Home Garden & Home Summer How To Make and Care for Your Perfect Lawn

How To Make and Care for Your Perfect Lawn

The perfect lawn ideal provides a simple but stunning centrepiece for the garden, waiting to be framed by borders and planting. Whilst it is often considered so, maintaining your lawn shouldn’t be a chore. With a few simple regular steps, you can transform your lawn into a lush, striped lawn worthy of any bowling alley.

Here are our top tips on how to care for your perfect lawn.

Autumn Lawncare

It is best to do most of these lawncare preparation steps in the autumn months when lawn growth has slowed down; it then has enough time to recover for the spring and summer months.

Best Time to Scarify Your Lawn in the UK

Dead grass and debris can easily build up to cause unsightly thatch, which in turn blocks air and sunlight from getting to the grass, and a begins vicious cycle. Depending on the size of your lawn and the scale of your problem, you can choose between a manual lawn rake or a powered lawn scarifier to help clear the lawn.

The autumn months are the best time to give your lawn a vigorous rake, but be careful not to be too forceful and rake too deeply, as the turf gets damaged it can take a long time to recover.

How to Aerate Your Lawn

Like any plant, the key to healthy grass is taking care of the roots. Make sure the root gets maximum oxygen by doing all you can to improve drainage. The best way to do this is through aeration.

As with scarification, the best tool for the job depends on your lawn size. You can again invest in a powered machine, or you can simply pick up a garden fork and insert the spikes roughly 15cm deep every 30cm around the lawn, focussing particularly on any areas where damp and flooding are a problem. This will reduce moss growth and give you a healthier, greener perfect lawn.

When to Top Dress Your Lawn in the UK

While there is some debate about the true benefits of top-dressing a lawn for the home gardener, it can help correct small surface irregularities and improve drainage.

Topdressing involves spreading a 1cm covering of material such as soil, sand, or compost (or a mixture) evenly over the lawn. For a universal lawn dressing product, look for Westland Lawn & Turf dressing which is designed to improve the root structure, drainage and physical condition of your lawn.

Topdressing should ideally be done annually and after aeration for best results. Once you have aerated your lawn, make sure the grass has been recently mown before applying your top dressing.

Apply it by spreading evenly across your whole lawn and use the back of a rake to work into the ground, focusing on filling any gaps created by aeration. The grass should not be completely covered – the tops of the blades should still be visible. Once your topdressing has been applied, give your lawn a good water.

How to Flatten Your Lawn

If you have some large unsightly bumps or dips in your lawn, you’ll need to do a few small procedures to rectify them.

You can do this by lifting and rolling back the turf of the offending bump or dip using an edging iron or spade. Turn over the ground underneath and then remove or add soil until you have flattened out the area. Pull the turf back over, press firmly around the edges and water generously.

Best Time to Repair and Reseed Your Lawn

Once all the steps above have been done, check the lawn for any patches or worn areas. Autumn is the best season for sowing grass seed on a new lawn or overseeding your existing lawn while the average temperature is still warm enough to encourage successful germination.

There is a great new product on the market, Viano Autumn Lawn Treatment, specifically designed to support your lawn’s autumn recovery. It destroys moss, greens, thickens and strengthens grass and stimulates stronger roots. It is an organic formulation that is safe for children and pets.

Sprinkle over worn parts of your lawn and lightly rake into the ground. For any small missing patches of grass, you may also want to apply patch repair. Firm the ground once applied by taking a walk over the areas.

Discover your next autumn lawncare products.

Spring Lawncare

Spring Mowing

Our top tip for mowing is to invest in the right machinery! There are lots of options for mowers on the market from petrol, to electric, and battery; from rotary to cylinder, and walk behind to ride on.

If you’re after a striped finish then a rear roller mower is recommended and the lawn needs to be mown up and down to perfect your stripes. This is because the roller flattens the grass so that it lays flat in the direction in which you’ve mowed. Finish the effect with clean sharp lawn edges using a half-moon edger.

The first cut is the most important. It may be tempting to jump straight in and cut the grass low to kick off the season, you need to do the opposite. On the first mow, you need to be gentle to protect the grass’ roots which will be soft and delicate after the winter. A shortcut will weaken the grass and encourage weeds and moss. Cut on a higher setting, then repeat a few days later on a lower cut height. Then be sure to mow regularly throughout the season to keep your lawn perfect.

Spring Repair

If you’re looking to repair patches of your lawn or reseed a larger area, early spring is an ideal time to start. Certain grass seeds can germinate at lower soil temperatures, allowing you to sow seeds around a month earlier than usual — in March, rather than April — and still achieve excellent results.

Early spring is also the time to target small patches of weeds with a dedicated lawn weed killer and use a moss killer if needed when the weather is good. Products have recently become available that more easily remove moss. These contain special bacteria which digest the moss in your lawn and break it down to form fertiliser, which then greens your grass.

Apply these with a spreader to make sure you get the coverage advertised on the bag – however, if you do accidentally overdo it a bit in one area, you won’t get awful black patches. And with the moss all broken down into the soil to feed your grass, there is no raking to be done either. These moss products won’t control broad-leafed weeds such as dandelions and thistles in your lawn though, so you will have to deal with these separately. Remember to use a specific lawn weed killer that won’t damage your grass.

