Loving the Lawn...

Well done to you both Kate! OH looks after the lawns at our croquet club, so is either fertilising, scarifying, re-seeding or cutting every week. At home he likes a neat stripe but mows in curves to keep to the shape of the lawn. When our occasional gardener/friend visits, she often does the edges which makes a nice finishing touch. I do nothing except admire the result of their work!

Thanks Sheila! Gosh your OH is a busy chap isn’t he! Between the croquets club lawn and yours at home! He sounds like a Lawnmaster! I’d love stripes, but I have a very odd shaped lawn, by my own doing, over the years I have taken bits away to plant shrubs!
Your lawn always looks so immaculately cared for, much to be admired. 😊

I’m pleased you’ve managed to sort out your waterlogged issue, Paul. Good idea you’ve had there! You must post some pics, if you want to that is.
I’ve some seaweed feed in the shed which I used on my little box hedge at one side of the front garden ( other side the neighbours have an ornamental fence of sorts )
It did my hedge a lot of good in the early growing season - I’m now thinking of using on my grass as you have?

I love the way that people devote so much love to their lawns, puts me to shame. I have never fed, weeded or scarified any of my grass, mainly because it is full of Self-heal, moss and Vole holes. That's apart from the bit under the Greengage tree where the bird feeders hang - that's almost bald! The little birds hang on the feeders, scatter the seed they don't want onto the ground, that gets picked over by pigeons, scrapped up by Peacocks and the odd out of control (and place) chicken. Today it was the Rook which was digging really deeply for goodness knows what. The feral (or not mine at least) cat sits on the lawn and waits for Voles and we have had a Weasel who doesn't wait for them, just dives down the holes after them. None of this does what's laughingly called a lawn any good, so I admire other peoples.

Honeysuckle, I have to say, we are all different and have different gardens, thankfully. Life would be very boring if we were all the same wouldn’t it!
I loved reading your message, you’ve lots of really interesting visitors to your garden, you could almost write a children’s book with them all as characters! I bet you see lots of interesting antics in a daily basis!!! ☺️

My lawns are best admired from a distance, I have no need to scarify as Harriet and Pepper do it for me, not really good as I then have to spend late spring and early summer filling in the bare patches, since removing the willow tree the bottom one has improved immensely, didn't have any fungi last autumn, don't get as much moss either.. I'm not a fan of stripes even though my favorite mower is a Stripemaster, if I spot a line I go around again getting rid, but each to his own, I love mowing but hate doing the edges, its so boring, made even worse and a long tedious job when I have the pavers to do....Saying that I do have a lot with many areas to work my way around and amongst...

Sorry, I don't get the 'lawn thing'. I would just let it do its own thing (or at least some of it) as I think it's so much better for the insects and I like to see clover and wild flowers. Our old lawn filled with cowslips was a picture and full of life. You don't see any life on the striped ones! Still, I'd rather see fussed-over lawn than gravel!

BTW, talking of lawns, did anyone watch Dave Goulson on GW this week? Interesting discussion about longer grass.

Hi Sue, I think I do my edging as it’s such a small garden. If the grass looks ropey, the whole garden can look a bit ropey. Plus I am OCD, for real. I wish I was a bit more relaxed about it all...
I’m not a stripe in the lawn type. My neighbour who doesn’t enjoy gardening tries to stripe his, although it’s actually more weeds and moss than grass. 😁

Have to agree, Ange, I do prefer more greenery than gravel. We took out our front lawn many years ago. We now have a two car drive, rather than one. We do have a large cobbled area, edged by box hedge, osmanthus, and I’ve a tall ‘hedged’ viburnum tinus and laurel. In the ‘ middle’ there’s 2 acers, cares grass, black mondo grass, an Edgeworthia and a pot with a Pieris in. Plus we have a small grassed strip at the front. Sorry I missed GW this week..

Your front garden sounds well-planned, Kate., even without the grass!

Thanks Ange! I just didn’t want to have it looking like a big old car park like some do!

I like doing the edges. OH does the scarifying and the cutting and he likes stripes. That is mainly due to the way the moss lies though. ;o) It always looks green due to that. I like to have some dasies ,clover and violets through it too but OH doesnt. The back garden grass has more wildlife in it and is kept slightly longer.

My small back lawn and even smaller front would horrify most people!:) I do not use any weed/moss killer, as tawny mining bees have nested in them each year since we moved here, over 5 years ago. I am looking forward and hoping to see them soon again this year. The clover and self heal are left to flower for the bees, so the grass is allowed to grow longer than most people would like, and a small area is left unmown for most of the year until the grasses have seeded. The blackbirds and flocks of starlings regularly peck around for worms and grubs, a pleasure to watch. Anget, perhaps Dave Goulson would approve.:)

You’re like me then, Eileen - out there edging! I do the mowing also, I think I’m keener on the garden than OH. He tends to do odd jobs, plus the harder or higher up pruning and the ‘building projects and repairs’. I do like moss, though, I think if it was in our grass and it was widespread I’d probably leave it.
Daises, clover and violets all sound a pretty addition, Eileen!

