Now is the time to repair or renew your lawn
Spring is always an opportunity for new developments in the garden; whether that’s tinkering with a colour scheme by lifting and dividing herbaceous perennials, or attempting a more radical rethink of the whole layout. My back garden was in serious need of a redesign following building work last year. With a new plan in mind, I’ve spent February shovelling away gravel paths, moving raised beds, and grubbing up old shrubs to create space alongside my veg plot for the inevitable gigantic trampoline, and am now ready to lay a new lawn.
March is a good time to lay turf, as well as start a lawn from seed, because warm spring and summer weather can make it difficult for grass to establish without time consuming watering. Whichever method you choose, good soil preparation is the key to success. All weeds need to be removed, especially perennials that will regrow from root fragments, such as dandelions and couch grass. Once it’s clear, dig the soil over, add well-rotted compost, and rake the area level. To prevent your new lawn sinking, allow the soil to settle for as long as possible and firm it by treading over with your heels. Do this before the turf is delivered so that it can be laid quickly, because grass quickly deteriorates if it dries out or is left rolled up.
I’m always itching to start sowing vegetable crops as the soil begins to warm, but don’t get carried away, because nights can still be cold and frosty. The hardiest crops, such as early peas and broad beans, will flourish if sown outdoors now, but potatoes will rot and carrots will bolt if planted out into cold, wet soil and are best kept until the end of the month or even early April. If you can’t wait, try making small successional sowings of salads, radishes and root crops in favourable weather or start your first seeds off in modules in the greenhouse. I find that sowing tomatoes indoors in mid-march gives me sturdy plants for the greenhouse in May.
In the rest of the garden, growth is already well underway, so don’t delay pruning late summer-flowering group 3 clematis, bush roses, and shrubs that will flower in summer on
To prevent your new lawn sinking, allow the soil to settle for as long as possible
this year’s growth, such as Buddleja davidii, Caryopteris and Lavatera. Shrubs grown for colourful winter stems, like Cornus and Salix, should also be cut down to the base now to encourage vibrant young shoots. Lawns will need their first cut on a high mower setting and it’s imperative that you remove any weeds before they broadcast their seeds. Once the tidying is complete, fill any gaps with summer-flowering bulbs and new perennials. ■