...

If your lawn has suffered over the summer, and has some bare patches, maybe under a tree, or where the children have been playing, you will need to repair them. But what is the best way, seed or turf? Apparently some people reseed their whole lawn every year. And certainly doing so could avoid a range of problems, including different coloured patches. It also re-establishes your original mix, and prevents the coarser grasses out-competing the finer ones and taking over. But even if you don’t really want to bother with that, and just want to repair one patch, then seeding can...

When it comes to our gardens, some of us relish in the DIY aspect of it, with it becoming a hobby and a passion. Others among us aren’t fans, and would prefer to sit back and allow someone else to do it for them. Laying your own turf has merits which are not to be ignored.  But why exactly should you lay your own turf? The main reason you should lay your own turf is that it is fairly easy, if you are fit for the job (and you don’t need to be an Olympic medallist!) and it will save yo...

New turf is in some ways comparable to a new pet or a new family member. It needs a lot of TLC in the early days and must be maintained to make sure it lasts a long time. You’ll be relieved to know you don’t need to change its nappy or litter tray, but if it is not cared for and nurtured, it will die.  Many of the people who lay new turf and then go on to care for it incorrectly or not at all often blame the turf company, but the turf company didn’t kill it! Here are some...

The unsightly and frustrating weed that reeks havoc in many of our British lawns, moss, for it's simple structure is a force to be reckoned with. Moss can be chemically treated by moss killers which can be found at your local garden centre.  However on many occasions the moss or Bryophyta family can be found growing again.  The reasoning behind this is that moss can be caused by a number of factors which should be taken into account when first thinking about the treatment of your lawn: Has there been any water logging in either Summer or Winter?Is the soil infertile?Is the...

The secret to a lush, green, healthy lawn is of course to apply regular water, feed or fertiliser, sun and regular mowing.  Mowing should be done at the right time, in the correct way to achieve the best results. Grass is a living plant and like other plants, cutting off the growing points encourages growth from the base of the plant resulting in a more tightly woven, thicker and stronger foliage. Cutting grass regularly multiplies the existing grass plants.  If you didn't mow your lawn at all it would be sparse and quite frankly ugly. The keys fact's you need to...

January to March These three months are quiet times in the gardening calender and indeed when it comes to caring for your lawn. The thing you can be doing is clearing your lawn of leaves.  A thick layer of rotting, damp leaves can potentially discolour and repress grass.  If the lawn becomes frozen or waterlogged try and avoid walking over it.  It is also a good time to check your lawn mower and maybe think about popping it in for a service. March If the weather permits you can make your first cut.  Remember to set your mower blades high, cutting...

So you have decided you want to create a lawn; whether you are working with existing lawn or starting a fresh with new turf and topsoil then here is my guide to help you create your perfect lawn. Make a plan.  The word "plan" should not be underestimated here, draw your plan of what you want to achieve and stick to it!Appearance is everything.  Plan what you want the final thing to look like taking into account how you will be using that space; e.g if you have children, pets or even no use at all.  If you are creating a...

Ever wondered about those small circles of mushrooms or dark circles on your lawn? Wonder no more; all is explained in my blog about this mysterious fungi. Mainly found in established lawns the Fairy Rings are caused by solid borne fungi that naturally occur in the soil underneath a lawns suffice. There are 3 common types in the UK. Where has it come from? Over 60 species of Fungi have been know to be the culprits of creating these curious yet magical circles. The old wives tale of trying to dig the ring out just would not work as it is...