Numbersfarm, your bees sound wonderful!!! I don’t think I’d be horrified by your lawned areas. As I mentioned, it’s great that everyone has different gardens and I find it so very interesting to hear of all the different types and all the wildlife and plants you are all growing!
Your gardens sound idyllic, a real haven for the British wildlife.

I loved letting the grass grow long in our mini orchard in our previous garden, but OH wasn’t keen. However he agreed to mowing a circular path through it which looked great 🙂.

A lovely compromise I’d say, Sheila. I bet it did look really very pretty...

I’d love to show it to you Kate, but don’t know how to transfer past pictures. If you can be bothered, you could look at my photos, choose page 15, and see the second photo. “9 June 2014, A mown path through long grass”

Good luck with that!

I mowed and edged the lawn for many years, absolutely loved doing both jobs! The smell of freshly mown grass, the satisfaction of neat edges (count me in as being a little OCD too!) but now, since my cardiac issues, OH mows and I'm 'allowed' to edge it! So frustrating . . . :o(

If my garden was big enough I would definitely leave an area of grass to grow longer, sadly this garden is too small to even think of doing so.

... but artificial grass is not comfortable to sit on!

OH does the mowing - if stripes appear that's fine and if they don't I don't mind a bit. I do the edges, and there are lots and it makes me tired but it looks so much better that its worth it! I find its one of the things that makes the garden look better right away. The front "lawns" have moss and one has primroses and the other self heal and both have celandines in plenty.The back one has buttercups and various other things... I have weedkillered some of it in past years but can't carry all the cans needed any more. We do have a scarifier in the garage so the intention is there... having weeds means that when the lawns are cut the difference is amazing and so rewarding!

Sheila, I found your page 15! I commented on that post. It looks lovely. Very evocative of long, warm summer days. It is a very pretty effect. I think if I had a big lawn I’d really consider doing this too..filling the longer grass with wildflowers and of course, letting the naturalisation of daisies and clover take part in the show too.

Shirley, I do love the smell of freshly mown grass, it’s so fresh and summery. I know what you mean about nice edges too..I always feel a bit agitated when I see the longer edges in the months where the grass is starting to grow but it’s not the right time to mow just yet...I know it sounds crazy to many, but, I do get satisfaction too from trimming and edging. My lawn is so small too, so, it has to look tidy.
I’m sorry that you can’t get out and grapple with the lawnmower now due to your health..it can be frustrating as we want to keep doing the things we enjoy...

Julia, your pics always look lovely! Do you like scarifying like I do? I love that feeling of gathering all the old grass and moss etc up then collecting it in a pile! Sad I know!!! It’s the actual manual task I enjoy.
I can understand people choosing artificial lawn, nowadays the product can look so real. Plus, the larger the lawn, the upkeep can be arduous.

Sue, I am lucky to have a small garden/ lawn..makes it easier to edge. I use a long pair of edging shears..good for my upper arms 😁
I tried a strimmer many years ago, but OH said I was dangerous,he was sure I’d end up smashing a window with a stone.
Your front lawns sound pretty and naturalised.

I don’t blame you for having an electric one, Julia! I think if I had a larger garden I’d think about it too. To be honest, I do love moss. I think if I had a sort of shady, woodland garden, I’d welcome it...
Those strimmers are lethal aren’t they!!! Well, in the wrong hands - like mine! Oh and the workman who cracked your sons glass!! I’ll bet your son was not too happy that day, what a nightmare for him!

Thanks Kate ... well done for taking the trouble to go back seven years!

Not a problem, Sheila. It was easy to find, plus I had a look at your other lovely pics posted prior to me joining the ‘team’. It’s a wonderful idea, I think if we all could do it, we should try..

Oh dear, chance for my obsession on lawns 🤣🤣🤣
Hubby always cuts the lawn, our lawnmower is too big and heavy for me and he likes his stripes. I do the edges as he isn't into gardening at all but likes a stripey lawn 😂

Kate , you put me to shame! I don't mind cutting the back lawn as the grass is quite smooth, but the front grass, I absolutely hate doing! It's large and lumpy and can't get rid of huge thistles ! I sent for a thistle remover, but it did remove the weeds but left a hole in the lawn which the fox then decided to make bigger !!
I also tend to edge the lawn in the back instesd of using edging shears.

Jen, I can imagine Tim is helping, despite not being into gardening, after your illness. He obviously enjoys mowing and striping so, not doing too badly! ☺️

Rose, we do what we can don’t we! We do what we enjoy in the garden, some of us don’t enjoy/like some things that others do.
Fortunately, we’re all different, but interesting gardeners.
I think your front lawn is telling you something! Maybe it’s liking the ‘au natural’ look! 😁