RD - I reckon if you want to change your weedy lawn into a really nice lawn then I bit if elbow grease is needed. Ideally remove the current turf, deal with the weeds, prepare the soil and relay new turf. But it's not everyone's choice.
I confess to being rather precious with my own lawn and am old fashioned enough to think it is important to have a nice one to set off the much more important garden plants. In another life I would love to make an ecological lawn but for many gardeners a weedy lawn is just an excuse for neglect.
If it might give Red Dahlia hope I have seen many beautiful lawns achieved just by regular mowing and careful management. I am featuring my friend Peter's lawn on my blog this Wednesday. It was never sown or turfed, he just mowed- and fertilised, controlled weeds and things!
Interested in Sarah Raven referring to that fork as a pitch fork! A pitch fork is something else entirely and is a lighter fork for hay making etc. what she used is just a fork and is also called a graip, tho that may be a regional term.
Regular cutting should rid the lawn of weeds - apart from low growing ones like clover. My front lawn, which is north facing is Ok looking, if with a yellow tinge. I try to keep off it in winter.
Back lawn, full sun even in winter has moss this year and that is after raking, aeration, backfilling with sand and top dressing. I also keep it longer to make it look greener and to hide that it is not flat at all.
I use weed and feed which helps keep weeds away, though not moss it seems.
Get yourself a push mower that'll make you mow it regularly-works for me I mow with the blades set quite high so I'm not taking too much off, then I usually just let the grass clipping go back into the lawn to feed it (which does not cause thatch, that is dead grass). Time I don't do this is if I want to reduce lawn fertility eg at the end of the season to reduce growth before winter. I do also aerate with a fork and hollow tine aerator and scarify. Removed plantain using a dandelion spade. This work has really improved the drainage in just one year so it is worth it.
Posts
I did this with mine....
Which turned it into this......
I only cut it once a year now!!...
Would work in a front garden also I reckon!..
Best
Higgy
http://higgysgardenproject.blogspot.com/
Higgy, that looks superb.
RD - I reckon if you want to change your weedy lawn into a really nice lawn then I bit if elbow grease is needed. Ideally remove the current turf, deal with the weeds, prepare the soil and relay new turf. But it's not everyone's choice.
I confess to being rather precious with my own lawn and am old fashioned enough to think it is important to have a nice one to set off the much more important garden plants. In another life I would love to make an ecological lawn but for many gardeners a weedy lawn is just an excuse for neglect.
If it might give Red Dahlia hope I have seen many beautiful lawns achieved just by regular mowing and careful management. I am featuring my friend Peter's lawn on my blog this Wednesday. It was never sown or turfed, he just mowed- and fertilised, controlled weeds and things!
I do like Higgy's lawn!
Higgy, that lawn is just great
In the sticks near Peterborough
Interested in Sarah Raven referring to that fork as a pitch fork! A pitch fork is something else entirely and is a lighter fork for hay making etc. what she used is just a fork and is also called a graip, tho that may be a regional term.
Regular cutting should rid the lawn of weeds - apart from low growing ones like clover. My front lawn, which is north facing is Ok looking, if with a yellow tinge. I try to keep off it in winter.
Back lawn, full sun even in winter has moss this year and that is after raking, aeration, backfilling with sand and top dressing. I also keep it longer to make it look greener and to hide that it is not flat at all.
I use weed and feed which helps keep weeds away, though not moss it seems.
Get yourself a push mower that'll make you mow it regularly-works for me
I mow with the blades set quite high so I'm not taking too much off, then I usually just let the grass clipping go back into the lawn to feed it (which does not cause thatch, that is dead grass). Time I don't do this is if I want to reduce lawn fertility eg at the end of the season to reduce growth before winter. I do also aerate with a fork and hollow tine aerator and scarify. Removed plantain using a dandelion spade. This work has really improved the drainage in just one year so it is worth it.