Gardening Content

Lawns are probably the most common feature in a garden. Everyone will have a different opinion on how they should be used - children will want to play football and other games on it, whilst the older generation will more than likely prefer to laze on a sun lounger whilst reading a good book. Whatever category you fit into, chances are that your lawn could do with a bit of TLC.

Cutting

During the growing season, you should cut your lawn around once a week. If you want to achieve a very short “bowling green” look, then a more regular cutting will be required. For those of you experiencing a water shortage, then giving your lawn a rest from cutting is advisable.

Equipment

There is a vast choice of lawn mowers on the market to choose from, reflecting the various sizes of lawn in people’s  gardens. If you have a very small lawn and want to refrain from using electricity, then you can opt for a push mower - these are very time consuming but will certainly keep you fit. Most mowers are electric-powered and are ideal for small to medium sized lawns. If you have a very large lawn then a petrol driven ride-on mower is the most expensive type but the easiest in terms of effort required to mow..

If you aim to create a stunning lawn then you don’t want to neglect the edge. There are a number of tools that can be
bought to aid you with this, including edging shears, half-moon cutters and flat-edged spade.

Pointers for Creating the Perfect Lawn

Never cut your lawn when it is wet as this will rip the grass out at the roots and kill it.

Don’t cut the blades of grass so short that there is nothing left. This is because the grass uses the sun for energy (photosynthesis) and won’t be able to if you have removed these “energy factories”.

Make sure that the blades on your lawn mower are kept sharp so as not to rip the grass out at the roots.

When reading books and magazines on gardening, there seems to be different opinions on whether grass clippings should be left on your lawn. The argument for is that if you make sure the grass clippings are fine enough they will break down because of the sun and add nutrients to the soil. The argument against says that this will not only look messy but will encourage worms which in turn attract moles.

Weeding

There are a number of ways which you can employ to kill the weeds on your lawn.

Lawnsand - sprinkling lawnsand on your lawn is the traditional method of keeping away moss and weeds.

Liquid Weed-killer - If using this method, make sure that you have diluted the liquid, then apply to your lawn using a watering can. Look out for a weed killer which is selective - i.e. kills broad-leaved weeds or moss and not grass.

By Hand - If you want to keep your gardening as organic as possible then you will have to remove weeds by hand.using an implement such as a trowel. Adding lime to your lawn and then aerating it using a garden fork will help with moss and clover.

Feeding

When feeding your lawn do so in spring and autumn. A feed of nitrogen in spring will encourage a lush green lawn whilst phosphates in autumn will encourage the roots to store nutrients for winter. During the summer, a liquid fertiliser is advised.