We know that once you’ve got the keys and you’re all moved into your new Redrow home, you’ll be itching to get fully settled in, so you might not be thinking about your new garden straight away.

While you’re getting acquainted with your new home and settling in properly, here are some of our team’s top tips for maintaining your new garden for the first three months.

 

 

Tips for the first three months with your new garden

If your new Redrow home came with turf, you’ll be told when it was laid during your Home Preview. We recommend that you do not walk across it for at least six weeks after its first been laid. If you do need to walk across the grass for any reason, we recommend that you use boards or planks to keep it level and allow the turf to bed in properly.

If your home doesn’t have a lawn pre-laid, it’s important to look after new soil to prepare it for planting.

Make sure you keep your entire lawn regularly watered, especially in warmer months, to make sure it doesn’t dry out. The soil beneath the turf needs to be kept moist; in the early days, you can lift the corners of the turf in a few places to make sure that the roots are growing beneath. If possible, we recommend five litres of water per square metre per day for the first two weeks during the summer months. However, please do your best to manage water consumption so water isn’t wasted.

It’s best to water your lawn in the evening for around 20 minutes but keep a close eye to make sure water doesn’t start pooling. If you can, it’s best to use a sprinkler for efficiency and to make sure you get an even distribution of water.

Pay particular attention to the edges of the turf when watering, as these areas are most prone to drying out. Ensure that the applied water is filtering through the turf to the soil below. It must reach the root zone of the turf to be effective.

To get the best, richest green colour for your lawn, we recommend watering frequently, ensuring that when you do that the water penetrates the soil to a depth of 15cm. If you find that the water runs off the surface before this happens, switch off the hose and allow the water to soak through the lawn. Then continue watering until the soil is moist.

Mowing your lawn for the first time

You need to wait until the new turf is well rooted into the soil before you mow it. A good way to check if your lawn is ready for mowing is to turn back a corner of the turf, if it feels well anchored by the roots, you’re okay to start mowing.

We recommend using a cylinder mower for the best results. For the first cut, check to make sure that your mower is on the higher setting so that new grass isn’t cut too short. We recommend never removing more than 25% of the total plant, to prevent stress and brown patches. Also make sure not to cut the lawn to less than one inch (25mm) long (and in late autumn never less than 40mm). During dry weather, you should increase the cut to two inches to help keep the grass cool and healthy.

Please remember it is your responsibility as the homeowner to carry out regular maintenance of the turf to establish and grow a healthy lawn. We do not accept any responsibility for badly maintained turf.

Year-round tips for looking after your lawn

Once your lawn has properly established, please follow the advice below to give it the care it needs throughout the year.

January - February

There isn’t much to do to the lawn during this period, as the grass growth is slowed right down because of the cold conditions.

Try to stay off the lawn if it’s covered in frost or snow or is very wet. Perhaps get the lawn mower serviced ready for spring.

March

It’s time to get the lawn mower out and dusted off ready to make the first cut of the season. We recommend clearing any stones or twigs before you mow it and don’t be too harsh with your first clip. Set the mower high and just remove the top.

April - June

We hope by now that you’ll be enjoying some warmer weather! Once it starts to warm up, it’s best to mow the lawn at least once a week.

After that first longer cut, gradually reduce grass height to the desired level. Mow regularly, but don’t mow too short, as very short turf is more prone to brown patches, disease and insect pests. To thicken up and green the lawn, feed it with a nitrogen-based fertiliser.

If you have bare areas (perhaps where leaves have sat over winter), scratch over with a spring tine rake and throw down some grass seed. Or, for instant results with no risk of weeds, patch in with new turf.

July - early September

Summer in the UK can be unpredictable, but it is still best to mow your lawn once or twice a week if you can.

If it’s hot and dry, keep the cutting height up and use a sprinkler early morning or in the evening to keep the lawn healthy. Continue to apply nitrogen-rich lawn feed to keep the lawn green. And remember, if you are going on holiday, ask for someone to help whilst you are not there.

September

As the weather starts to turn and we approach autumn, mow the lawn once a week and feed with an autumn fertiliser. We also recommend spiking the lawn to relieve any compaction and help it breathe; make small holes in the lawn with a garden fork and this should help with slowing compaction and enable surface water to drain into the soil beneath.

If you notice the appearance of large numbers of crane flies, treat the lawn for leatherjackets (crane fly larvae) as soon as possible. These are a natural occurrence and can’t really be prevented, but they can do a lot of damage by eating the grass roots. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) provides advice for how to naturally improve any symptoms of lawn infestation.

October onwards

Before mowing the lawn in the autumn, remove any leaves that fall on the grass. Once it’s clear, you can continue mowing as much as required. Continue aerating the lawn through spiking and top dress/over sow if bare patches have appeared due to heavy use.

For more garden tips, read 'Garden planting ideas by season'.

Troubleshooting common lawn issues

It’s important to remember that even the best lawns will have other flowering plants like daisies growing in them! The best way to deal with them is to mow regularly and let the grass dominate over time. Larger unwanted plants can be pulled by hand when they appear.

If you have little white and pink patches on your lawn, it could mean that your soil is not fertile. Encourage your grass to grow with an organic feed.

If you have yellow/brown patches on your lawn and the grass blades are collapsing, this could mean that you have overfed your lawn, so pull back on fertiliser and grass food. To treat an overfed lawn, try watering every day for a week and then topdressing it. Some yellow spots may be fungal, which can be prevented by regular aerating and removing clippings and debris.

If your lawn has been laid for less than a year and small brown toadstools have appeared, these are nothing to worry about. They are a common occurrence and will die out eventually.

Tips for maintaining a healthy lawn

The ‘perfect’ lawn takes time, effort and money, and using toxic chemicals can be tempting. We have inherited our ideas about how lawns should look - very manicured and neat - from the 1950s, but many people are now more aware of the benefits of letting lawns be a bit more natural (and a lot less work to manage!).

Try these top tips:

• Go with the flow – ditch the chemicals and embrace the flowers in your lawn. Who doesn’t love a daisy?
• Let the flowers grow for certain periods of time (e.g. #nomowmay) so butterflies and bees can enjoy the nectar. Or allow one part of the lawn to grow longer and flower over summer, cutting it back in autumn
• Where there is moss in a lawn, it’s simply because conditions are better for moss to grow than grass. Why fight it?! Moss is beautiful, vibrant green and feels lovely between the toes!
• Don’t worry too much about brown patches due to dry weather – the grass is dormant, not dead, and will soon turn green again when the rain returns
• Use organic compost to top-dress any other bare patches and re-seed
• Get a push-mower for smaller lawns – they are lightweight, quiet and easy to use, with no messing with cables or even petrol, and don’t emit greenhouse gases
• Lie back on your chemical-free lawn and enjoy!

Being outdoors is good for our minds. Discover how to make the most out of you garden.