A lush, green lawn is the ideal companion for a beautiful flower bed. If your lawn has been a bit neglected over the years, it can soon get overgrown, and soon look more weeds than grass. Here are some top lawn care tips to save it and keep your lawn looking green and tidy.
Mow The Lawn Regularly
Many people don’t worry about mowing the lawn until the weather is warm and we want to use the garden. In reality, a healthy lawn should be mown all year round. Mow the lawn once a week over the summer, and once every two weeks over the autumn, winter, and spring. By doing this, you can help the roots of the grass to spread. This means the lawn will keep growing and fill up any bare patches in the lawn, blocking the weeds.
Dry weather can cause your lawn to become dry and brown. To keep the lawn green, raise the cutting height of your mower to keep the lawn a bit longer. Make sure you keep your lawnmower well maintained, with sharp blades, so it does a decent job on your lawn.
Water Your Lawn
Young lawns need to be watered often, and even older lawns can benefit from some hydration. Save rainwater in a water butt to water the lawn. Greywater that has been saved from the bath or the washing up bowl is perfect too.
If your lawn has turned brown, don’t worry. It’s not dead and should recover well as soon as it gets some water.
Weed The Lawn
Weeds in the lawn aren’t pretty and can kill the grass. Weeds with large leaves, like dandelions, can smother big areas of the grass underneath them. However, these kinds of weeds are relatively easy to get out with a trowel. Smaller weeds, like clover and yellow medick, can spread through the lawn, choking the grass. Rake the lawn before you mow it to lift the weeds above the height of the grass so the mower blades can get at them. This will weaken and kill off the weeds over time.
Be careful if you decide to use weed killers on your lawn. Chemical weed killers aren’t cheap, and actually aren’t much help for a lawn that is in bad condition. Unhealthy grass is the perfect place for weeds to thrive, so concentrate on getting rid of that problem instead of just killing the weeds themselves. Chemical weed killers are also not a very good option if you’re someone who worries about the environment, so choose natural options if you need to use a weed killer.
Fake It
If all this lawn care sounds like a lot of hassle, why bother? Synthetic grass can look fantastic if properly laid and is much easier to care for than live grass. You can remove leaves and other debris with a leaf blower, and treat for weeds with a natural weed killer. A weekly brush is enough to keep it looking great.
