Most Spring lawn tips are much the norm about now but what is key is being aware that the sooner you get them done, the sooner you will have a nice lawn FOR Spring.

Spring is last chance for a while to get the foundation right.  So, get out and hollow tine aerate your lawn now.  Aeration often takes many weeks for your soils to react to what has been done and the later you leave this job, the more chance of it being too dry.

Pruning is a term used in gardening but rarely on lawns.  But scarifying the lawn is one way we make our lawns thicker.  You see, native grasses grow in our lawns very easily and like many plants, a scarifier will make existing plants add new ones.  So, although it seems like a way to thin out the lawn, it will in fact come back denser!

Once the lawn has been scarified, it can often lead to a thinner sward for a time and can bring out moss plants.  Add a moss control product directly after scarifying will allow those plants to dehydrate and die off. 

The next process in Spring lawn care is to feed the lawn and ensure that well pruned lawn fills back in with grass as soon as possible.  Add a product such as TrueGrass, made from composted recycled food waste will not only feed the lawn grasses but also the soils.  Within weeks and you will have a dense green lush lawn again……but better!

There are many ways to fix low spots, but a great tip can be to use the plugs you have collected once you have hollow tine aerated.  Add them to a low spot can save a lot of time as they will have existing grasses already in the soil so will blend in very quickly.

Seeding can also be done in any bare areas as early as possible.  Add some soil to any areas, but keep the soils shallow as buried too deep, seed will take longer to germinate.  Try where possible to use the same grass species as you already have in your lawn.

Re-shaping lawn edges is also something to do before Spring arrives.  Using an edging iron tool, cut new shapes as required and use a hose pipe on the ground (in the designated shape) as a template.

How to make a dog friendly lawn?

Dogs are wonderful.  Trees are as well.  But both are not that conducive when it comes to having a nice lawn.  So, lets look at what damage animals could cause and how we can make our lawn withstand some of their issues caused.

Firstly, having dogs is far better than having a beautiful lawn, but having both can be achieved.  Dogs can cause many issues such as wear and tear, dog urine scorches and hole burrowing.

Dog urine patches are essentially a huge shot of fertiliser on your grass.  Problem is, its concentrated into one area and is very strong in some dogs, especially bitches.  Now, standing over them with a watering can is one way of aiding this, its not very sensible for most.  So, why not try to get the source of the issue.  Adding rocks such as ‘dog rocks’ can cause their urine to be a way of a neutralising the dogs ph, so when it does go to the toilet, it’s already been watered down.  Of course, designating them their own part of garden to limit the damage is also good.

Wear and tear areas are an absolute when it comes to dogs.  Chasing other dogs or chasing itself for fun are two traits that can cause your lawn to be like a racetrack.  So, how can they survive this merry go round?

Quite simply, its would the same as any wear and tear area.  But bare (IM sorry) in mind, that you may need to add seed to these areas so remembering and adding these to your yearly lawn chores will aid in keeping grass on them.

So, Spring and autumn, look at aerating any tracks the dogs have created and add a luxury lawn mix together with a ryegrass mix to gain best results.

Now, if your unlucky enough to have them digging, then stopping them digging can be impossible, however, as with any hole, use some of the cores from your aeration and it wont even cost you.

But the best tip possible is to keep maintaining a healthy lawn that will withstand the wear better.  And enjoy the dogs !