Is looking at your lumpy, bumpy, uneven lawn making you feel a bit queasy? Find out how to make it level and lovely again!
Over time, dips and dents can appear on your lawn, that you’ll probably want to put right.
How you fix the problem really depends on the severity.
You might have just a few small dents.
Or larger sunken patches.
Roll with it?
Your first thought might be to use a roller.
BUT…
While using a roller on your lawn won’t damage the grass first-hand, it will cause the soil underneath to compact.
And compacted soil isn’t good for grass!
To grow and stay strong and healthy, grass needs air from the soil.
Compaction squeezes the air from the soil and stops water from draining into the ground.
So it’s a good idea to only use a roller if you really need to!
So how DO you repair bumps on your lawn?
Well, you have several options, so you can choose the best to suit you and your lawn!
🌱 You can even out your lawn by filling in any small ‘dents’ with a thin layer of topsoil over the grass.
Don’t worry, the grass will grow through the dressing!
🌱 If the dents are bare of grass you can fill them with soil. Either leave the grass around them to cover the patches or add some grass seed.
🌱 You can remove sunken ‘sod’, level the area underneath with topsoil, add some water then replace the sod. Remember to keep it watered until the roots have re-established in the new soil.
🌱 If you want to fix it in a hurry, you can lay new turf. Just make sure you prepare the area well and remember to water while the roots establish.
Ideally, you should have your turf delivered the same day you’re going to lay it.
Once cut & on the pallet, it generally has a shelf life of 24 hours AT THE MOST.
In the height of summer, it will be far less.
You’ve got your turf, now what do you do with it?!
It’s easy to think you can just unroll your turf in any old fashion! But there are a few ‘rules’ you should follow for best results:
🌱 Use laying boards (or similar) to avoid damaging your new turf.
🌱 Start laying the turf along a straight edge, laying the rolls in a brickwork pattern.
🌱 Push the ends & edges close together – remember to PUSH, not PULL as this will damage the turf! (If the rolls don’t fit together perfectly, you can fill any gaps with soil).
🌱 Gently press the turf into the soil beneath. Using a piece of wood for this is helpful!
🌱 If you need to cut the turf, use a saw, lawn edger or long sharp knife.
🌱 When you’re finished, if there are any exposed edges, sprinkle a layer of soil over them. This stops them from drying out & you can remove it once the turf has established.
When ‘joining’ your turf rolls, remember to push not pull!
How should you look after your new turf lawn?
After all that hard work, caring for your new lawn to keep it in the best condition is really important!
🌱 Once you laid your turf, water it until the water soaks through to the soil beneath.
🌱 Remember not to use your lawn for several weeks, except to water it.
🌱 Over the next 1-2 weeks, if it doesn’t rain, you’ll need to water your lawn every day. In the evening is best, when it’s cooler.
🌱 After a couple of weeks, check your lawn to make sure the turf has established (rooted). To do this, lift a corner and check that the roots have grown into the soil underneath the turf.
🌱 Once your grass has established you can give it its’ first cut. Remember to keep the mower blade high to avoid damaging the grass.
Make sure your new grass gets plenty of water!
We hope this guide helps you! Please feel free to share it with anyone it might help!
🌱 These are capable of tolerating a high care programme and close cutting.
🌱 Developed to the highest standard over many years, this turf is grown in light, sandy loam soil.
🌱 Independent testing ensures it meets the high standards expected by professional greenkeepers.
Golf & Bowling Green Turf
Hard Wearing Garden Turf
Being made up of an incredibly robust mix of grasses, our Hard Wearing Garden Turf is easy to maintain.
🌱 It’s been designed to cope with dry conditions and partial shade.
🌱 Ideal for high-traffic areas such as family gardens, football pitches and rugby fields.
🌱 Having a deep rooting system means it needs less moisture. This helps to make it future-proof for use in areas where hosepipe bans are common or rainwater is scarce.
