What Type Of Lawn Do You Have - Part 1

What Type Of Lawn Do You Have? - Part 1.

Before you even think about what type of lawn you would like to have, or set about repairing the one you have now. You need to know the type of lawn you actually already have, and what you would like to use your “new“ one for.
Before we go on, let’s set a few guidelines as to what types of lawns there are, a few benchmarks to recognise and give each one a home.

1. Premium Class Luxury Type.
This is the type of lawn that everyone thinks they would like. Smooth, velvety, bowling green come putting green type that you often see at various show gardens and country estates.
Absolutely beautiful, just like a carpet, but is it practical.
Well. Not really. It will not take much wear and tear so no good for the kids or if you walk the same path to the garage every day, you will soon see the wear and tear here.
It will not stand neglect so you will have to be prepared to be working at keeping it looking good regularly and it is very expensive to plant or repair.
In summary, looks good but not very practical for 99% of uses that a lawn will get. (that’s why you see all those “keep off the grass” signs at stately homes and the like).

2. First Class Everyday Type.
This is the type that most people would realistically call “their perfect lawn”. Not as smooth and velvety as the Premium Class, but much more hard-wearing and suitable for general family life. It will put up with just about all aspects of our modern, outdoor lifestyle. Barbecue parties, kids playing games and the run of the mill regular pathway to the garage, shed or washing line.
This type of lawn will even tolerate a small amount of neglect and bad mowing practice, although you should obviously try to avoid this as it just means more work later.

3. Second Class General Type.
This is the type of lawn that the greater majority of households in the UK have and there are a couple of main reasons for that.
Firstly, it was inadvertently designed to be that type. By this I mean that the great masses of new housing estates springing up all over the country have little or no planning put into their garden design, and even less into their lawns.

Building rubble is just a few inches below the surface and poor quality cheap top soil is used to cover it. This soil is often second rate and un-screened so is full of weed seeds which will grow faster and strangle the growth of the grass seed if seed is used. The lawn will not stand a chance as the weeds will grow faster than the grass and strangle it.
If turf is used, it’s a very similar story, poor quality turf laid on a badly prepared surface. The turf could have been laying around un-watered for days before planting and, more often than not, is left un-watered after it has been laid. The builders are just that, builders and not gardeners, they probably know nothing about lawns other than that they are supposed to be green and you cut them now and then, and they just move onto the next house or estate as fast as possible.

The second reason that you may have a Second Class lawn is just through neglect and bad design.
Heavy shade from large, overhanging plants causes problems as does the dripping of water from trees. Heavy traffic along the same route (to the garage, washing line or shed) and pets using it as a toilet causes damage and deterioration, as does pests and diseases.
But it has to be said that a major reason for having a Second Class lawn is that we don’t know how to, or we just don’t look after it. We cut the grass irregularly and when it is too long or overgrown, we cut it too short when we do cut it. We never feed , water or weed it, but still expect it to look good.

Try leaving your pet goldfish, hamster, dog or cat for a few months without food, water or attention and see how good they look, (no, don’t do that, really), but I think that you get the idea. If you neglect, mistreat or ignore anything long enough it will be in a poor condition and maybe even die altogether. Your lawn is the same, it needs some amount of looking after.
Just don’t do it, a little regular work saves a lot of time, effort and money later on. Even if you are not too worried about how your lawn looks, there may come a time when you wish to sell your property, and your prospective buyers WILL care.

Don’t Forget To Check Out Part 2 For The Complete Article.