Lawn newbie advice

We are first time home owners, young and absolute novices to the gardening world!

Above is the view of our back garden. Hoping for some advice and suggestions about what we can do. I have taken out all the plants from the front bed - I plan to sow this is into grass for more of a lawn. What type of grass seed would you recommend? Does it matter?

Down the side I have removed two ever green troublesome trees and I plan to run a 2 foot wide bed along the length of the side fence and have some nice plants and climbers. 2 foot wide is basically as far as the green plant in the middle of the garden on the right comes out currently.

Along the back row I will put in a 6 foot fence to close it off - as it stands you can just walk into either neighbours garden and someone's pet keeps pooping at the end of the garden!!

At this stage just hoping for any tips or advice on what you think would be good to do. I want to keep as much lawn as possible ideally.

The lawn is yellow in places and a bit spongy, do I need to aerate it? There are small patches here and there which need reseeding etc. Its a south facing garden so it sees quite a bit of sun which is good!

Any help or tips is much appreciated.

 

I was already typing when you tagged me FC.

Welcome to Gardeners Corner Zola. It looks like you have decent soil in the bed so it won't need any nutrients added. If the soil level is below your present lawn then it would be a good idea to add some compost or topsoil. Rake the soil over removing any large stones until it's level then firm it down by shuffling over it with your feet. You can then rake again taking away mounds or filling dips. Sprinkle the grass seed, laying a little bit extra because birds will take some and then rake into the surface. I actually find it easier to cover with a thin layer of soil after. Then firm it down gently again. Water gently every day unless it rains being careful not to wash the seed out. It should germinate within two weeks. Don't feed it for the rest of this year, there are enough nutrients in the soil to sustain it. If you feed it while it's young it will out grow it's strength. I would recommend a general purpose seed, it's hardy without being course.

We've had a lot of rain this last winter and spring and it looks like you may have a lot of moss in the lawn, the spongeyness will vouch for this. Moss killers are available, I tend to use a combined moss, feed and weed killer, it's more convenient. When it's put down the moss will turn black after a number of days and it will need to be raked out (scarified) with a tined lawn rake. If you find that hard work then there are electric scarifiers available, about the same price as a lawnmower and looks similar too. If you buy a scarifier with blades then that will aerate the lawn for you at the same time.

I'll leave you with this for the time being, if you have any other questions don't be afraid to ask.

 

Thanks both for your replies! I am based in Northern Ireland. Lots of rain!!
To begin with I am just looking to have as lush and healthy a lawn as possible, grow out the bed area and then work on the plants etc along the fence.

I have recently purchased some Tuffgrass lawn seed, Evergreen Complete 4 in 1, a rake, aerating spikey sandals etc. I will definitely need to get some top soil to level it out as it is a few inches below the grass level. I probably need a lot more wheelbarrow loads than I first thought!

@Sheal should I only scarify once the lawn is dry? Would Evergreen be a good option for adding to the established lawn?

 

It will be a bit of graft but I am up for it ! Tonight seems like good conditions to drop Ever green in, the ground is moist as it rained. So far my potential plan is to Evergreen the grass, scarify 2 weeks later and then sow the patchy bits and the front bed.

 

I've not used Evergreen 4 in 1 so can't give advice on that, sorry. I don't see why there should be any problems with it, Evergreen have a good reputation.

I wouldn't scarify when it's wet, it will not only be hard work but it will make it a messy job. Let us know how it goes please.

 

Well, last night I went home and the rain didn't come, the sun came back out!

After some DIY'ing in the house I spent just under an hour doing a quick scarify of the grass with the rake. I couldn't believe how much dead grass etc came out. I didn't bother with the Evergreen, will leave to another time.

I made a stupid mistake with checking the lawnmower blade....turned the machine on its side! The air filter got full of oil so I couldn't get the engine running to mow it all up. When i removed the filter it started so hopefully all I have to do is replace the filter and I am good to go.

Now you know I truly am an amateur!

 

We don't learn if we don't make mistakes Zola. You've certainly raked a lot out, I bet your lawn is breathing better already.

 

Cheers, looking forward to getting it tidied up!

 

Hi Zola,
The yellowing of your grass suggests you have an iron deficiency in the soil, you can rectify this with a granular feed, any of the 4 in one feed from your garden center will do and will last up to 8 weeks.
If you want a more rapid response, use a liquid lawn fertilizer as this is taken up by the grass plants quicker but wont last as long.
In regards to the sponginess of the lawn, the real culprit is soil compaction, so I would airiate the lawn first, this would allow any surface moisture to drain away, then after a few days apply a moss killer, this will make the moss go Black or Brown, when the moss has dried out, gently rake out the moss.
At this point, you may need to re-seed, just follow the instructions on the packet and you can't go wrong.
As for scarifying the lawn I would only do this when the grass is actively growing as this will give the new grass a chance to colonize any bear patches, but you would be well advised to reseed and fertilizeal so.
Grass has two growing seasons, Spring and Autumn.
Hope this helps.
Mr green

 

Thanks very much! I aerated it last night with spike sandals but I really don't think they cut it. I probably need to go over it a lot with a pitch fork and open it up a bit better ?

 

That's the one I meant hehe