
Experts reveal 10 things you can do to keep your lawn lush in summer
The summer can be hard on your lawn - and by the end of the season, you may well be wondering if you'll have any grass left.
Children and animals can cause havoc - with toys, sandpits and paddling pools taking up significant space and leaving your lawn suffocated.
However, there are things you can do to minimise the damage.
Kate Turner, horticulturist for Evergreen Garden Care, who has worked behind the scenes on BBC Gardeners' World, Love Your Garden and Garden Rescue has some tips.
'The biggest obstacles are kids with trampolines and paddling pools. All the toys come out and they stay on the lawn. You might go on to websites which say 'Move your trampoline every day' but that's just not realistic.
'So we have to accept that during the summer just enjoy your lawn, don't get too upset about it.'
However, there are things you can do to minimise the damage, she suggests.
1. Be waterwise
'If there isn't a hosepipe ban and you want to water the lawn, give it a deep soak one evening a week, or early morning if you're an early riser,' she advises.
'But the lawn is the most hard-wearing plant in your garden. So even if the dry weather continues, once the autumn rain comes, usually the lawn will bounce back.'
2. Let your grass grow longer
Over the summer, don't mow your grass as frequently and if it goes brown stop mowing it completely, she advises.
'If you're not mowing the lawn, get the edges done because that makes the garden look so much smarter,' she suggests.
3. Sink your trampoline
'If you have young kids and you are going to have that trampoline for a few years, think about getting a sunken trampoline, because it's much safer,' she suggests.
'Dig a hole and line it with a weed membrane. You can get specialist companies that do it.'
Once the hole has been dug, overseed the perimeter with a really hard-wearing shade-tolerant lawn seed, she advises.
'Now is a really good time to do it because the soil is warm. Rake over the area a bit, then throw some good hard-wearing drought-tolerant and shade-tolerant seed. You have to be prepared to water for the first few weeks.'
Obviously you're not going to be able to move the trampoline once it is in, but at least when the children leave home you have a ready-made space for a wildlife pond, she adds.
4. Put up with the paddling pool
'There's not a lot you can do until after (summer), but get a ground sheet down first and put the pool on top of that,' she advises. 'If there's any stones or pebbles underneath the soil level it will stop it puncturing.'
You could also make a feature of it, creating a path that leads to the paddling pool, which can reduce the mess around it, she adds.
Once the season is over, use the pool water to water your lawn. Rake the area a little and then overseed some more to refresh the grass.
If you have enough space and a small-enough paddling pool, move it once a week to give each area of lawn a break, she suggests.
5. Guard against football damage
If you have a family of keen budding footballers, overseed the goal area now with hard-wearing seed – and you will need to water it until it starts to germinate – to help minimise damage later on in the summer, she advises.
'If you're not going to overseed because you already have a decent lawn, give it a slow-release feed to toughen it up.'
However, like Wimbledon courts at the end of the tennis tournament, if that goal is in constant use over the summer you'll have to accept that it may be trashed during those months.
6. Feed regularly
'You can give the lawn a really good feed every six weeks and once we are into the summer proper, use something like a fast-acting green, which you can attach to your hose, spray it on and it greens the grass up and makes it stronger really quickly.'
If there's a drought, don't use feeding granules, she advises, but go for a liquid feed because granules will need a lot more watering to dissolve and do the work.
7. Make a path
Well-worn areas can soon appear on your lawn if you don't have a path, so create a simple pathway using, for instance, log edging and bark chip, she suggests.
'If you have kids, you could do a hopscotch effect with different pavers and put some plants in between them such as low-growing thyme and chamomile. Something temporary for the summer is a really good idea.'
8. Reduce pet damage
'Female dogs' wee is really acidic and what you'll find is that you'll get lots of little bare patches throughout your garden.
'Break it up with a fork and then add some special dog spot repair which incorporates seed, feed and calcium that neutralises the acid in the urine.
'It's either that, or when you see your dog peeing, you get a watering can and water it away straight away.'
9. Put toys away
'Always put the toys away every evening because just leaving that plastic tractor out will damage the lawn.'
