Grass Clippings - Lawn Advice From a Team of Lawn and Turf Experts

Lawn Advice at your Finger Tips

If you are after some lawn advice, check out this lawn advice blog where there are over 1,500 technical articles to help you create a lawn to be proud of.

All written by a team of lawn care professionals with over 40 years of practical lawn care years under their belt.

You will be in safe hands plus the advice is all free too.  Use the search facility top right to enter in lawn keywords.

April Showers, a Month Late!

Britain is set for a warm and sunny week; the Daily Mail reports with temperatures hitting nearly 20C in some areas – but the milder weather is likely to be interspersed with rain, hail and thunder.

Forecasters joked that April showers were 'a month late' as the Met Office predicted the South of England could see highs of 18C today, while northern regions areas are expected to reach 16C.

Temperatures were already at 12C in East Anglia by 7am today on what was the first frost free morning for at least a fortnight, while the rest of the UK was also mild with the mercury between 8C and 11C.

Is it really May? Feels like Winter out there

It still feels like winter out there and we have not yet seen the spring burst of grass growth.  April was the third coldest April in almost 140 years, the Met Office has said, and had the lowest average minimum temperature since 1922.

April was also the frostiest and driest on record. The Met Office said just 4.7mm of rainfall had fallen in England since the start of the month. The driest on record is 1938, when there was just 6.7mm of rain.  We have now had some decent rain to help lift the lawns out of the winbter doldrums.

Soluble Iron to Retard Moss and Colour Up Lawns

We all prefer a weekend when the weather is a little kinder and this coming weekend is not scheduled to be much of a get out in the garden weekend for most with some wind and rain forecast.  It is still so cold!

If you do get chance to get outside and inspect your garden and lawn, try and spare a thought of how you plan to get the lawn out of the winter doldrums.

To help you - some Soluble Iron to retard any Winter moss and give the lawn a bit of colour would help greatly.

Lawn Quencher solves Lawn Dry Patches

We have only seen 22.5mm of rain in the South East in the months of April and May to date and as a result are almost in drought conditions with lawn dry patches appearing in carefully tended green swards.

Dry patches that are hard to re-wet are the primary causes of lawn failure.  If a lawn is renovated, it is always these long lasting dry areas that are the root cause of any seed failing to germinate and establish in these well marked and visual areas.

You may notice a darkening halo on parts of the lawn, visible from the upstairs window. This is a good indicator that the soil underneath is starting to or has dried out.

You may notice a darkening halo on parts of the lawn, visible from the upstairs window. This is a good indicator that the soil underneath is starting to or has dried out.

You may notice a darkening halo on parts of the lawn, visible from the upstairs window. This is a good indicator that the soil underneath is starting to or has dried out.

Indigo Garden Spray Dye prevents garden treatment errors

When Gardeners make liquid or chemical applications to their lawn, they are faced with a big dilemma - how can they mark where they have sprayed already?

Professional Turf Managers have been using Spray Pattern Indicator Dyes for decades but these have never been widely available before to the amateur lawn owner.

When Gardeners make liquid or chemical applications to their lawn, they are faced with a big dilemma - how can they mark where they have sprayed already?

Professional Turf Managers have been using Spray Pattern Indicator Dyes for decades but these have never been widely available before to the amateur lawn owner.

When Gardeners make liquid or chemical applications to their lawn, they are faced with a big dilemma - how can they mark where they have sprayed already?

Professional Turf Managers have been using Spray Pattern Indicator Dyes for decades but these have never been widely available before to the amateur lawn owner.

When Gardeners make liquid or chemical applications to their lawn, they are faced with a big dilemma - how can they mark where they have sprayed already?

Professional Turf Managers have been using Spray Pattern Indicator Dyes for decades but these have never been widely available before to the amateur lawn owner.

When Gardeners make liquid or chemical applications to their lawn, they are faced with a big dilemma - how can they mark where they have sprayed already?

Professional Turf Managers have been using Spray Pattern Indicator Dyes for decades but these have never been widely available before to the amateur lawn owner.

The Solution to Worm Casts on Lawns

There are a lot of lawns being ruined by worm casts with recent rainfall, with multi sticky mounds of soil coming through the lawn.

Earthworm infestations can be massive, with many thousands per every 100 square metres.

It is not the worms that are directly the problem, but their castings on your lawn. 

There are a lot of lawns being ruined by worm casts with recent rainfall, with multi sticky mounds of soil coming through the lawn.

Earthworm infestations can be massive, with many thousands per every 100 square metres.

It is not the worms that are directly the problem, but their castings on your lawn. 

Horrified TV Gardener Stefan Buczacki cuts down Monty Don on Lawn Advice

Monty Don said publicly yesterday that Gardeners should not mow their lawns.  'I encourage people not to have lawns,’ he said. ‘Cutting grass burns lots of fossil fuel, makes a filthy noise and is about the most injurious thing you can do to wildlife.’

Professor Stefan Buczacki, a former chairman of Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time states in his response to Monty Don in The Daily Mail  'It is estimated that the total area of lawn in the UK covers 2,000 square kilometres, or about half a million acres. That’s an area about the size of Worcestershire, divided up unequally into 20 million gardens, most with a lawn which is after all the carpet of the room outside.'

When to start mowing your lawn

Pick up any old lawn book and it will state that you should not mow the lawn between the end of October and end of February. This is rubbish. We are often asked by clients when should they start mowing the lawn in the spring. 

