Lawn advice needed

[Mottsey]

Good afternoon all.

I'm very much a beginner at the whole gardening scene as I have always lived in an urban area with very little opportunity to get my fingers green.

However, we have moved into a semi detached house which has an 85ft x

35ft rear garden. There is decking covering 7ft x 35ft at the rear of the house with a small rectangular pond. The rest has been turfed.

What I need it some advice on how to bring this lawn to life. The garden does feel lumpy and bumpy under foot. We have a 3 year old daughter who I want to spend the majority of her time enjoying and taking advantage of such a big open space and make it as nice and child friendly as possible for her.

The grass isn't very green and hasn't been maintained at all. What can i do to improve the lawn? as you can see if the images below, the grass seems very dull. What products should i use and when should i use them?

[image: help and guidance is much appreciated.

Sam

[trader4]

It also looks like a large part of it is either dead or dormant. If it's been getting a reasonable amount of water, then that part is dead. I would go with Bob's advice for now and then in mid Aug reevaluate. You could prepare then for either overseeding the whole thing in early Sept or just killing off everything and re-seeding. Which you want to depends on what you have in Aug and how uniform a look you want. If it were me and I had to seed large dead areas, I'd just Roundup/glyphosate the whole thing and start over with a high quality grass for the whole thing.

You should also evaluate the soil composition. If it's compacted, using a core aerator when you're seeding in Sept would be a good thing. You could also spread a light top dressing of compost material at the same time. Get the soil tested and adjust the PH if needed too.

When you're watering, you want to water it deeply, about

2 times a week. About 3/4" to 1" of water. At night so the watering ends at dawn will use the least water and leave the grass wet for the shortest time, which helps prevent fungus.

[Pat Kiewicz]

And I will add: Keep the mowing blades sharp. You want to cut the grass, not tear it off.

[Pat Kiewicz]

You've gotten some good advice.

But on a bit of a tangent, that's a nicce little pond but a very strange place to stash the grill.

Plus, you might consider asking advice from your neighbor to the left (as seen in the photos).

[David Fogg]

Dear Sam I suggest that the most urgent job that you need to undertake is to buy more picket fencing, and make that pond area child-safe ASAP. Good luck with the lawn.