10. Don't worry about the moss
'If you have a shady lawn that's full of moss, don't worry about it for the summer. It will be quite hard-wearing.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
UK weather: temperatures set to hit 29C this week with thunderstorms likely
Heat is set to build across the UK this week with temperatures expected to reach 29C (84F) in some areas by Friday.A feed of southerly winds will bring warm air from north Africa and south-west Europe across the country accompanied by increasing will be some sunny spells but also the chance of some heavy downpours and thunderstorms which could bring a lot of rain in a short space of comes after the warmest and sunniest spring on record was followed by an unsettled start to meteorological summer. How warm will it get? Temperatures will start to climb on Tuesday but the really warm air will set in by of Scotland and Northern Ireland will reach 18-21C (64-70F), with 21-25C (70-77F) expected across England and air will be turning increasingly humid, with a rather muggy and sticky places will be dry on Wednesday but during the afternoon and evening scattered showers and thunderstorms will start to develop in western parts of the UK. The very warm and humid air will remain on Thursday but thunderstorms will become more widespread - which may suppress temperatures a heavy downpours are possible, which could merge into longer spells of looks likely to bring the peak of the heat with highs currently forecast to reach 27-29C (81-84F) in eastern England - with a mix of sunny spells and computer weather models suggest a low chance of reaching 30C (86F) if there is enough sunshine. The nights will also be warm and humid which could make it a little tricky for sleeping. Will it be a heatwave? At the moment it does not look like this will meet the official definition of a heatwave - three consecutive days above a threshold that varies from 25-28C (77-82F) in different parts of the it may well feel like one, especially given the temperatures will be well above the seasonal average of 16-20C (61-70F) but are unlikely to threaten the UK's June temperature record of 35.6C (96.1F) set at Camden Square in London on 29 June 1957. Orange sunrises and sunsets Keep an eye out for some impressive skies over the coming week has started with some vivid orange sunrises and sunsets due to wildfire smoke that has travelled across the Atlantic from Canada, high in the atmosphere. Later this week the southerly winds bringing warm air from north Africa are also expected to transport dust from the Sahara across our could lead to further beautiful morning and evening skyscapes - especially when combined with layers of you capture any impressive sunrise or sunset photos, please send them to us at BBC Weather Watchers. Will it turn hotter later in June? This week's warmth and humidity is likely to give way to something fresher over the weekend - although temperatures are likely to remain around or above the June that there is a lot of uncertainty in computer weather are suggesting the possibility of another surge of heat towards the end of the month, whereas others allow for cooler and more unsettled weather, especially in northern is far too soon to predict the details of any heatwave that might head our way later this month - or deeper into the long-range forecasts do suggest a greater-than-normal chance of hot weather for the season can always keep up to date with the changes in your local forecast with BBC Weather online and on the BBC Weather app.


Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Spin could be major factor in WTC final, says Australia's Smith
LONDON, June 9 (Reuters) - Australia batter Steve Smith expects spin to play a significant role in this week's World Test Championship final at Lord's as London basks in dry weather ahead of Wednesday's start. Australia defend their title against a South African side making a first appearance in the final on what could be dryer than usual pitch at Lord's and where the seam attacks are expected to dominate. "I think spin will play a big part, particularly as the game wears on," Smith told a press conference on Monday. "We've only been here a week, but I think it's been pretty dry start to the season over here. There hasn't there been too much rain, which is rare for England. "It does look like quite a dry surface and I think the footmarks will definitely come into play as the game wears on." Smith, who is expected to bat at number four, has enjoyed success at Lord's with a double century in the Ashes a decade ago and another ton against England two years ago. "It takes a little bit of time getting used to the slope on the one end," he said. "You feel like you're falling over a little bit while at the other end you feel quite tall. "It takes a couple of deliveries just to get used to that from both ends. I think each time you play out here, you certainly get value for your shots, particularly hitting the ball down the hill. It races away, so it can be a nice wicket to bat on as we've seen over the years as well." Conditions, however, can change quickly in England. "If there's a bit of cloud about and the balls swing around, it can get tricky," Smith said. "Batting on this surface is about just summing it up and playing what's in front of you and being able to adapt accordingly." Australia have not had much practice in the game's first-class format over recent months. "All the batters feel like they're in a good place, so now just excited to go out and play. Lord's is a place we traditionally played pretty good cricket, so we're excited about the prospect of coming up against South Africa," Smith added.


The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
Hot, humid nights ahead as temperatures soar across UK
The UK is expected to experience a rise in temperatures this week, potentially reaching 25C in southeast England on Friday, following a cooler start to June. A plume of humidity from Iberia and France is predicted to bring the chance of thunderstorms across the UK from late Wednesday through Friday, possibly extending into Saturday. The Met Office forecasts that the weather will become increasingly hot and humid, with night times becoming warmer, potentially causing discomfort for some trying to sleep. This follows the UK's warmest spring on record, which was also the driest in more than 50 years, with an average temperature of 9.5C, 1.4C above the long-term average. The forecast for the week includes rain clearing in the north on Tuesday, while the south remains dry and warm, with thundery showers moving northwards from Wednesday.