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With summer comes a lot of lawn challenges - from sod webworms, chinch bugs, nutsedge to drought stress, diseases and lots more. A lot of people find it hard to tell what’s happening to their lawn and probably assume it to be as a result of the summer stress and will definitely turn green again once the fall rolls in. This may be right in certain situations, but if you have fungi eating deep into your lawn, the green may not return. So, how exactly do you figure out if your lawn has diseases or pests? In this post, we’re going to provide you with a good insight into this to help you take the necessary treatment steps as soon as possible.

• Fungal structures. Fungi structures are not usually the easiest to spot as they vary in shape, colour and appearance. Fortunately, most fungi that appears on lawns will possess some type of structure which can be spotted when moisture is present. Once the night time dew sets in, you’ll be able to identify these strange growths in your lawn.
• Matted or Collapsed Areas. There is some sort of diseases that will make grass plant to wilt in little time. This, combined with fungi structures will make the grass look to have been matted in some areas.
• Discoloured or oily areas. Some areas are likely to show symptoms more than the others. While the unaffected turf may remain in its normal state, areas that are nearby may vary in colour due to the damage to the leaf tissue.
• Lesions or spots on leaves. Do you notice a certain damage pattern on the leaf blades of the grass plants? If yes, then your lawn is probably infected with a disease. Some of these spots may vary in size and colour.

Overseeding your lawn is an essential part of keeping your lawn looking its best. It’s also known as reseeding, and helps to repair damaged areas that might have been caused by a harsh summer or winter. It’s best to overseed your lawn during the spring or autumn, when the temperature is mild but there’s still a fair amount of rainy days to help the grass seed grow. To prepare your lawn for overseeding, you should do the following things around 1-2 weeks beforehand:

• Weed the lawn by hand or using a weedkiller (make sure you leave enough time to do this according to the instructions)
• Remove stones and large twigs
• Scarify your lawn to remove moss and loosen soil
• Fertilise the soil with a quick-release fertiliser

Once you’ve taken these steps, you’re ready to start overseeding your lawn.

1. Mow your lawn to around 25mm in length.
2. Water the soil so it’s moist but not too damp.
3. Sprinkle your new grass seed evenly over the lawn, but apply more in patchy or thin areas. Generally gardeners say to use 35g per square metre, but up to 50g on thin areas.

When you’re finished, give your lawn a final water, and do this every day until the new grass is established – particularly if it’s not rained. Just make sure you don’t overwater it. It’s also a good idea not to walk on your lawn for around 2-3 weeks after you’ve overseeded it.

Speaking to the owners of the neighbouring properties is recommended. If you are still unsure, you may need to check the original deeds to the property. Generally the rule is that you are responsible for the fence at the right hand side of your property.

If your lawn edges are overgrown, it can make an otherwise well-cared for lawn look unsightly. Luckily, it’s easy to edge your lawn and make it look beautiful again. You should edge your lawn every spring and trim any overhanging grass you notice after mowing. How to edge a lawn There are different types of equipment you can use for different types of edging:

• Edging shears
• Half-moon edger
• Grass shears with a long handle
• Gardening knife
• Long rope or a plank of wood

Depending on how regularly you’ve maintained the edging of your lawn, you might want to do one of the following things:

• Annually in spring or if you’ve left the grass to get out of hand: Decide whether you want a straight or a curved edge along your lawn. If you want a straight edge, lay a plank of wood along the edge and use your half-moon edger to cut along. If you want a curve, lay a rope along the edge and cut along that. Or if you can still see the existing curve of the lawn, you can stick with that.
• After mowing: Use long-handled shears to trim the grass the mower couldn’t reach. If you want to make it look extra tidy, collect up the cuttings and put them on your compost heap or dispose of them.
• Overgrowing grass onto paths: Use a sharp gardening knife to cut the pieces of turf that are growing over the path and pull them away.
• When your lawn is flush with the path: Snip a clean edge along your path with your long-handled grass shears to make it look neat and tidy.
• If you’d rather a low-maintenance option: Spiked metal sheeting is a good material to use to keep your lawn’s edges at bay. Fix it in the ground along the edges to keep the outline of your lawn and stop it from growing into your borders.

The best way to keep your lawn edges looking fabulous is to keep them maintained. Remember to give them a little trim every time you mow your lawn to be the envy of all your neighbours.

Chances are at some point you’d probably given a though about how steps would fit in perfectly in your garden, except of course, your yard and garden is flat. Adding steps and gardens makes it a lot easier to get around your yard while also enhancing its curb appeal. In order to avoid the cost of hiring a professional to get the task done, you might be tempted to make it a DIY task. However, if you lack the required skill and confidence to pull this off, we’d strongly recommend you call in a professional so as to avoid costly errors. In this post, we’re going to take you through the garden steps building process. Let’s take a look!

