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more lawn tips
By John | January 19, 2008
Lawns
The lawn is the focal point of many gardens. It’s a place to let off steam or sit and relax, but also a valuable habitat for wildlife.
Lawns provide a home for many insects that are eaten by birds and other wildlife. Those rich in organic matter are likely to have good numbers of earthworms - the staple winter and spring diet of song thrushes and much relished by blackbirds.
Lawns can also provide seed for birds. Those of annual meadow grass, plantain, buttercup and dandelion are particular favourites.
You can improve your lawn for birds and wildlife by simply avoiding the use of weed killers and artificial fertilisers, or go a step further and look at alternative ways to manage your lawn.
Any area of short grass will act as a feeding area for birds. Longer grass provides shelter and egg-laying opportunities for the insects on which birds and other wildlife feed. Providing areas of grass of different heights, which are cut at different times of the year, optimises food potential.
Planning a lawn
Before you create a new lawn, plan how you want it to look and think about how you can share it with wildlife.
Lawns require plenty of light and benefit from an open aspect, but you can grow grass almost anywhere - even in a container on a terrace. Small gardens can only accommodate short grass, but you can plan a full range of grass structures in medium and large gardens.
You might like a formal lawn maintained as short grass in your front garden and an amenity lawn, incorporating measures beneficial to wildlife at the back. If you have a moved into a house with what appears to be a derelict lawn, decide if you want to start from scratch or renovate it - it could contain valuable wildlife interest already, such as wild orchids.
Avoid straight edges - curved or sinuous edges increase the ‘edge to area’ ratio, enabling a greater variety of plants to be planted between the lawn and border. This increases opportunities for insects and provides birds with a source of insect food, seeds and fruits. Curved or sinuous edges provide sheltered suntraps for insects in south-facing borders.
Creating a gentle slope to a lawn away from your house helps give the lawn depth and takes surface water away.
Turf or seed?
Decide if you want to lay turf or sow seed for your lawn and calculate how much you need. Turf is usually sold by the square metre and seed estimated at 70g/square metre (2oz/square yard).
Turf provides ‘instant lawn’, but is the more expensive option. If you need your lawn to be hard wearing and for amenity use, the cheapest turf with rye grass will be sufficient. For a more formal lawn, ask for a turf grown with fine grasses. Although this is more expensive, fine grasses require less mowing and, unlike rye grass, do not grow as tall and become susceptible to ‘falling over’ or ‘bolting’. They are also better suited for enhancing with meadow flowers.
If seeding, a hardwearing mix with rye grass is suitable for lawns likely to get heavy use. Fine grasses are suited for lighter use. Once again, there is a difference in cost.
Incoporating meadow flowers
You can incorporate spring or summer meadow flowers in the whole lawn or just part of it. Summer meadows are cut in September; spring meadow flowers bloom early in the year and the grass is cut in early summer.
Designating a proportion of your lawn to meadow means you can seed the lawn with a fine grass mix and will only require a small amount of wildflower seed. Approximately 20grms/square metre (0.5oz/square yard) of wildflower mix should be sufficient, but varies depending on soil type. Check with your supplier when ordering.
Topics: Flora & Fauna, Garden Furniture |
