Ex-royal gardener reveals what you should NEVER do to your lawn to keep grass green & healthy

The Sun

08-05-2025

A FORMER royal gardener has revealed one thing you should never do to your lawn if you want to keep grass green and healthy.
With temperatures set to climb again this weekend, after a chilly bank holiday, many of us are likely making plans to spend time relaxing in the garden.
2
2
However, after a long winter of neglect, our lawns may be in need of a bit of TLC.
You may be tempted to get your mower out and cut your grass in it during the heat, however, former royal gardener Jack Stooks who worked in the royal gardens of the Highgrove Estate for more than 20 years, revealed that this is a mistake.
"When it gets too hot, what you definitely don't want to do is keep mowing the grass and keeping it as short as possible", he told Big Fat Links.
"You want to forgo cutting for a week or two so that the grass keeps growing by itself, rather than depleting it.
"Wait until you have some moisture back in the soil."
Ivana Agustina, Head of Project Management at ShrubHub seconded this tip, stating: "You're slicing into already-dry blades under a blazing sun.
'That kind of trauma leaves your grass vulnerable to pests, yellowing, and fungal infections.'
Jack added that it is also not a good idea to do any planting in hot weather.
"You don't want to put too much stress on the plants by moving them or planting anything if you can help it.
"People will be planting bedding plants and potted plants for the summer, but they will constantly need attention and watering morning and night.
"So, if you're planting anything right now, it's only bedding plants, and they will need a lot of water.
"I would suggest not putting them in the borders yet but putting them in pots and checking them morning and night."
Jack previously revealed that a great tip for banishing slugs from your garden is using brassica leaves, which can be found on vegetables such as Brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower and more.
The expert explained that you should place these leaves down in the corners of your vegetable patches with something sturdy on top to keep in place.
He said to check these 'every day' and you are likely to find up to 'five or six' slugs, before either 'hand picking off' slugs, or 'feeding to birds'.
Jack added: 'Put the brassica leaf onto the ground and put a rock on top of it to keep it in place.
'In the morning, go out early, pick up the brassica leaf and you'll find about five or six slugs on each.
'You can either hand pick them off, or people tend to go and feed them to the birds, but that isn't such a good idea because they can scuttle off into the garden.
'I think the best way is to put them into a beer trap, that way they can drink the beer and enjoy their last few minutes…'