1. Measure the vertical height of the slope by marking it with two parallel lines. Once done, proceed by connecting a string line to the slope’s top and hold it in a horizontal way, take a measurement of the flight’s length and breadth. Divide the measurement by 200mm to get the number of steps that’ll be required. Then proceed to divide the number by the height to identify the depth of each step.
2. Working downwards from the flight’s top, dig the step shapes and also dig a shallow trench and install a concrete foundation.
3. Enable the foundation to harden by leaving it for about 48 hours, then install two courses of bricks on the concrete strip and use gravel to backfill.
4. With the help of a trowel, apply mortar to the top of the brickwork. Place the first slab on the mortar bed and press down. Then, make use of a spirit level to make sure that the steps are level.
5. On the back edge of the first tread, you should proceed to build the second rise, backfill and install the slab to form the second tread – just like the previous step. Repeat this process until you’ve gotten to the top of the flight.

Laying artificial grass is a popular project – it’s a great way to create a smart, low-maintenance garden. There are plenty of professionals around who are experts at installing artificial grass, but it’s possible to DIY too if you’re feeling confident.

Lots of homeowners choose to replace their existing turf with artificial grass, so lay it on soil. To do this, start by clearing the area of any greenery or turf. Then remove any extra soil to a depth of about 40mm. You might want to leave the centre of your area slightly higher than the edges for a more natural look.

Next, you need to add a weed membrane and a sharp sand sub-base. It doesn’t really matter which one of these you do first, but you might find it easier to lay the weed membrane first and then use the sand to weigh it down, to a depth of about 35mm. Use a rake and plank to make the sand level, and compact it with a plank and heavy hammer. It doesn’t need to be completely flat – gentle slopes are fine. The weed membrane should overlap joints by 300mm.

After you’ve done this, you can lay your grass. Roll it out, trim it to size and fasten it in place. Make sure the ends of the grass rolls are staggered so they don’t end in a line. Lay the artificial grass with the pile (the strands) leaning towards the house so it looks nice and full when you’re looking out from the house. If you’ve decided to use edging boards, you can nail the grass into the tops of the boards. Or, if you haven’t, use ground pins to anchor it into the soil. Brush the grass and you’re done!

What Do Landscape Gardeners Charge?

If you’ve decided to hire a landscaping professional for your gardening, you’ll probably be wondering how much it’s going to cost so you can start planning. A landscape garden serves a wide range of purposes from beautification of your surrounding and building to serving as a perfect spot for family and friends’ get-togethers and to brighten up one’s life. However, we must also note that the garden landscaping does not come cheap. In order to make it look great and send a clear message, there’s need for a effective and careful planning as well as consideration which perfectly combines both beauty and utility ( as not every landscaping idea works perfectly for every house). So just how much will landscape gardeners charge?

Just like most home improvement efforts, the cost of landscape gardening is influenced by a wide array of factors. These factors include the scope of the project, the size of the garden, the type of material and size of your patio, the cost of the plants and mulches, the professional daily or hourly rate as well as the unique treatment of the aesthetics of planting.

In general, landscape gardeners can charge as little as a price ranging from £15 to £20 and £45 per hour greatly influenced by the location as well as the gardening services required. As a daily rate, professional gardeners tend to charge about £140 to £200 per day. However, it should be noted that the major factors influencing the price that a gardener will charge is based on the area you live in as well as the size of your garden. For instance, if you live in an area with higher demands like London, you can expect to be charged a lot more than anywhere else.

When it comes to landscaping issues, lawn mushrooms are a very common occurrence. If you’re one of the several home and property owners who simply loves to have a great looking grass, finding mushrooms in your lawn can be a truly frustrating experience. However, with the right skills and knowledge the problem of mushroom growing in lawns can be resolved. If you don’t have the confidence required to carry out this task, then we’d recommend you call in a professional landscaper for help in order to avoid costly errors and unnecessary expenses. In this post, we’re going to put you through the processes involved in lawn mushroom removal.

First and foremost, let’s consider why mushrooms grow on lawns. To determine why mushrooms are growing on your lawn, simply examine the state of your lawn. Lawn mushrooms thrive in damp, shaded and organic waste rich environments. Figure out if you have drainage problems with supports the mushroom challenge, organic waste to be removed or perhaps you have areas on your yard that happens to be very shady.

In order to get rid of mushroom in your lawn, you’ll have to resolve your yard problems. If your lawn is very wet, try to find out if there are things you can do to minimize the moisture. You can reduce the decaying organic materials in your yard by raking your grass clippings, replacing existing mulch or detaching your lawn. If your yard happens to be quite shady, check if some targeted pruning can help to enable the access of more light to your yard. Also, you can apply a fungicide to eliminate the existing lawn mushrooms.