The weather is a bit of a mixed bag at the moment but some of the day time temperatures are getting higher so there is some minimal grass growth and the garden is waking up with daffodils showing and some out in bloom already.

Monty Don urges gardeners to stop mowing the lawn so often as it is 'damaging' to wildlife

Monty Don has called on gardeners – especially men – to ease off their 'obsession' with mowing the lawn.

The 65-year-old said keeping grass short tends to be a male trait, which is about 'control'. 

The Daily Mail Weekend magazine columnist claimed there are, in fact, a lot of benefits to letting it grow instead.

'Cutting grass burns lots of fossil fuel, makes a filthy noise and is about the most injurious thing you can do to wildlife,' Don said.

In our view, more hot air from a Television Gardening Celebrity who knows very little about lawns and their care. 

Read more on The Daily Mail.  

A Cold and Frosty start to March

A cold and frosty start to March where skies have remained clear overnight and after a fairly warm and sunny weekend, our minds turn a little bit more towards our garden and lawn.

At the end of the week, we are back to some negative temperatures at night so do not be fooled into making lawn treatments just yet, apart from maybe some moss killer to retard the winter moss.

We heard a few lawn mowers going over the past weekend and if ground conditions permit, a you may be able to top the lawn to help lift it out of the winter doldrums.

Spring is around the corner...

The weather is still forecast to be a tad chilly but Spring is just around the corner so best get planning for when it arrives.  Seeing a few Daffodils in flower really lifts the visual landscape.

We have not yet heard a lawn mower and it is a little early and wet to be honest and not really been warm enough but all that will change at short notice as minus wind chill temperatures gives way to positive 10 degrees in the South East at least.  If the weather warms up a little and ground conditions permit, fire up the lawn mower and lightly top the lawn to tidy it up.  It will love you for it!

The weather is still forecast to be a tad chilly but Spring is just around the corner so best get planning for when it arrives.  Seeing a few Daffodils in flower really lifts the visual landscape.

We have not yet heard a lawn mower and it is a little early and wet to be honest and not really been warm enough but all that will change at short notice as minus wind chill temperatures gives way to positive 10 degrees in the South East at least.  If the weather warms up a little and ground conditions permit, fire up the lawn mower and lightly top the lawn to tidy it up.  It will love you for it!

The weather is still forecast to be a tad chilly but Spring is just around the corner so best get planning for when it arrives.  Seeing a few Daffodils in flower really lifts the visual landscape.

We have not yet heard a lawn mower and it is a little early and wet to be honest and not really been warm enough but all that will change at short notice as minus wind chill temperatures gives way to positive 10 degrees in the South East at least.  If the weather warms up a little and ground conditions permit, fire up the lawn mower and lightly top the lawn to tidy it up.  It will love you for it!

Managing Editor is a Judge and Lawn Speaker for The RHS

Our Managing Editor, Mike Seaton, is a Fellow Member of The Institute of Groundsmanship, now called the Grounds Management Association and has had an extensive career in the turf and lawn care industries.

'Being a lawn specialist is a bit like being a Doctor at a party. The lawn is after all the carpet of the room outside and the lawn is often the largest part of the garden and the most neglected by many.'  

Mike has been included in the Royal Horticultural Society Speaker and Judge online listings to give talks about lawns or judge lawns and turf at gardening shows.

Our Managing Editor, Mike Seaton, is a Fellow Member of The Institute of Groundsmanship, now called the Grounds Management Association and has had an extensive career in the turf and lawn care industries.

'Being a lawn specialist is a bit like being a Doctor at a party. The lawn is after all the carpet of the room outside and the lawn is often the largest part of the garden and the most neglected by many.'  

Mike has been included in the Royal Horticultural Society Speaker and Judge online listings to give talks about lawns or judge lawns and turf at gardening shows.

Our Managing Editor, Mike Seaton, is a Fellow Member of The Institute of Groundsmanship, now called the Grounds Management Association and has had an extensive career in the turf and lawn care industries.

'Being a lawn specialist is a bit like being a Doctor at a party. The lawn is after all the carpet of the room outside and the lawn is often the largest part of the garden and the most neglected by many.'  

Mike has been included in the Royal Horticultural Society Speaker and Judge online listings to give talks about lawns or judge lawns and turf at gardening shows.

Our Managing Editor, Mike Seaton, is a Fellow Member of The Institute of Groundsmanship, now called the Grounds Management Association and has had an extensive career in the turf and lawn care industries.

'Being a lawn specialist is a bit like being a Doctor at a party. The lawn is after all the carpet of the room outside and the lawn is often the largest part of the garden and the most neglected by many.'  

Mike has been included in the Royal Horticultural Society Speaker and Judge online listings to give talks about lawns or judge lawns and turf at gardening shows.

February Lawn Care Tips

We would be lying if we said that February was a big lawn care month!

Low temperature and then snow and ice and a big wind chill froze the soil rock hard.   The weather will then change to be much milder with positive figures and now more rain making the surface of the lawn water logged and muddy under foot.

Controlling Moss with Soluble Iron

Moss control and then Moss removal in lawns is a practice normally performed in the spring and autumn. 

The weather is still against us but if it cheers up and warms up then you could commence with some winter moss control. 

If the grass plants activity has thinned or weakened over the past 12 months, now is the time to start Moss control and eradication and some mechanical operations just ahead of over seeding the lawn to turn the tide on the moss and re populate with existing or new grasses whilst the soil is still warm. Moss is traditionally controlled and killed using Soluble Iron.