Hi all. I told my client that I would fix their front lawn in the spring, but I am new to lawn care so I thought it best to ask some of the pro's what the best course of action would be.
The lawn is a small front lawn, and as far as I can tell it only gets morning sun in the summer. The lawn is also quite steep, so all in all not the best grass growing conditions. The lawn gets pretty much zero traffic, only me and the window cleaner really.
I'll add an image below, but basically the problems are: Lots of moss, daisy and plantain.
My (very basic) plan was to deal with the moss first, spraying with ferros, and then scarifying when dead and over seeding with some shade tolerant grass. The deal with the weeds, aerate and feed the lawn over the season. I imagine the moss, will be a recurring problem.
Any advice appreciated :)
Thanks google streetview :)
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Here's what we would do. Asap kill the moss, iron plus a little wetting agent to help soak-in.
Mid to late march, multi pass heavy scarify (at least 3 passes different directions), heavy aeration 2 passes, sorrell roll 1 pass, feed and over seed (mix of shady and hardwearing as shady only can be slow to take). If soil is heavy, add a top dress (4kg/sqm) after seeding and brush in.
Leave for 2 months, then top up feed and do some weed control.
Make sure they water during any dry spells and top up the seeding as required another 2 months after weed control.
Thank you for the advice :)
I guess I was generally heading in the right direction with my plan then, I'll have to get some before and after photos to see how it comes out.
I'd add two thoughts, more long-term to avoid constant fire-fighting a lawn that, by your comments, "only gets morning sun in the summer".
Firstly, if the lawn has been down as long as the front garden was built, the soil underneath is likely to be pretty stale and compacted. It's likely it was poor to start with, and probably full of rubble and anything the builders could lose in the hole. It'll be a constant process of feeding, aerating and top dressing to even keep on top of it if they want decent grass, let alone the moss from a shaded site like that.
Plus, if only you and the window cleaner use the grass, wouldn't a better solution be to spend the money they'll be needing to commit to lawn treatments over every year on a planted area instead? That could be a lovely little plot with some gravel and a few specimen plants. Perfect shaded area for things like acers, some nice planters with year-round colour, it'd be transformed!
Thanks for the input Paul. Quite a few of the neighbours have gone down that route, and to be honest I would probably go that route myself if it was mine. I'll just ask what they would prefer. It is a bit of a pain to mow, and there is still a fairly large back lawn for me to look after that is in better shape, so it could be win win.
I wondered if it would be easier to start afresh and simply re-turf then start a proper maintenance schedule?
Often when we quote on something like this we give comparative figures over 2yrs - renovation and ongoing treatments vs new turf and basic ongoing treatments..
Typically, for us, the new turf option is 2-4 times the price of the renovation option - at that point many customers go for the lower cost option and are prepared to wait the extra few months for the first results.
The lawn looks to be in terrible condition, probably shaded and or not getting enough light, there looks like a deep bed of thatch has formed, I'm guessing chances are the root zone will be poor too.
They could spend money on it, however it would be an ongoing expense and for a small plot for most people wouldn't be worth the expense.
Lifting and re-laying a lawn isn't always a great option unless you tackle the underlying causes such as a poor root zone and carry out proper cultural methods such as cutting the lawn at the correct height, frequency & aeration ect. It will very quickly turn back to the mess it is currently in especially if it is sitting on a north face and not getting enough light.
If it was me I would give the customer the cost of renovating it, though would be telling them they would probably be better of landscaping the area. Even though this may stop me from gaining a sale on this occasion.
Who known's maybe I'm to honest.
Got to wonder why anyone would be suggesting either replacing the "lawn" in a situation like this, or selling the client a long-term treatment programme that won't work?
The site obviously doesn't suit grass. Why not be professional and suggest a better option?
I'd bet every front garden in the street has the same issues, so it could be a really good marketing opportunity!
I wouldn't write it off based on the picture - only 1 hedge, no overhanging trees. Yes its shady and in a terrible state through years of neglect. But with a bit of tlc, it could be good. Depends on what the customer wants and how much effort they want to put in.
This is exactly why being a member of this site is great. Lots of opinions, with great points of view :)
I'll give the options to the client and see what they want to do with it.
As far as the lawn care approach is concerned, this lawn is almost just an add-on to the rear lawn which will be getting treated and mowed, so it wouldn't add too much to the overall price of the service, so it may well be worth seeing if it can be repaired.
If they want it landscaped, I'll probably let someone else do it though, as I just don't like the hassle of dealing with it.
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