A lawn is like a vast organism with far-reaching effects for us all. It is made up of a very many individual grass plants and is home to numerous creatures and microorganisms for which it provides a place to live and nourishment.
A grassed area makes a garden homely while also creating an impression of space, making your outside area look bigger!
A lawn is not just a lawn.
A wide variety of demands are placed upon turfed areas depending on their use. Different examples include home lawns, park lawn and grass on a sports field. Virtually no other plant is subjected to such high demands as lawn grasses are. They are continuously being stepped on, rolled on, played on, but must nevertheless remain pleasant to the eye.
Factors influencing a lawn.
- Climate & Weathering
This includes temperature, water, light/shade, wind, snow and frost – all will affect your lawn in some way. - Grass types
There are very many different types of grasses, with over 100 varieties – different grasses for different purposes. - Care
Cutting, nourishing, watering, sanding, aerating, scarifying – all extremely important if you are going to keep a lawn healthy and good-looking. - Soil
Grain size, pH value, organic substance, compaction, drainage and nutrient contents - Damaging factors
Diseases, pests and competing plants
Choosing a lawn type.
- Ornamental lawn
Choose a an ornamental lawn if you are going to use a lawn purely for decorative purposes. These lawns will be seldom walked on and will be made up of dense carpet-like turf of fine blade grasses with low resistance. If you don’t mind a little dwarf rye grass as part of the mixture then this makes it a fantastic looking lawn. Very high maintenance as regular mowing, scarifying/aeration and requires constant hand picking of invading ‘weed’ grasses to maintain the look. You will also need to spend a considerable amount on a high quality cylinder mower to keep the lawn looking in tip-top condition. - Utility or family lawn
A hardy universal lawn for virtually all areas around the house. Usually a predominantly rye grass seed or turf mixture for utility areas, play lawns, high use areas and for people who want their lawn care ‘as easy as possible’. The main advantage of this type of grass is that it is extremely tolerant of use and abuse from kids, dogs and summer BBQ parties! - Hard wearing lawn
This type of lawn is very hardy and can withstand heavy use, even in bad weather. The grass is resilient and has good regenerative features. Choose a hard wearing lawn if you are going to use if it is going to be used on playing fields and sports areas or as a tennis court in the back garden!
