Although lawn maintenance can vary greatly depending on the area you live in, it’s always nice to have general some ‘rules’ to go, just so we can an idea of what sort of things we should or shouldn’t be doing to our lawn. The lawn calendar really starts in March, that’s when your lawn will actively start to grow again. At some stage during March there is usually a day when the sun comes out and as you look out on to your garden it feels like everything is starting to wake up from its winter slumber and as you stand there with the sun beating down on you, you finally remember what summer feels like and although this weather probably won’t last at this time of year and it’ll still be cold out of the sun and what sun there is doesn’t last for long, you can just tell that winter is finally losing its grip over your garden. This is the time you need to get out there and start attending to your lawn

Spring

Now’s the time to give the lawn its first cut, don’t cut the lawn too short at this stage, just go over it to take the top off of the grass and to collect up any debris and leaves that has gathered on the lawn. At this stage have the blades set no shorter than about 2.5cm (1inch). To give your lawn a head start (weather permitting) now is the time to apply a weed and feed (always making sure to follow the directions supplied with the weed and feed). After a couple of weeks, you’ll notice the weeds have blackened so now’s the time to spike your lawn using your garden fork or with a hole punching machine (they are readily available at most hire shops) and to rake out the dead weeds, moss and thatch from your lawn with your spring rake. Both of these jobs help to improve aeration and drainage for your lawn. After that is complete spread your chosen grass seed at the instructed rate and then brush in a layer of top dressing to complete your spring lawn makeover. Towards the end of spring you can start cutting you grass weekly and start to lower the cutting blades to about 2cm (3/4 inch). When lowering the blades always test out what it looks like on the most out of the way part of the lawn first, to make sure that the grass can take being cut at that height and your not removing too much of the blade. I remember one time when I first started gardening, that I got the mower out, set the blades to what I guessed would be a good height and set off with a stripe down the centre of the lawn only to turn round to see how straight I’d gone and see what resembled the centre strip of a cricket pitch than a lawn (that took some explaining!)

Summer

By now the ground will of dried out well and you should be cutting your lawn once a week with the blades set at about 1cm (1/2 inch), as long as your lawn take it. At this time of year some like people like to add a summer weed and feed which is fine but if you already done so in the spring them just adding a liquid feed will keep your lawn looking on top form. If you find that weeds start to appear later in the summer, then apply a selective weed killer or spot weed by hand to keep the weeds n check. It may be tempting at this time of year to get the hose and sprinkler out and start watering the lawn, especially if we’ve had some really hot dry spells but I personally never do and I’d advice you not to. The fact that the grass browns during the hot periods may look a little unsightly but you can rest in the knowledge that as soon as the rain does come that your lawn will be the first thing to perk up, as being a short rooted plant grass will be the first thing to absorb the new rain water. I also think that the water you do have can be put to better use in other areas of the garden. During mid summer and extended spells of hot dry weather you can raise the blades of your mower to about 2.5cm (1 inch) and instead of collecting the cuttings leave them on the lawn which will help to shade the lawn and lock in the remaining moisture in the ground.

Autumn

As summer turns to autumn mowing frequency can be lowered to every to weeks with the mower blades set at about 2.5cm (1 inch). During mid autumn add a autumn weed and feed and once that has taken effect and the weeds have blackened, you once again need to reach for the garden fork and punch holes in the lawn and with your wire spring rake or scarifier go over the lawn and rake out the dead weeds, moss and thatch that has built up over the summer months. Doing this will help to aerate and increase drainage in your lawn. It’s normally at the end of the autumn that I’d tell you to give the lawn its final cut and take your mower to be serviced but with the climate the way it is and the growing season seemingly lengthening every year then its possible depending on what area you live in that your lawn may need cutting later in the year as well. Always make sure falling leaves are regularly raked up and blown off the lawn to prevent some of the grass dying off and the lawn becoming patchy and undoing all of the hard work you’ve done during the year.

Winter

Ah finally a little rest bite from lawn maintenance (at least that’s one positive to put on the fact that winter will of now well set in!) and although there isn’t half as much to do during the winter as there is in other months, there are still some things that need doing. If you notice areas that are water logged or wetter than others then spike the areas with you garden fork to increase drainage. Now’s the time to take the mower for servicing, to make sure you get it back in time for the first cut in spring. By now all leaves will be down so make sure to rake off all remaining leaves and debris with your plastic fan rake, only rake very lightly so to not damage the grass. Always try to keep off the lawn during frosty weather

There’s no doubt about it when it comes to mowers, that the rotary mower takes some beating. For its all round ease of use and versatility the rotary blade mower is an all round winner.

