Five tips to keep your lawn looking great all year round
For many of us, our lawn is the main focal point in the garden and the setting for garden living during the warmer months, from playing with the kids to picnicking and relaxing in the sun.
Keep your lawn looking lush and green season after season by following our five simple steps.
1. Keep your lawn neat
Weeds, moss, and foliage on your grass which can look unsightly but also compete with your grass for those essential nutrients, water, and sunlight it needs to grow.
Some of the more common lawn weeds include dandelions, docks, and plantains, all of which have long roots. When weeding your lawn, be sure to remove it by the root, as this stops any regrowth in future.
The best way to do this is by hand or with a hand trowel – our top tip is to use a rake first to try and dislodge and lift weeds, as well as clear anything that doesn’t have roots in the lawn (like fallen leaves).
However, if you’re short on time or have a larger lawn, then opt for a selective lawn control weedkiller that can target any weeds without killing the grass. You can also get treatments that eliminate moss, ideal for spring and autumn when moss tends to thrive.
Time of year: Spring and autumn, but whenever you notice a significant build-up of weeds or moss.
2. Scarify your grass
Scarifying your lawns can also get rid of moss but can also help remove any bare or dead patches of grass. Simply put, scarifying a lawn is the act of removing dead thatch from underneath the grass blades.
Thatch is made up of dead plant material, and most of the time can be easily removed with a spring-wire rake. A small amount can be helpful for your lawn’s growth, but in larger amounts it can prevent water and nutrients from reaching the roots.
Scarify your lawn by gently raking out the thatch – after a short amount of time, you’ll notice a build-up of grassy material and moss piling up which you can add to your compost heap.
We’d recommend keeping any thatch on your lawn less than 1cm deep – anymore and growth will be inhibited, any less and your lawn could suffer damage.
Again, if you have a larger lawn, then consider investing in an electric scarifier, which will also help you control the level of moss or thatch removal in your garden.
Time of year: Autumn is a typical time to scarify your lawn, and we’d suggest doing it at least once a year, but you can also scarify your lawn in spring.
3. Aerating your outdoor space
The next natural step after scarifying your lawn is to aerate it. Continued use of our lawns can compact the grass and the soil underneath, making drainage harder which in turn means nutrients can’t reach the roots.
Similarly, if your drainage is poor, water will pool on top of your lawn which can encourage moss growth and diseases.
Aeration is the process of creating small holes in your lawn to allow water and oxygen to reach the roots and reduce soil compaction. This can be done using a digging fork, hand-held aerator, or for larger outdoor spaces, a plug aerator can be attached to the back of ride-on mowers and lawn tractors.
If using a hand-held aerator, then all you need to do for successful aeration is insert the tines into your lawn to a depth of around 4-5 inches, then gently lean on your tool until you see the ground around it lift slightly.
This will break up any compaction in the soil, whilst creating a small, hollow tunnel to allow air and water to get further into the soil where the grass roots need them.
Repeat this process until you’ve covered your whole lawn.
Time of year: Aerating your lawn works best when your grass is growing well and after it’s rained, as spiking the soil is easier when it’s wet. Most people aerate their lawn in spring or summer, but you can do it any time – and we would recommend doing it at least once a year.
4. Mow your lawn regularly
Regular mowing is one of the easiest ways to keep your outdoor space looking fresh year-round – especially since mowing is one task most people with a lawn do anyway!
Mowing is an important outdoor task – it keeps your grass a tidy, even length, and cuts down weeds, deadheading them before they can spread. However, it’s important to make sure you’re doing it as often as needed.
During summer, mow your grass once a week, and around twice a month in spring and autumn. For the warmer months, we’d recommend raising the cutting height of your mower to leave grass blades longer, as it will make it less prone to going brown.
As part of your mowing routine, we’d suggest edging your lawn around borders and pavements. Not only does it keep your garden looking neat but creates definition and stops grass growing beyond your lawn. You can do these using shearers, spades, or a half-moon edger (or a strimmer if you’ve got a larger outdoor space or want to get the job done quicker).
Time of year: You can technically mow your lawn at any time of year but be sure to increase activity during summer and decrease over winter.
5. Water and feed your lawn
Thanks to the ever-changing British weather, watering your lawn isn’t something you’ll have to do often.
If you’ve recently sown grass seeds or you’ve laid new turf, you’ll need to water it daily for around a month to six weeks until it’s established.
However, once your lawn is well-established then the weather will usually take care of the rest.
In especially hot weather you can use collected rainwater or sprinklers to keep your garden looking fresh (if there isn’t a hosepipe ban), but most of the time rain will provide enough hydration for your grass to grow.
Similarly, most lawns won’t need feeding often either, but a top up during spring an autumn can help keep it looking its best. Be sure to use a lawn builder that uses natural ingredients like seaweed or are plant-based for the best results.
If using a feed, we’d recommend opting for one rich in nitrogen during spring to encourage leaf growth, and an autumn feed high in potassium to support roots which makes grass better equipped to deal with the colder weather when autumn comes.
Time of year: You can water and feed your lawn year-round or when necessary but can help your lawn more so in autumn and spring.
What time of year is best for lawn care?
You don’t need to wait until a specific time of year to look after your lawn, there’s plenty that can be done come rain or shine. However, we’d recommend giving your turf some extra time and attention during spring to get your lawn summer ready, as well as in autumn to prepare it for winter.
You can find everything you need to get your lawn looking lush at Dobbies, and our Green Team are always on hand to answer any questions you have.