If you are planning to lay turf, mid-March is the perfect time. Prepare the ground a couple of weeks in advance by ensuring the soil has a good balance of the essential nutrients needed, allowing it time to settle and be ready for the new turf.

Spring Feeding

Using a good quality feed will provide your lawn with the nutrients it needs to maintain its health and reduce the shock of the first cut. Make sure you use a spring mix to give it the right balance of essential nutrients and feed for this time of year. We recommend a lawn feed like Miracle Gro Evergreen Complete 4 in 1, or for a 100% organic feed, choose Westland SafeLawn – highly recommended for households with children and pets.

Grass feed should be applied evenly when the soil is moist and rainfall is expected. During prolonged dry spells, you will need to water the lawn for several days after application.

Edges

A perfect lawn can instantly be ruined by messy edging. Use a half-moon lawn edger like the one above from Burgon & Ball and a pair of edging shears, and you can solve this in a flash. Be sure to collect up the trimmings afterwards to stop the cut grass and debris building upon the lawn.

Find the ideal tools for spring.

Summer Lawncare

The summer months are the ones where we hope to relax a little in the garden, spending time enjoying the fruits of our spring labours, and perhaps walking barefoot on our beautifully prepared, perfect lawn. It is also the season when the lawn comes under the greatest amount of stress.

Reduced rainfall, rapid lawn growth, which uses up the nutrients in the soil and the increased presence of people happily trampling over the grass can all take their toll. Mowing, feeding, and careful watering can keep your lawn at its best in summer.

Summer Mowing

As long as the weather conditions are not extremely hot and dry (see below for drought management), continue to mow regularly – weekly if possible.

Summer Feeding

Summer calls for a different type of feed to give your lawn the nutrition it needs. Choose a feed like Aftercut Ultra Green, which feeds and conditions grass from root to tip. It helps achieve rapid greening within days, at a time when the lawn can tend towards turning brown, prevents moss and helps create a stronger and tougher lawn.

Summer Watering

Watering lawns during the summer months can be a matter of preference, as lawns will typically recover well in autumn with increased rainfall and there is a lot to be said for conserving this precious natural resource. If conditions are particularly dry and you do want to try and prolong the lush green of your lawn, a major soak less frequently is better than frequently sprinkling, which can lead to shallow root growth.

See drought management below for more advice on summer watering.

Help your lawn this summer.

Winter Lawncare

Winter is a time of rest for your lawn, and it’s important that it has time to rejuvenate and be ready for the following year. This season is a good time to think about how you are going to care for your perfect lawn come spring. Plan any changes to your lawn during the winter so that you’re ready for when the temperature outside increases.

Concerned about frost? Find out what you can do to help your lawn here.

When to Mow Your Lawn After Winter

You should avoid mowing your lawn during the winter months so as not to cause any damage. The cold weather will prevent your grass from growing, so any mowing of your lawn is not necessary. It’s best to wait until the beginning of spring to start cutting your grass. Use this time to clean and prepare your mowing equipment for the next season.

Drought Management

Our friends over at Westland Garden Health have provided some great tips for reviving your perfect lawn after a drought.

What Happens to the Grass in Drought Conditions?

The grass will try to fight by increasing the root system to reach for water. Because of this, it focuses resources to keep the roots alive and as a consequence will turn brown/yellow. So in most cases the grass is not dead, just dormant, and uses as little water as possible to survive this dry spell. To find out if your grass is dormant or dead: pull it! If the grass comes out easily, with no resistance it is dead. If this doesn’t happen it means the roots are still alive. Another test is watering a small section to see if it starts greening.

What to Do in the Meantime

Leave the grass to grow. Longer grass will give shade to roots and encourage them to grow as well, so raising the height of the lawnmower is recommended.
Don’t use top dressing or weedkillers on the lawn during this period. Avoid fertilisers unless you can water the lawn (think of water resources in your area)

Expectations

Light drought – recovery should be apparent within 7-10 days
Medium drought – recovery should be apparent within 7-14 days
Heavy drought – recovery should be apparent within 2-3 weeks

How Do I Recover My Lawn?

Rake the lawn lightly to remove any loose material or debris.
Water, water, water! If rain is scarce, water heavily for a few days. After this initial period, return to a normal watering schedule. It’s better to give the lawn a deep soak less frequently than to water little and often, as this encourages deeper rooting.
Avoid high foot traffic on the lawn while it’s recovering to reduce additional stress.
If there are any patchy areas, rake the spot, remove dead grass, and apply a patch repair product suited for lawns.
Once the grass begins to recover, apply a balanced fertiliser to restore soil nutrients and boost overall lawn health.
If the lawn is sparse or worn, consider overseeding the entire area with grass seed to improve thickness and encourage healthy growth.
If the lawn is beyond repair, you may need to re-turf or sow a new lawn with high-quality grass seed. Keep up with consistent watering to support seed germination and establishment.