Summer lawn essentials

Feed, mow and take care of bald patches, says Ruth

- Ruth Hayes

WHILE we’re busy catering to the every need of our beds, borders, pots and baskets, let’s not forget that our lawns need looking after too.

It’s often the largest single area in the garden and the UK’s usual warm, damp early summer is perfect growing conditions for grass so you may find yourself needing to mow once a week at the moment.

Keep the blade on a fairly high setting as this ensures the lawn will stay looking lush even through dry spells. Cut too short and the parched soil below will start to show through.

Unless you are planning a garden event, it isn’t worth watering if your lawn starts to go brown during dry weeks, as it will green up again when it rains.

Keep up with edging around borders, as it’s a quick and easy way of making your garden look smarter. It also removed straggly areas of cool shady grass where pests often like to hang out.

You may decide to feed your lawns to keep them lush. This is best done after rain and on overcast days as fertiliser can scorch the grass in bright sunlight.

Stop feeding with a summer fertiliser in August, as it contains high levels of nitrogen to encourage grass growth.