Hard-Wearing Garden Turf
Family Garden Turf
We grow our premium Family Garden Turf from the finest fescues, bents and dwarf rye seeds.
🌱 This is a special mix that we developed over 20 years, resulting in a lush green, high-quality lawn.
🌱 This tough turf is durable enough to withstand lots of use by children and pets!
🌱 It can be laid at any time of year and used for a wide range of garden and landscaping projects as well as sports pitches.
Family Garden Turf
Whatever your turf needs, or if you’re unsure which type you need, call us and we’ll be more than happy to discuss it with you!
And don’t forget, if you’re not sure how much turf you need to order, you can use our handy Turf Calculator.
Horticultural dreams – plan design and create your dream garden.
You can see your new garden in your head. Now release your inner Alan Titchmarsh!
Do you find that a new year is like spring in that it gives you the enthusiasm to start a new project?
If your New Year’s Resolution for next year will be to sort out your garden then I hope this months’ blog will help you.
If you’re stuck for inspiration, let us give you some ideas!
You don’t have to be a professional to design your garden and give it a fabulous makeover!
You may not be using your garden much at the moment, but it’s a great time to plan ahead for what you can do out there next year.
And by planning now, you’ll be ready to go when the weather warms up. So there’ll be no excuses for not doing it!
Plan ahead
Start by thinking about and writing down what you’d like in your garden.
Plant types (flowering, evergreen etc)
Plant species
Which colours
Fragrances
Maybe there’s a particular spot in your garden that always seems messy that you’d like to smarten up.
Or you might want to add a seating or barbecue area.
Top Tips:
Ferns are a great plant for shady spots as they like the darker, damper conditions.
Aggregates are a top all-rounder for adding interest through texture and colour. You can use them to create a rockery, on pathways, to brighten up borders, the list goes on…
Creating a play area for the kids with soft and safe surfaces is a really good idea. They have somewhere of their own to play and your lawn stays in one piece!
Drawn out
Next, sketch a plan of how you’d like your garden to look, what you’d like where etc.
You can use a vision board to do this too – use pictures from magazines to show what you like.
This can be really helpful. You might have ideas in your head of what you want. But magazines and books are sure to give you fresh ideas that you hadn’t thought of!
There are lots of free garden design apps you could use too.
List it
So you know what you want to do in your new-look garden. Now make a list of everything you’ll need – materials, plants, seeds, compost, turf, aggregates etc.
If you’re planning a large-scale, longer-term, project make separate lists for different areas. That way, you can break up the project into smaller tasks.
This will help make it less overwhelming and will also help you to budget for each task and area.
You might be able to get all you need from your local garden centre. But if not, it might be helpful to add to your list where you’ll buy different items from. Which companies, shops or websites. This will make it easier and quicker when you come to buy everything.
I hope this helps you plan your dream garden!
Don’t forget to check out our website for more ideas and advice.
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The days are getting shorter and the weather’s getting colder…
As we dig out our winter woollies it’s a sign that some parts of the garden need a bit of extra warmth too!
So it’s time to think about preparing your garden for the winter.
Here are our top tips for getting your garden (and house!) winter-ready:
Tend to plants
Before the frost hits, dead-head plants that have finished flowering and prune shrubs.
If you use supports for any of your plants check to see if they need any repairs. If so, do this now before the weather turns.
Put winter warmers on delicate plants!
Not everyone has a greenhouse or space indoors to put delicate plants over the winter.
Protect them with cloches, frost fleece or bubble wrap.
In the greenhouse
Want to grow salads etc over winter? Give them a helping hand to stay warm by fixing a layer of bubble wrap to the interior of your greenhouse.
Get digging
As long as the ground isn’t waterlogged or frosty, dig clay soil beds to improve the soil quality over winter.
You can leave digging sandy soil until spring.
