Alternative Lawns

A lush, well manicured, green lawn is most people’s idea of the perfect lawn but if you are looking for something a little easier to maintain or just fancy something a bit different then why not sow a wildflower or chamomile lawn?

Creating a colourful wildflower area in your garden is extremely easy and your garden will soon become a natural haven for beneficial insects as well as various species of butterflies.

Wildflower Lawn

A wildflower lawn is just a patch of grass that isn’t cut as short as usual and where you encourage low-growing wild flowers, such as primroses, violets and cowslips.

Some people also like to encourage some lawn weeds.

A wildflower meadow is wonderful in summer and attracts butterflies and bees. You can either let the wild flowers come up naturally, and weed out the ones you don’t want, or you can plant the wild flowers of your choice into the turf in spring, they will self-seed once they are established.

A wildflower lawn doesn’t need feeding but it will need cutting a couple of times a year in early spring and autumn.

Clover Lawn

White clover (Trifoliurn repens) makes a very good ‘lawn’. Sow it in the same way as a normal grass lawn, using clover seeds that you can buy from specialist seed firms.

Clover stays green in dry weather and it grows to only about 5-8cm (2-3in), so it doesn’t need regular mowing. Clover is a mass of flower in summer and very attractive to bees.

Flower Lawn

The classic flower lawn is chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile ‘Treneague’). You can also grow a lawn of creeping thymes; a mixture of mat­forming alpines; or one of the flowering chamomiles, such Chamaemelum nobile `Flore Pleno’.

Flowering lawns don’t need mowing; just a clip over after flowering, but they have to be weeded by hand so you may not want a large area. The types of plants used in flowering lawns need a sunny spot with excellent drainage so dig plenty of grit or gravel into the area before planting.

Buy your own wildflower seed collection from Thompson & Morgan; each collection comprises of one packet each of Common Primrose, Wild Cowslip, Wild Flanders Poppy and Sweet Rocket Alba. Or see a wide range of wildflower seeds from Suttons.

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Lawn Problems

Even after following a strict maintenance programme you may find your lawn occasionally requires additional work or succumbs to pests or diseases.

A New Lawn from Seed

Growing grass from seed costs a lot less than using turf but you can only really sow a lawn during April-May or September-early October. It takes 4-6 months before you have a usable lawn so it is usually best to sow during the Autumn.

A New Lawn from Turf

Turf is pre-grown grass, which is cut from the ground ready for you to use as an instant lawn. There are two types of turf available, Cultivated and Meadow. Cultivated turf if the most expensive but it gives a good quality lawn. Meadow turf is cheaper but it may have weeds or bare patches so will require more initial maintenance.

4 Easy Steps to a Great Lawn

Not everyone has the time to spend on a full year-round lawn maintenance routine, if this applies to you then here are a few easy jobs you can carry out which will make a difference to your lawn in a short space of time.

Lawn Care Calendar

Find out how to look after your lawn month by month

What can I do to look after my lawn during dry periods?

The UK doesn’t often have long periods of hot weather but when it does, and when hose pipe bans are iminent, our lawns can soon begin looking dry or even dead.

Dealing with moss in your lawn

If moss is a problem on your lawn you will need to scarify it out. You may also consider applying lawn sand or a weed and moss-killer product before scarifying. This will help to kill and remove more of the moss. Allow the moss to turn brown/black before scarifying

Preparing your lawn for spring

Mowing is the most important maintenance operation for any lawn. Before the first cut in spring, it is important to check the lawn and the mower. Debris, such as twigs and small branches, may have accumulated over the winter. These should be removed prior to making the first cut. Check the mower is in good order with sharp blades.

Mushrooms in the Lawn

The mushrooms you find in your lawn are actually helping to decay dead and rotting matter beneath the surface of the lawn with most of the activity taking place under the turf.

Looking after your lawn in Autumn

Autumn is an important season for taking care of your lawn. It is important to use the last months of the growing season to strengthen and prepare the lawn for the rigours of winter. The effort put into a lawn in autumn will improve the quality and health of the lawn right through into the [...]

Now is an ideal time to prevent damage caused by Chafer Grubs

Chafer grubs are the larvae of the chafer beetle. They can cause problems on any grassed area including lawns by feeding on the roots of grass plants. The adults range from 9 to 39 mm in length and have different coloured heads and wings cases. The adults emerge between the end of May and July depending on the weather conditions in spring. They may feed on shrubs and trees before laying the eggs into grassed areas.

Looking after your lawn in Summer

Mowing As temperatures hot up and we move into summer the growth of your lawn may actually start to slow down, mow as and when necessary never taking more than one third of the length of the plant off in any one cut. As always a sharp mower is essential. If temperatures become very hot [...]

Looking after your lawn in Spring

Spring is a very important season for looking after your lawn. After the rigours of winter it needs careful attention as soon as the days start to lengthen and the grass starts to grow. Giving the lawn the care it needs now will ensure the best possible results throughout the year. Mowing As the grass [...]

Looking after your lawn in Winter

Try to rest the lawn as much as possible during winter. If practical keep off when wet or frosty, as the grass plants are not actively growing; they will not repair themselves if damaged until the spring. Mowing Only mow the lawn if necessary; this will depend upon weather conditions and temperatures at the time. [...]