It comes in many different forms including; roller mowers, four wheeled mowers, ride on mowers, mulching mowers, self propelled or with a powered drive. They are suitable for almost all lawns, even if you’ve let your grass get a little long and out of hand or have been a bit slow to get the first cut in, in the Spring then the rotary mower will get you out of trouble, being quite capable of cutting fairly long grass.

Although you won’t get as good a finish with a rotary as you would with a cylinder mower things are changing and rotary mowers are catching up and the results are still very impressive, especially the ones equipped with a roller, for most lawns the finish will be more than acceptable.

If you are in the market for a new rotary mower then you won’t go far wrong with either a Hayter or Honda roller mower, I’ve always used either one of those for all my lawn mowing and the results reliability is for me unbeatable. Like most mowers these days, you can get rotary mowers in both electric and petrol form. For me the petrol versions are far superior, although they’re more expensive the power and finish you get from them are far superior to there electric alternative. However if you only have a small lawn then an electric one is more than adequate.

Rotary mowers really are a versatile piece of kit that are more than capable of cutting uneven ground, long grass or wet grass. Always check that the blade is kept sharp and if you have a petrol mower make sure to service it annually.

Hover mowers are usually the lightest and easiest to use of all the mower types. The blades use the same rotary motion as standard rotary mowers, however the way the mower works is completely different. Where as all other mowers rely on wheels or a roller, hover mowers use a turbine above the rotary blade that drives air downwards which creates a cushion of air that will then make the mower float on the lawn and make it very light and easy to move around and operate. The body of the mower is usually plastic which makes for a light mower aiding the floating and maneuverability.

There are some downsides to hover mowers though, the first and probably the main one for me is they don’t all come with grass boxes, so if your not keen on raking up the cuttings after mowing or leaving them on the lawn doesn’t work out due to grass cutting getting trodden back into the house (leaving grass cuttings on the lawn can sometimes be of benefit to the lawn and this is covered in more depth in the Mulching mower guide).

Although totally acceptable, the finish you get from a hover mower won’t be up to the high standards you’d receive from a cylinder blade mower and the lack of a roller means you won’t get the dramatic lines that a roller would achieve but for me for small to medium lawns and if you aren’t put of by the lack of stripes a hover mower is a great alternative to the usual heavy cylinder and four wheel petrol mowers available. Hover mowers usually come in the electric variety but petrol versions are available and very popular with contractors who use them for cutting steep banks and verges

As their name suggests Cylinder mowers work by a fast spinning cylinder blade which forces the blades of grass across bottom blade that runs parallel to the cylinder reel, it’s the height of this bottom blade that dictates the length of the grass is cut at. Cylinder blade mower was the original design of a mower and the design has changed very little since its first release.

Although they may not be the best mower for cutting long grass, they do undoubtedly give the finest cutting quality, the cylinder blade twinned with a heavy roller will give you a dramatic stripped finish to your lawn. However the increased weight of the heavy roller can make the mower a little trickier to use.

Its cylinder mowers that are used to provide the perfect finish you see on Tennis courts, Bowling greens and Golf Greens. Its worth noting that the amount of blades on the cylinder reel can vary, the more blades there are on the cylinder reel the finer the cut will be but the increase in blades also comes with a increase in price.

Like most modern day mowers cylinder mowers can be purchased either in a petrol form or in electric form. The petrol version will have increased running costs but will have much mower power and you won’t have to worry about trailing a power cable round with you like its electric alternative.

Overall I’d say that if you can manage regular cutting of your lawn then a cylinder mower could be the ideal mower to aid you in your lawn care.

Mulching mowers work by instead of shooting the cut grass out into a grass box they trap the cuttings inside the deck where they a shredded finer and forced back into the lawn.

There are many benefits to using a mulching a mower, they are more environmentally friendly because the cuttings are shredded and forced back into the lawn by the mower they eliminate the waste, meaning no more bagging up grass and taking it to the tip or masses of grass building up the compost heap. The benefit of the mulching mower putting the grass back onto the lawn is that the shredded clippings will rot down and act as a fertiliser for the lawn, meaning much less if any extra feeding needs to be done by you. For me that’s one of the best assets the mulching mower has, with most mowers the clippings are taken away and then more feed is added! But the mulching mower approach makes total sense, especially in these environmentally conscious days where we’re we try and recycle as much as we can.

