How can I keep my summer lawn looking green and healthy?

The summer lawn plays the starring role in most gardens and yet it is easy to take it for granted. Don’t stress it by cutting it too hard or too short, especially in hot weather. When the lawn is growing vigorously it needs to be cut as often as you can manage. Ideally once or even twice a week. If you can’t cut it as often as this then don’t be tempted to scalp it when you do mow. Cutting the lawn very short will cause undue stress, weaken the grass plants and allow invading weeds and moss to take over, especially in hot weather. If your lawn is cut infrequently then cut it to about 7.5cm (3inches), so that it retains its fresh and healthy appearance. If the weather is dry, grass growth will slow, so allow the lawn to rest and if you must cut it simply trim off the top third of growth.

Green your lawn by applying a summer feed, this will provide some of the nutrients that will have been deplete from the soil and give your lawn a much-needed boost. Use an after mowing tonic every time you mow, or apply a longer term feed that will green it up for the rest of the summer. Follow the instructions and don’t apply in a drought.

If your lawn has turned brown, don’t panic. Unless it is newly laid turf that has not yet rooted, or newly sown seed that has been baked, your lawn will usually recover even after several weeks of drought and will quickly recover when rain falls. Watering the lawn may create instant visual results but is often unnecessary and can create further problems. Unless you can be sure to thoroughly soak a dry lawn it is actually better not to water it at all. If you superficially water just the very top surface of your lawn you will simply encourage surface roots which will not support the grass plants in periods of drought and will themselves become baked and damaged by scorching sunlight. A well-prepared lawn that has been properly fed and treated during the spring is better able to withstand and recover from drought. Postpone any lawn treatments until the weather has cooled and make a note to treat your lawn to a tonic in the autumn so that it is better equipped to survive the winter ahead.

Keep newly sown lawns and freshly turfed areas well watered in dry spells. Tidy edges can make all the difference to the look of your lawn. Trim the lawn edges every week using lawn-edging shears to give a neat finish. Cut long grass around trees and along the base of fences and walls using a nylon line trimmer, taking care not to damage neighbouring trees, shrubs or wildlife when you are trimming grass. Recut the lawn edges with a half moon edging iron and install lawn edging to keep it looking neat and tidy.

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