Why does my lawn feel spongy underfoot?
How to measure the thatch layer, when it needs removing, and the difference between scarifying, solid tining and hollow tining.
intermediate3 hr3 min read
Lawn Care
Grass that survives both summer and children.
37 guides in Garden
How do I lay turf so it takes?
Preparation, laying and the watering regime in the first month, which determines whether the turf establishes.
intermediate4 hr2 min readWhy is my lawn full of clover?
What clover in a lawn tells you about the soil, whether it is worth removing, and the feeding regime that pushes it out.
beginner30 min3 min readWhy is my lawn full of holes and dead patches?
Distinguishing grubs, ants, animals digging and disease, since the patterns are quite different.
intermediate1 hr2 min readWhy won't grass grow under my tree?
Three things are happening under a tree at once — no light, no water and no nutrients — and only one of them is fixable. What to try, and when to stop trying.
beginner45 min5 min readHow do I turn part of my lawn into a wildflower meadow?
Why fertile soil is the enemy, the yellow rattle trick, the cut-and-remove regime that makes or breaks it, and honest expectations for years one to three.
intermediate5 hr5 min readWhy has my lawn gone pink and reddish in patches?
Red thread — what the pink threads actually are, why it is telling you the lawn is hungry rather than diseased in any serious sense, and why fungicide is the wrong response.
beginner30 min4 min readAre robot lawnmowers any good for a British garden?
What a robot mower genuinely does well, the UK-specific problems — wet grass, slopes, leaves, moss — and the wildlife issue nobody mentions in the brochure.
beginner30 min4 min readWhy are toadstools growing in my lawn?
What toadstools in a lawn are actually feeding on, why they appear in autumn, and the difference between harmless ones and a fairy ring.
beginner20 min3 min readHow do I repair a broken lawn edge?
The turn-the-turf-around trick that repairs a crumbling edge with no new turf, and how to keep the edge from breaking again.
beginner45 min3 min readWhy does one part of my lawn stay dry however much I water it?
Hydrophobic soil — why dried-out organic matter starts repelling water, how to prove it with a spade, and the aeration and wetting routine that actually rewets it.
intermediate1 hr4 min readWhy is there a dark green ring in my lawn?
Fairy rings — the three types, why the ring keeps expanding, why there is no domestic cure, and the honest options ranging from ignoring it to replacing the soil.
intermediate30 min5 min readWhat should I do about a hosepipe ban and a new lawn?
A newly laid lawn is the one thing that genuinely cannot survive a dry spell unwatered — and there are exemptions, alternatives and a delay option, in that order.
beginner30 min5 min read