SPOTLIGHT ON: SUMMER LAWN SOS

The trouble with lawns is they are just too useful. Children need somewhere to play, and there’s only one place to put sun loungers, tents and paddling pools.

All that extra wear takes its toll at a time when grass is suffering from weatherrelated stress anyway.

All you can do now is minimise the damage.

Leaving a tent or paddling pool in the same spot for long will cause a yellow patch, so move lightobstructing items as often as possible – every two to three days is ideal but once a week at a pinch, giving grass a chance to recover.

The same goes for games. Lawns can soon look like dust bowls unless you move the “pitch” regularly. If you know garden sports are in the offing, lay heavyduty green plastic garden netting over the area for reinforcement. Do it after mowing and peg the mesh down round the edges. Netting soon vanishes as the grass grows through.

The big mistake people make in summer, strange as it sounds, is watering and feeding. Wasting water on lawns isn’t eco-friendly, and feeding a lawn under stress through drought, heavy use or heat makes things worse as it can scorch.

The roots of a hardwearing summer-resistant lawn are really laid in autumn with raking, spiking and low-nitrogen feeding, and then in spring by using a slow-release lawn feed.

So if your lawn looks shabby, start work on it at the end of this season and it will be ready to cope with next summer.