I have a mixed relationship with my lawn. I like the look of a newly mown lawn, but I have to admit that I find mowing the lawn a boring job and quite often I get distracted and see other more interesting things that need doing. Lawn edging is probably my least favourite job in the garden, although it does look nice when it has been carried out. A lawn requires a high level of maintenance to make it look decent. When I lived in Hampshire I used to visit the Hawk Conservancy Trust regularly and their wildflower meadow was the inspiration behind my wildflower area. One day when I was mowing the lawn it suddenly occurred to me that I could take further inspiration from their wildflower meadow and include pathways in my lawn. I find that this makes it more interesting when cutting the lawn, and means that if I don’t have time to cut the whole lawn area, just cutting the paths can make the garden look under control. I tried various designs for the lawn over the years and have now settled on a sunburst pattern which fits into the kidney shape of the lawns.
In 2019 my lawn got out of control. The combination of the Cricket World Cup followed by the Ashes meant that I was somewhat distracted and something had to give – the lawn. I managed to just about keep on top of the lawn in front of the hot border, but I soon realised that my lawn mower wasn’t going to be able to cope with the lawn between the wildflower area and the pond which didn’t receive a cut between May and October. Understandably the lawn needed some firepower to get it bring it back in check so I got some local contractors in with some serious tools to tackle it. This was step one of my lawn control.
Step 2 of my lawn control was to scarify and aerate the lawn. I do have a machine which does this but it is small and wouldn’t be able to cope with all the thatch that had built up, so I employed some contractors in the spring of 2020 to give both lawns some serious attention. The contractors also provide a regular feed and weed service. I couldn’t believe the amount of thatch that their machine removed.
The lawn took some time to recover from the scarification but it certainly looked a lot better and I was able to keep on top of it. I had purchased a battery charged lawnmower and found that I was willing to cut the lawn more frequently than previously – I think mentally it just seemed easier to charge a battery than to get all the electrical extension leads out (and untangled!).
During the autumn / winter there were some very active moles in the area. I sowed some grass seed in April, some of which the pigeons helped themselves to! Then came May 2021 when it seemed to rain every day and I was unable cut the lawn for over three weeks. It took me some time to get it back in hand but I think now it is looking better than it has done for a few years, apart from a few bare patches from the moles. I have purchased some grass seed which is apparently pigeon-proof which I will try in September.
