Shabby lawn care

[JohnWasMyPapa]

Hi there

My front lawn is in a bit of a state, balding with a lot of moss. It's south facing so it does get the sun but being on a hill in central Scotland does mean that it can also take a beating. I've been told by my neighbour that the lawns here are prone to moss etc and apparently returfing only brought temporary relief in the past for a particular neighbour. Anyway, mine is a lot worse than my immediate neighbours and I know that fundamentally it comes down to not enough care, treatments etc. I am aware that we are now in late May so that could impact a treatment plan, but I was wondering whether any forumite could advise. Is it too late to scarify? Should I treat the moss first? Any other treatments? I assume that reseeding would be last on the list once other things have been done.

[dewaltdisney]

Have you thought about artificial grass, it is quite good now. For a front garden, they work well in saving on maintenance. You can DIY it.

DWD

[JohnWasMyPapa]

Thanks for the suggestion, although it's probably something which I wouldn't consider as I'm not as yet a convert.

[etaf]

we had a small north facing and used artificial grass back in 1996ish from ideal home exhibition
we since moved , but it was really good upto 2018 when we moved out, give away was in high drought times and winter

however we have had issues with moss , and a poorish lawn and recently used the Weed and feed and its made a big visible difference to the lawn , and also yesterday when i cut it was much much better grass coverage
we purchased a lawn Scarifier when on offer at screwfix , not used yet, but that was the plan
but i think we will just use another lot of weed and feed on the lawn as that has made a massive visible difference with just one coating a month back

[Grendel]

Supposedly the best time to scarify is spring or autumn but frankly I've seen it done between then without a problem so I wouldn't worry too much about it. Be prepared for a lot of moss to come out as there always seems to be much more than expected especially if you're using a powered scaritfier . The moss can be composted . I'm not a big fan of artificial grass. It's also not totally maintenance free. It will need cleaning as dirt and debris will accumulate , indeed one of my customers has it in her garden and it has moss. It's also said not to be ideal if you have dogs either although I've no direct experience of that.

[stevei]

Lawns are the hardest things to maintain in the garden. Have you considered digging it up and replacing it with shrubs and groundcover plants that need far less looking after?

[JohnWasMyPapa]

Lawns are the hardest things to maintain in the garden. Have you considered digging it up and replacing it with shrubs and groundcover plants that need far less looking after?

My front garden has actually recently been landscaped with the borders replaced with gravel and paving and a slate "river bed". The grass was shaped so as it wasn't straight lines but I appreciate the inherent problems with grass. My current plan is to stick with it as I'm hoping that it is currently looking near its worst and that with even a wee bit of care it will look better. I'm definitely planning on giving it a go anyway and my neighbours' lawns show me that that should be attainable.

[dewaltdisney]

A chap I knew ran a scarifier over his lawn and it was completely brown after. He seeded it and it recovered in patches but over winter the voids turned into moss. My son had his front garden done with artificial grass and for him, it is a good compromise as it provided visitors parking with no issues alongside his drive. I have to say it is a good colour and looks realistic but it is too perfect and you can see it is not real as there are no weeds or anything to give it full realism. Lawns need constant attention and Weed and Seed is a good product as it is designed for grass applications.

DWD