The key to using a mulching mower is to not cut too much off the grass at any one time, that way that the small cuttings will rot away quick and act as a fertiliser rather than laying in clumps and blocking the sunlight from the lawn underneath. That being said you don’t need to be cut your lawn too regimentally, just make sure you try and always cut your lawn when it’s dry. The cuttings left on the lawn will also act to help keep the soil moist and not dry out as much during our increasingly long and hot summers.

The fact that you don’t need to collect the grass when using a mulching mower means cutting you lawn won’t take you as long, freeing your time for other jobs in the garden. Mulching mowers can be purchased in both petrol and electric forms, the later being better for small to medium lawns and more environmentally friendly.

Taking the time to feed your lawn will not only give it healthy green colour but it will also help it remain healthy which in turn goes a long way into keeping weeds and moss at bay.

Feeding your lawn doesn’t have to be that time consuming but it’s important to be aware of the correct times and the amounts to feed your lawn. Not feeding you lawn enough may produce a lack of nutrients, however even more harmful than under feeding is over feeding. Over feeding could cause your lawn to become scorched and all the grass to become burnt. It’s quite a shocking site to set eyes on your recently fed lawn only instead of seeing a lush green carpet, the thought runs through your mind that may have accidentally applied weed killer instead of the feed!

Grass needs only a certain level of nutrients and to much of them can be just as harmful as too little. If you’re using one of the commercially available weed and feeds you shouldn’t go far wrong just follow the directions included. It might be tempting to apply the feed by hand but I highly recommend getting yourself a spreader, doing so will make applying the feed at the recommended rate a lot easier and the even spread you get will give a far superior finish, even for the smallest of lawns there are small hand spreaders available.

Applying the feed the as early as you can in spring will give the grass a major head start as it is starting to actively grow again afters its winter slumber. I wouldn’t recommend adding fertiliser to newly laid turf allow the roots to become completely established before you think about feeding it.

Maintaining a regular feeding schedule on your lawn will mean it remains weed free and healthy all year round.

A lot is made of mowing a lawn and lots of people worry too much about what they should be doing and how they should be doing it but for me there is no substitute for regular mowing (always at the right cutting height). Had I written this a few years ago then it would of read a lot different but there is no doubt that growing conditions have and still are changing and so we must change with it.

Like many things in gardening the more you mow a lawn the better at you will become. It will start to feel more natural and you’ll just know the right height to set the mower blades to achieve the right cutting height for the time of year but until then there are some ‘rules’ to help you get a really great looking lawn.

There are many different types of mowers you can use but the main ones being: Rotary blade mowers, Cylinder mowers, electric hover mowers, for smaller lawns and for larger lawns, Ride on mowers. The most versatile and there for most commonly used is the rotary blade mower, if you want a dramatic stripy lawn (which I’m sure you do) then make sure you have on with a roller at the back and not the four wheeled version. A petrol mower will cost more to run but will have much more power than their electric alternative, plus you won’t have to worry about the trailing cable getting in the way whilst your mowing.

When cutting you never want to cut you lawn too short, a good tip is to never cut more that a third off the grass at one time. Doing so could allow moss and weeds to take hold. If you’ve inherited or have neglected your lawn (which happens to us all) then returning it back to your desired height is going to be a gradual process by cutting regularly and lowering the height you cut each time.

Always try and mow you’re your lawn when the grass is dry, its collects so much easier and just makes for a more pleasurable experience. However sometimes mowing when the lawn is wet  is unavoidable, just be prepared for it to take you a little longer to get it done, empty the box more regularly  and just take your time. I wouldn’t advice lowering the blade height when cutting wet grass, just try to keep it maintained till you have a dry day.

One tip though and this only really counts if your already cutting at your desired height and aren’t really taking to much off the height of the lawn, is to cut the grass in the morning while the grass is still damp. The Stripes you achieve will be much more dramatic and exaggerated, giving some stunning results.

Ride on lawn mowers can be an invaluable addition to your garden machinery, especially for those of you with bigger lawns. It’s hard to put a figure on what size your lawn should be to require a sit on mower but using your own judgment is the best tool here, if you think that your lawn is too big to regularly cut with a standard hand mower, then you probably need a sit on mower. Even more so in this day and age with our ever warming climate, the growing season seems to get longer and longer every year and depending on where you live your lawn could require cutting all year round.

Purchasing a ride on mower can be quite an investment and although prices have come down recently and it’s now possible to pick up a ride on mower for not much more than a decent hand mower would cost, like many things in life you get what you pay for and its important to remember that some of the cheap ride on mowers may look like a bargain but the quality of cut they give is much inferior to their hand mower alternatives.

