One of the features of a new home are the high-quality lawns which are installed on every property.
This lush green carpet helps to highlight the colour of the nearby paving and brickwork, and also gives a sense of calm and relaxation to a garden. Indeed, looking at the colour green is therapeutic in aiding relaxation.
So how do you keep your lawn looking like new and in great shape? One of the challenges of a high-quality lawn is that it must be looked after to keep it in tip-top condition, just as you would wash, service and clean a new car the lawn must be cut, tended and nurtured to keep it looking great.
The first thing with any lawn is the grass likes to be cut, and likes to be cut little and often.
So investment in a good lawnmower (a common mistake is many gardeners buy too big a lawnmower, a small electric lawnmower may be easier for you to use and leave less tyre marks on your lawn than a larger petrol machine) and when you have a good lawnmower get the blades sharpened on a yearly basis so you keep a nice clean cut as opposed to a tear at the blades of grass.
The next essential for a good lawn is yearly applications of Lime, not fertiliser, but lime.
An application of Lime, around a handful/m2, performed every year simply replaces the lime washed out of the soil by the rain. In turn when soil becomes deficient in lime you’ll start to get more moss and rushes pop up through the lawn, reducing the luxuriant appearance.
Next job is feeding. If you cut the lawn little and often just leave the clipping on the lawn to breakdown and feed the grass, this will give you a great lush green colour.
If you’re a ‘clipping collector’ then you have to replace this lost fertility by shaking a lawn fertiliser over the garden in the middle of March and then again the middle of summer.
The first cut of your lawn in the Spring should be performed with your lawnmower at the highest possible setting and then on a weekly cut reduce the cutting height down to the desired height.
If you cut it too short to begin with the lawn may be left yellow looking, this in turn weakens the lawn and gives entry to weeds, so keep the height high and reduce over time.
A lawn well-kept will be more wear tolerant so will withstand the pressures of modern family living in your family home.
