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Help! Lawn dies every autumn/winter

chrisvs198363582chrisvs198363582 Posts: 2
in Problem solving
Hi,

Our garden was landscaped in 2020 and we had turf laid.  Every winter it thins out considerably (back to mud in some areas) and I find myself reseeding in the spring.  See the pictures of the lawn in the summer and how it looks today:




As you can see, it’s a small lawn of about 4m x 4m.  There is next to no foot traffic on the lawn so it’s not being worn out that way.  We live in an area with clay and it does seem to get very wet so I wonder if it’s a drainage issue.  It also thins out under the tree first which gets limited sun.  I have tried reseeding with shady lawn but doesn’t seem to make a difference.  I put down an autumn feed in October and spiked with a fork but again, that doesn’t seem to have made a difference.

Any hints and tips welcomed!


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  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    I suppose the first question would be was the area properly prepared when the turf was laid and was drainage considered - or deemed necessary ?
    Rainfall has increased fairly dramatically this year and so your location may not have helped.
    Like much else, the colder weather means growth will have stopped or been greatly reduced.  You don't give the aspect but the shade from the various evergreen shrubbery will usually mean the grass won't be as luxuriant as the part which receives more light.
    There are several "Lawn" people on the forum so hopefully they will be able to give you some pointers/advice.
  • CeresCeres Posts: 2,698
    edited December 2023
    In the middle photo I can see something hanging from the shrub. Looks like a windchime and a bird feeder.  If it is a bird feeder, you will have quite a lot of foot traffic in that area......you'd be surprised how much birds can wear down a small portion of lawn.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I'm thinking either insufficient drainage so it gets too wet as soon as the autumn/winter rains set in, or too shady particularly at the times of year when the sun doesn't get very high in the sky so everything casts longer shadows. Neither is ideal for grass. Maybe both, with the shadier area being the worst affected. My grass is usually OK even where it gets not very much sun in winter, but my soil is sandy so it never gets waterlogged, but the down side is, it turns brown in summer if we get a prolonged hot dry spell.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Lots of shade and poor drainage - things that make it hard to have decent looking grass when on clay soil. As @philippasmith2 and @JennyJ have said, the prep is important, so if that wasn't sufficient, it always creates problems. You either have to just keep spiking and re sowing, or accept that it will look rough over winter, especially if you're in a wetter area.
    It also depends on how much time you want and effort you want to spend on such a small part of your garden. Most gardeners are just happy if the grass stays green most of the year.  :)
    The alternative is to not bother with grass at all  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • chrisvs198363582chrisvs198363582 Posts: 2
    Thank you all for your comments so far.

    @Ceres  Good advice on the bird feeder.  That is a simple fix.

    I know the soil below the grass was turned over a few times and then a healthy layer of topsoil added but I don't know what other prep was done or what should have been done to improve drainage.   Can anyone advise if doing a sand based top dressing in the spring would likely improve things or, to really make a difference, its a "start again" job?  I don't want to be defeated by this lawn!

  • ViewAheadViewAhead Posts: 866
    edited December 2023
    chrisvs198363582 said:
    ...  I don't want to be defeated by this lawn!

    I sympathise 😁 (been there) ... but be prepared that sometimes nature does get its own way on these things.  However, early days, so not time to give up yet.  

    Most grass doesn't look its best at this time of yr, but often recovers pretty well come spring.  You haven't got leaves lying on it, which is good.  Avoiding walking on it will help a little and reseeding it in spring will cover the muddy bits. 

    You could start again, but it would be disappointing to do that and find there was not a great deal of difference this time next yr.  


  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    A sand layer can help a lot, but you kind of need to spread the sand quite generously and lay the turf on top. And if the lawn is surrounded by clay soil and hard landscaping on all sides there's a risk that whatever the soil is, it won't drain correctly unless you have some sort of outlet.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
    edited December 2023
    If that was mine I would just extend the hard landscaping in a nearly semi circular fashion and use the remaining space for a lush planted border. Little lawns are of not much use and indeed I agree with @Loxley all the hard landscaping on two sides isn't great if you have underlaying clay. All it does is move all rain to that central area. 

    When we put in the hard landscaping in our garden four years ago we made sure the drainage of the nearly semi circular lawn was as good as it could be and thankfully it has kept it growing well, our only problem being squirrels digging...the fox cubs certainly were enjoying it 🤣


    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 8,355
    You've created a lovely space there but it does sound as though a disproportionate amount of time and work (feeding, spiking, reseeding and regular cutting) is going into a very small area of lawn which, for the reasons given above is probably never going to be that successful. Personally I'd accept that it is simply not a great spot to have a lawn.

    I would deepen the external borders a bit (but I can see that you've already spent time and money putting in good quality edging so you might not want to) and then make some sort of feature in what is now the lawn area.

    Ideas that spring to mind are a central bed with a small ornamental tree, underplanted with ornamental grasses all surrounded with shingle / other ornamental stone. Or possibly a Japanese style garden. Or maybe a pond / other water feature with some surrounding planting.

    I know that's not really what you were asking or wanted to hear, so apologies for sticking my oar in - but it's just my take on making life a bit easier for yourself.🙂
    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    If you want to keep the lawn and not start again from scratch, you could try spiking it as deeply as you can, all over, maybe every 4 - 6 inches or so. About the length of the tines on a garden fork is good, but a hollow-tine aerator is better if the soil is heavy clay. Then brush sharp coarse sand over it and into the holes (not fine soft sand, nor grit which can damage mower blades). It might not help if you have a hard impermeable layer lower than the depth to which you can spike, but we can't tell so it might be worth a try. Then overseed if necessary.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
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