Getting your lawn looking at its best takes a lot of hard work and all year round.
The beautiful green grass that you see in some of the magazine takes a little more than the odd mowing.
To get the best out of your lawn is a year round job which starts from March to May when the lawn needs to be fertilised.
The best type of fertiliser is a temperature activated slow release type which is applied to give your lawn an attractive early colour and it also kick starts the growth for the following season.
The first mowing of the lawn should not be too short.
You want to leave about a third of the grass so that the plant can feed down to the roots.
As the summer comes along you should gradually cut the lawn shorter.
Between May to July grass needs a good herbicide which is a type of weed killer that targets all types of weeds in your lawn.
This will improve the appearance of the grass and also the health of it.
If this doesn't kill all of the weeds you can use a few applications of this herbicide.
The months between July and September you should use a summer fertiliser.
For the best results use only a high quality temperature activated fertiliser.
This will continue to feed and nourish your lawn strengthening the roots for the rest of the summer.
From September right through to February a winter fertiliser needs to be added.
This is a special treatment which utilises a high iron content feed which gives grass an excellent winter colour and also helps to control the build up of any moss.
There is also micro nutrients in this fertiliser which will help to harden the grass plant and encourage deep rooting which is essential for maintaining healthy green grass right through to spring.
That is the feeding side of lawn care covered but there are also other treatments which add to giving grass that professional look and this is scarifying.
Scarifying should be done in either Autumn or Spring and it is where spinning blades from a professional scarifier remove dead organic matter and moss from the surface of your grass.
Aeration is another Autumn or Spring specialist treatment which aids the lawn giving it a lush green colour.
Aeration removes small plugs of soil and thatch from the top of your grass relieving compaction and aiding the flow of nutrients, air and water to the roots of your lawn.
This means the food fertiliser you give the lawn all year gets to the roots of the grass making it even more effective.
Irrigation and drainage is needed if your grass is repeatedly getting wet and water-logged in winter.
We use a very effective pipe and gravel systems which will remove excess surface and sub-surface water to allow the ground to breathe again and encourage healthy green grass growth.
All of these treatments you can do yourself if you have the time.
But if your lawn is very large and you don't have enough time but can afford help you can get a lawn care company to do all of the above.
This is exactly what a professional lawn company will know about and do year round.
So if you want a green lawn like you see in the movies or in the glossy magazines, this is what you need to do.