Cover up
If you’re not growing veg over the winter, cover your vegetable patch with weed control fabric, plastic sheet or flat cardboard boxes. This will help to protect the soil and stop it from losing valuable nutrients.
Improve your soil
Dig in to, or spread on top of, your beds a good layer of soil improver such as compost or manure.
Plan ahead
Even as late as November, you can still plant winter-flowering bulbs for colour in January.
Tidy borders, beds and trim hedges
Weed your beds and borders and give hedges a trim to tidy them up before winter.
Safety first
Tidy paths, patios and paving. Remove moss or anything that can become slippery in the frost or snow.
It’s a good idea to keep a bag of Rock Salt to spread on these areas too.
Winter colour
Make sure you’ve still got something to enjoy in the garden over winter. Add evergreen shrubs and winter-flowering plants.
Wash and wax
Check sheds, fences, decking and outdoor furniture for damage and repair if necessary.
It’s a good idea to treat wooden structures and furniture regularly with oil, wax or varnish to protect them from the cold wet weather.
If you have metal or plastic furniture, give it a good wash now to make sure it’s clean to use next spring and summer.
Keep it clean
Clean water butts, gutters and downpipes.
Check gutters and drains aren’t clogged with leaves and debris. Clear them if they are to prevent overflow when the rain comes.
Feed your garden visitors
Food is scarce at this time of year for birds, hedgehogs and lots of other garden visitors.
Put out fat balls, seeds and nuts for birds.
Keep water fresh and check it daily to make sure it’s not frozen.
Cut a small hole at the bottom of a fence to allow hedgehogs in and either buy or make a house for them.
Look to the future
Now is a great time to plan your garden for next year. Sketch a plan of your garden to show what you’d like in it and where.
Then make a list of all the things you’ll need so you’re ready to go next year.
And last but not least – don’t forget the lawn!
Winter can be tough on lawns so give yours a head start.
Scarify your lawn to remove any moss and thatch so the growth isn’t stunted.
Aerate with a garden fork or aerating tool to get air and water deep into the roots.
If you’re going to add a top dressing you can do that now too.
How to repair your damaged lawn after the hot summer weather.
Over the summer, your lawn can really suffer.
The weather is hotter and we use our gardens much more than the rest of the year.
So it’s inevitable that your grass will show the signs come autumn!
It may be brown, thin and patchy and generally not looking as good as you want it to!
But don’t despair…
It may not be as bad as it looks!
The good news is that BROWN grass doesn’t necessarily mean DEAD grass!
Brown grass will revive itself after a good rainfall.
So you might have to play the waiting game until it rains to see what you’re dealing with!
If after a good watering your grass has repaired itself, you can give it a helping hand for next year:
Keep your mower blades on a high setting over the winter and into spring.
Apply a lawn feed in the autumn to aid recovery.
Aerate your lawn to avoid compaction and allow the rain in. (Make sure you use spikes and not hollow tines for this.)
What can you do if it doesn’t recover naturally?
If after a few weeks and some rainfall your grass isn’t showing signs of repairing itself, don’t worry. You can give it a gentle nudge by over-seeding and adding lawn dressing!
Scarify if necessary – gently remove any thatch and/or moss with a rake
Remove any weeds
Rake your lawn to break up the surface
Scatter grass seed and rake over to ensure an even spread and get the seed into the soil
If you are also adding lawn dressing, brush a layer over your lawn
Water where you have seeded, sit back and wait for your new grass!
The seed should start to grow in 7-10 days – simple!
What about patches?
Where the grass is dead in patches, you can remove it and add new seed.
Scrape away the dead grass using a small trowel
Rake the soil to loosen it
Add a layer of grass seed (also add seed to the surrounding grass to blend together the old and new) and water.
You should see new grass growing within a week.
And if it’s beyond repair?!
If there’s nothing you can do to revive your grass, the time may have come to invest in a new lawn!
The idea of laying new turf may fill you with dread but it’s quite a simple job.
