What you’ll need:
Sowing the spring seeds of success
April… even the word evokes the joys of spring, doesn’t it? Of course, nowadays, spring can mean almost any type of weather – winds, sleet, rain and even snow! But we gardeners are hardy people and, whatever lies ahead, April is a turning point and a time to make a positive start to the gardening year.
You will probably have done one or two cuts by now on your lawn. If not, you will be soon, so make sure your blades are nice and sharp and only cut a little of the length each time. However, you’ve probably also been thinking about some of the other lawn care jobs – and April is definitely the time to get on with these before it’s too late.
Scarify & feed your lawn
With so much growing season stretching ahead, now is the perfect time to scarify. It takes a little planning – starting with choosing the right scarifier – but once you get going it is surprisingly easy and so satisfying! Although your lawn can look a bit bedraggled at first it will recover very quickly.
What’s next? Having scarified, you’ve done the ideal ground preparation for a spring feed, and an application of moss killer too. The scarifying allows them both to reach where they’re needed – at the bottom of the sward. You will soon see the grass filling back in and looking really healthy.
Fix your patches
Time to relax? Not quite – not if you have some bare patches in your lawn. Most gardeners tend to blame their dog or the visiting birds, but the truth is that the biggest culprit is us! Something as simple as a ball or some leaves left on the lawn for a few weeks or months will eventually kill off the grass and leave you with an ugly bare patch.
To be fair, grass is just like any other plant – eventually, it will die and sometimes, the neighbouring plants just don’t fill in the gaps, leaving you with bare patches. Whatever the reason, do a good lawn inspection, mark out the bare zones, prepare the surface and get some seed sown.
Admire your garden
Anything else? Just one thing: during this month, take a break from your lawn chores to just stand and admire your lawn. It really is the most amazing element in our gardens – simple and uniform yet also magical – a living carpet through the winter, a cool ground canopy in summer, and an essential part of the biodiversity of today’s garden environment.
So, tick off these spring time jobs and you can then relax, knowing your lawn will thank you for it as it thickens and colours up for the lovely, long summer we’re all looking forward to!