I’d advise to find a mower that’s within your price range and then look around for reviews and find what others have said about that particular model. It’s hard to recommend one company because they all seem to make some good and bad ones, so I’d advise you to do some research on the model you are thinking of buying. One thing I would recommend is to definitely get one that collects the grass (unless of coarse you’re looking for a mower with a mulching deck) and if you like a nice stripped lawn then always get one with a roller, they’re a great tool for lawn care.

Like most things, having the correct tools will make things much easier but you need to make sure you have the right tools for your situation. If you have a large garden and lawn then an electric hover mower would make keeping the lawn properly maintained a daunting prospect, just as a ride on mower would prove very clumsy on a small lawn and probably wouldn’t give as nice a finish as say a small rotary mower with a roller. So it’s important to have the right tools for our own personal needs. There may be other tools you need but these are the tools I consider essential for your regular lawn care.

Mowers

With such a wide variety of mowers available it could be quite confusing to know which one you need. There are only really five types of mower you need to consider and they are:

• Rotary Mower
• Cylinder Mower
• Mulching Mower
• Hover Mower
• For bigger lawns Ride on Mowers

And becoming popular recently

• Mulching Mowers

Strimmer

For me a lawn never looks finished until the edges have been trimmed and a strimmer is the perfect tool for the job. Ideally a petrol strimmer or for smaller lawns an electric version will do the job just fine. If you don’t have or can’t get a strimmer then for small gardens long handled lawn sheers will give the same effect as a strimmer would, it may just take you a little longer (there’s no hurry though, gardening should be relaxing after all)

Rakes

For regular lawn care there’s only really two rakes you’ll ever need the first is a wire spring rake for removing moss in the spring and autumn and the second is a plastic fan rake for collecting leaves off of the lawn in the autumn. The fan rakes soft make up means you can rake the lawn without worry of damaging the grass

Garden Fork

A garden fork is one of the most versatile and essentials tools you can have in your garden. Used for punching holes into the lawn to aerate the ground before brushing in a top dressing

To have a moss free lawn first we have to understand what causes moss in the first place. There are a few main reasons why moss will appear on a lawn or maybe you have inherited a moss ridden lawn with a house you have just moved into. Moss will appear on you lawn when the grass is weak or the lawn is patchy, so regular mowing and feeding will go along way in keeping your lawn moss free. We will be looking at how to remove moss but first let’s looks at the causes of moss on a lawn

Causes of moss on a lawn
Shade - If your lawn is in a shady location moss will continue to return. Letting as much light on to the lawn as possible will make your job a lot easier. Try and keep all surrounding hedges pruned and remove as many overhanging branches as is sensibly possible. If buildings are shading your lawn obviously there’s not much we can about this but the idea is to do as much as possible to get the conditions right and working in our favour

Cutting grass too short -This is one of most common reasons why I see moss on people’s lawns. Cutting your lawn as short as you can, might seem like a great idea and with regular weed and feeding and mowing it will be more than possible to have a moss free lawn but trying to cut the grass too short too cutting will weaken it and let moss take advantage and establish itself

Poor drainage – Hard compacted ground or a lawn laid on heavy clay where water remains for prolonged periods are two common causes for moss to appear on your lawn and we all know how moss just loves to grow in damp and wet conditions. Just raking out the existing moss wont get rid of it for very long, you need to do as much as you can to remove the cause by improving the drainage

Drought – I’ve never really been a fan of watering lawns. I personally think the water you do have is best used else where in the garden. Grass is only a short rooted plant and will usually be the first thing in your garden to suffer the prolonged dry period but (and it’s a big but) The good news is it will quickly pick up again when the rain does return. A quick weed and feed will soon remove the moss that has taken advantage of the weakened grass and your lawn will be as good as new

How to remove Moss from a lawn
When it comes to moss, prevention is better than the cure and using the guidelines above you should be able to keep your lawn moss free but sometimes things happen or you inherit a lawn and you find yourself facing the task of having to remove established moss.

Regular cutting (at the right level) and feeding will strengthen the grass and keep it growing well. Remove existing moss by scarifying in spring and autumn. Aerate the lawn by punching holes with a fork or hire a powered hole puncher for bigger lawns (concentrating on the compacted and poorly drained areas we talked about earlier). Then brush in a mixture of compost, agricultural grit and grass seed.

If you’re not adverse to using a chemical based weed and feed then apply your chosen weed and feed as directed on the packet, wait for the moss to blacken before carrying out the scarifying and top dressing process