by Rachelle de Bretagne

Created on: April 09, 2007   Last Updated: April 27, 2007

Getting the lawn ready for the season.

Every Spring, you get past that period of rest for the grass, and see the first blades pushing their way up, telling you it's time to get ready for a new season. It's an optimistic time in the garden and the Spring sunshine enthuses you, though getting the best out of the garden is really dependent upon you and what you do now, in Spring.

CLEAR UP TIME

Clearing up from winter storms or the leftovers from the Autumn is essential. Here, twigs get caught in the grass, leaves that have blown over it in the winter period need removing and you need to clear bits and pieces that gather in Winter so as not to endanger the blades of your mower.

RAKING

Raking serves two purposes. One is that it gets the smaller leaves you haven't gathered by hand and the second is it gives you a chance to look around and see problem areas that the winter may have hidden. The moles may have been at work, and the mounds need raking flat, and uneven surfaces looked at so you are familiar with where your problems lie. It also helps loosen the moss built up that you may have suffered over a damp winter.

AERATING

I do this before the cut, and the reason is that in the region where I live, often the grass isn't dry enough to cut, but is dry enough for the clean up and aeration. I only do this to the immediate lawns. I have four acres of grass to cut though only consider the area around the house as lawn, as opposed to field. Here, I use a fork because I'm old fashioned but walking over the whole lawn pressing the fork into the ground and then pulling it out again let's the lawn become better drained for the season, loosening up drainage holes about a foot apart. It doesn't take long, and gets you out in the fresh air.

MOWING

As the grass tends to be damper at the beginning of Spring, I put the blades on my tractor mower up to high first, chose a good day, and cut at the highest level, followed a few days later with a deeper cut. This way I am not putting too great a strain on the mower and making the cutting process easier.

CLIPPINGS

Thankfully, I have a collection box on the back of the mower, and a place to tip the clippings, so getting rid of them doesn't cause a problem.

STRIMMING

Around borders and small walls and at the bottom of trees, I use a small strimmer to get into those areas the mower won't reach.

FEEDING AND CARE

Twice a year, I use a feed for the grass that helps it stay greener. It comes in a container with a dispenser and is easy to use just tipping the container to get the right flow as you walk over the lawn. Unlike some, I am never too bothered about weeds on the lawn. It's not a bowling green but a nice area to sit or walk through to the fields, and with the size of the garden I have other priorities. Besides that, it's too big to worry about and I love the mixture of clover and grass in it's natural form. Fortunately I can time the feed pretty well here in the Spring by keeping an eye on the weather forecast. We have a lot of rain, but we have days in between that are ideal for feed allowing the rainfall in the days that follow to do most of the work for me.

Last week, I did the first cut and it makes the garden look so nice. The daffodils are out, and there's a little part of lawn I ignore for now where the bluebell's are shooting just under the trees. The wild rabbits are back and although they play havoc with the new plants in the borders are a joy to see, and will soon have babies, and the whole garden is ready for another season. The moles seem to have moved next door this year which is great news, and the moss is less than in previous years.

A garden is a joy and a newly cut lawn a pleasant sight to see after a winter of rest.

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