Welcome to the London Lawn Care Blog
Keeping a good lawn in London is pretty difficult. Often our gardens suffer from poor airflow and inconsistent natural light, due to our high fences and garden walls allowing our gardens some privacy. They remain in shade for part of the day especially in winter and dew and frost often don’t clear from the surface every day from October to February.
I run a specialist lawn care company, and over these pages I hope to share with you some of the tips and tricks we use, and recommend customers use, to look after their lawns in this most challenging of environments.....
We’ve received a great deal of interest in our fox fencing solution, and it seems urban foxes can’t keep themselves out of the news with the sad news that foxes have been attacking small children in the capital. read more..
Posted by: James on: 29th June 2010 in the: Lawn pests category
So far we’ve had an exceptionally dry late spring and early summer and some lawns are showing the strain. April and May both saw rainfall of less that 50% of the average figures, and June is set to be even dryer, with high temperatures to boot. Lawns, especially those with good drainage, suffer badly in times of even mild drought, and will quite quickly look dry, scorched and brittle. read more..
Posted by: James on: 26th June 2010 in the: Irrigation, Summer Lawn Care category
Well it has been a glorious April, and whilst the outside team are enjoying the sunshine and starting to get a tan, I am worried that a lot of the lawns that I am looking at are already very dry!
If your lawn is staring to look a little “grey” like mine then it is ready for some water. I am sure you remember that the top tip for watering lawns is to water deeply once or twice a week. If you’re worried about how much to put on, place a cup in the way of the sprinkler and fill this to about 3-4 cms. read more..
Posted by: rosa on: 28th April 2010 in the: Spring lawn care category
It has been such a busy few weeks that our feet have hardly touched the ground, let alone process the fact that we’ve made the papers! The terrible snow of January and February left a trail of pink snow mould across the country to such an extent that the national press had thought it newsworthy.
Along with being interviewed by several radio stations, Rosa also provided a journalist from a prominent national paper with some quotes and advice about how to deal with this pernicious lawn problem.
Here is the article in all its glory: Rosa in the press (Although we’ve never seen anything as pink as in these pictures!)
Posted by: James on: 25th March 2010 in the: News category
We have been very aware for some while that urban foxes can be a real issue, not only in terms of digging up lawns in search of grubs, caterpillar and worms (foxes are omnivores) but also in terms of a health hazard for pets and particularly for humans.
Foxes mark their territory with faeces which is why one will some times see faeces on fences, walls and compost heaps as well as on lawns and flower/vegetable beds. Fox faeces is a bio hazard and contains a number of pathogens and other risks to human health. It should be removed very carefully, preferably with disposable gloves. read more..
Posted by: James on: 25th March 2010 in the: Lawn pests category
“Snow mould” or Fusarium Patch seems to be on the move again this January and February after the prolonged snow cover that we have had this year. Watch out for small white growths on the lawn surrounded by nasty brown patches. See my earlier more comprehensive post http://www.londonlawncare.co.uk/fusarium-patch-pink-snow-mould-grey-snow-mould-microdochium-nivale/
If not treated this can cause long term damage and mean a lot of recovery work in the Spring.
Do get in touch and book a fungicide treatment if you’re concerned on 020 8417 1752
Posted by: rosa on: 20th January 2010 in the: Lawn Diseases, Winter Lawn Care category
This has come about as a result of last year’s long, hard winter. Our lawns really had a hard time recovering in spring 2009, and I think it would be helpful to give them a tonic over the winter months so that there is a better response from the grass once the Spring weather arrives in 2010.
Posted by: rosa on: 5th December 2009 in the: Winter Lawn Care category
This autumn we seem to be experiencing a lot of grub activity in our lawns. It’s impossible to tell if you have an infestation just by looking at the grass – the grubs live amongst the roots. The easiest way to tell is from animal damage, this either comes in the form of:
1. Birds (generally large strong birds like crows) pecking at the lawn repeatedly so that little tufts of grass are lifted out and discarded all over the lawn.
2. A large amount of small holes dug to a depth of about 1-2 inches by foxes (Yes, foxes are omnivores and they eats grubs as well!)
