Super grass: Alan Titchmarsh's five step guide to the perfect manicured lawn

DON'T make a mountain out of a molehill this spring, says Alan. With a little know-how, you can put your problem lawn in order

Alan Titchmarsh, guidem garden, manicured, lawn, garden, grassGETTY

Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill this spring, says Alan

The garden is waking up to spring, but winter has left lawns all over the country much the worse for wear – suffering from the likes of molehills, mud and wormcasts. So what should we do to put them right? Proceed with caution. I know it’s tempting to charge outside on the first spring-like day and squash the lot flat with the mower, but brute force isn’t the answer. A dicky lawn needs to be treated with tender, loving care.

From restoring grass to giving it a cutting edge, here are five safe steps to a manicured home turf...

Step one

Restoring your lawn

Wait for the ground to dry out first. As soon as you can walk on the grass without sinking in, make it your first job to go round with a bucket and trowel collecting up any molehills. Redistribute them in borders as a mulch, between plants. Work wormcasts into the lawn surface with a soft rubber rake.

Step two

Lawn mowing

Choose a day when the grass is dry, so the mower blades cut it cleanly instead of tearing out chunks. Give it a light topping first time round. If you have a large lawn, use a powerful rotary mower with a grass box fitted and the blades adjusted to their highest setting. With a smaller patch, use shears or a rotary line trimmer to cut back the long turf and rake the cut grass up so what’s underneath can dry out.

Save your lawn feed until mowing has returned to normal – usually in a few weeks’ time.

garden, Alan TitchmarshGETTY

Choose a day when the grass is dry, so the mower blades cut it cleanly instead of tearing out chunks

Step three

Feeding and nurturing your lawn

There’s really no point in putting on feed until the weather has warmed up, so the roots are active. Once growing conditions are good, a shot of nitrogen is just what the doctor ordered.

Step four

Maintaining your lawn

Upright weeds will vanish within weeks of regular mowing being resumed, but prise out dandelions by hand. Rake out patches of moss and if the grass underneath is very thin or non-existent, over-sow the patches in late April by sprinkling offending areas with a handful of grass seed mixed with a double handful of seed compost or sieved garden soil.

Regular mowing will also encourage moles to move on, as they don’t care for the regular racket of the mower overhead, while worms don’t make so many casts once the spring breeding season is over. Time, patience and Mother Nature are on your side.

Step five

Lawn edging

At the end of winter, take a spade and redefine the edges, leaving a vertical face about 7½cm (3in) deep alongside the lawn and a gentle uphill incline leading up into the border. It’s a job you only need to do once a year.

If you don’t want to repeat the process, you can reinforce the lawn edges by putting in special strips of metal or rigid plastic. From then on, each time you cut the grass, go round with a pair of edging shears and clip away all the grass that grows out over the edge. It’s the finishing touch that makes a lawn look manicured, instead of merely mowed. 

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