It’s crazy but the mild Autumn and now Winter have meant if it’s ever dry enough some lawns are still in need of mowing!
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The layout of your garden and weather conditions both affect the approach to mowing certain areas of the lawn; very few people can mow the entire space regularly and to the same height without experiencing bald patches, overgrowth and thinning of the lawn.
Areas of the garden that lie under shade will experience much slower grass growth than those in direct sunlight, so you may find that a strip alongside a tall fence or hedge does not need mowing every time the rest of the lawn does. Similarly, the grass under trees will grow a little slower and needs to be mown carefully to avoid any damage to the tree and root system. Shaded areas in corners or around large shrubs can fill up with weeds very quickly, so it is best to remove these in order to help the remaining grass grow evenly, and in some cases it may be necessary to dig up an entire patch and reseed it. If this is the case, research the varieties of grass you can plant, as some are more tolerant to shade than others. Sometimes seeding a lawn with different varieties in different areas is the best option for a lower maintenance lawn.
Setting the cutting blades on the lawn mower too low is a commonly made mistake; grass that is too short will die back in the heat and the lack of protection for the earth underneath dries out the soil, which can bake and crack in sunny weather. After damage like this to a lawn the best course of action is to leave it to recover, water it twice a day and see if the grass grows back over a couple of weeks. If you cut the grass a little longer you will find that it stays much healthier, the lawn will retain water more effectively and the sun will not get to the grass roots as much as on a short lawn. Sharpening the blades on your lawn mower also helps keep the grass healthy, as a clean cut leaves a crisp finish and does not allow disease to penetrate the grass like a ragged cut does.
Of course, setting the lawn mower cutting height to the maximum setting will mean you have to mow more often unless you are happy to let it grow a little longer, but in the end the health of the lawn and the finish will be much better than regularly stripping it right down and allowing the ground to dry out. Causing bare patches in this way can also invite weeds in, which can be tedious and time consuming to remove.
Lawn mowers that mulch and return the clippings to the lawn play a big part in keeping it healthy, as the nutrients in the cut grass go back into the soil and feed the growing grass. Even un-mulched clippings can be spread over the lawn as they break down very quickly, providing free fertiliser to the lawn. Long clippings spread on the lawn can cause thatching, so only do this with short cuttings.
The last important thing that every lawn needs is regular watering. This is best done in the mornings and early evening and should never be done during the hottest part of the day. Watering in the heat actually encourages evaporation, meaning that hardly any of the water will penetrate into the ground. Lawns need regular watering to stay healthy, which is not usually a problem with the typical British summer weather, but in drought periods your garden will need all the help it can get.