3. If you’re really unlucky you will have badger damage where the animals peel back the turf in large patches to access the grubs underneath.
read more..
Posted by: rosa on: 3rd November 2009 in the: Lawn pests category
Watch out for Red Thread which was very prevalent last summer and it is already beginning to make a come back this June. This disease is not very easily identifiable – for those of you with spectacles it would be wise to give them a clean for this job!
The infected plants will largely lose any green colour leaving you with yellowing patches on the lawn.The sward will also have a rather red appearance to both stem and leaf. At the height of its attack, little bright pink ‘balls’ are formed and these are very recognisable – like tiny patches of candy floss.
Posted by: rosa on: 5th October 2009 in the: Lawn Diseases category
Our customer base seems to be very divided as to whether they like to water their lawns over the summer months. Of course, if you wish your lawn to stay green in a dry summer like this, then water is the only answer.
To keep your lawn looking green and healthy, the trick with watering lawns is always to give the lawn a good soaking when you do it. read more..
Posted by: rosa on: 20th August 2009 in the: Summer Lawn Care category
After what feels like a very long winter, at long last the sun is out, the temperature is on the rise and the snow is a distant memory (at least here in London!) but after a tricky couple of months weather wise for our lawns, the grass will now be starting to grow with a vengence. read more..
Posted by: rosa on: 10th March 2009 in the: Spring lawn care category
Fusarium Patch (Microdochium Nivale) disease is the most common of all lawn diseases in the UK, although the symptoms are most severely seen in fine turf. read more..
Posted by: rosa on: 5th February 2009 in the: Lawn Diseases category
What an amazing week it’s been! London has seen inches of snow for the first time in 18 yearsand so we’ve had chaos with the buses, the tubes and trains being even more unreliable than usual, and everyone enjoying an unplanned holiday on Monday. Parks even now are still looking white and sporting slowly melting snowmen! read more..
Posted by: rosa on: 5th February 2009 in the: Winter Lawn Care category
Well it seems that winter is truely with us, and with night temperatures regularly falling below freezing recently, you’d be forgiven for forgeting all about your lawn! However even at this time of the year there are a few things to watch out for: read more..
Posted by: rosa on: 18th December 2008 in the: Compaction and Aeration, Winter Lawn Care category
Goodness, it’s been a cold couple of weeks! It really feels like a proper winter this year – which I think will do our gardens the world of good – killing off nasty pests and diseases that have plagued our lawns this year.
A word of warning, however: walking on frozen grass will crush the cells inside the leaf (as they are mostly water and therefore hard and brittle when frozen), which will damage the plant – so please keep off your lawns as much possible until the frost has gone.
Posted by: rosa on: 12th December 2008 in the: Winter Lawn Care category
I’ve just sent out our latest newsletter to all our customers, I’ll be summarising its content on the blog shortly, but if you want to the see the original in all its glory go to www.londonlawncare.co.uk/newsletter/winter.html
Posted by: rosa on: 2nd December 2008 in the: News category
Worms are our friends, they are useful everywhere in the garden, but they can produce wormcasts on the lawn in autumn which are not. If left on the lawn while mowing they will form disfiguring muddy patches as they are walked on or rolled by the mower – smothering the grass underneath.
Tradition has it that the best tool for dispersing worm casts is a besom broom, but any brush or even a rake will do.
Posted by: rosa on: 24th November 2008 in the: Lawn pests category
In a word – Yes.
The growing season for lawns is stretching into the winter now with lawns needing to be mown well into November and even have once a month haircuts from December to February. Even if the weather turns autumnal, the grass will keep growing until the soil temperature drops below 5 degrees C. (Our mowers cope well with wetter lawns so let us know if you think that we can help you keep your lawn in trim.) read more..
Posted by: rosa on: 24th November 2008 in the: Mowing category
Mind-your-own-business or baby’s tears, Soleirolia soleirolii is a creeping perennial that forms dense, slowly spreading mats of bright green foliage. It is a native of Corsica and Sardinia and is occasionally grown in rock gardens – they even sell it in garden centres as it looks sweet when grown in a little pot. read more..
Posted by: rosa on: 24th November 2008 in the: Lawn weeds category
