Lawns need care and attention now to get them ready for your summer. April is the month to get a grip of your lawn and, depending on the weather where you are, it may be that the first cut of the year starts this weekend. Here's a quick overview of what to do.

Lawns – the first cut of the year

• Mower serviced? If not yet, book it in asap.
• Raise the blades (read our blog on how to do this) to at least one height above your usual height.
• Wait for the grass to be fairly dry (wet grass will clog up the mower, the mower might make nasty muddy marks and you might slip).
• Clear from the lawn any stones or branches that the winter has brought you and tidy up dog toys and balls.
• Wear long sleeved trousers and shirts (bits of stone and twig may fly up and clip you) and firm shoes.
• Go!

After a week or two, and when grass is fairly dry, cut lawns again but with a slightly lower blade. And from then on, it’s weekly cuts and a summer of rattan chairs and iced coffee on your lawn! [caption id="attachment_4638" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Spring lawn care is essential for lovely summer lawns like these at Arduaine gardens, Scotland.[/caption]

Improving lawns

Lots of people feed lawns once a year. After hard wintry weather ends in April (or May), that's the time to do it. Four main types of spring / summer lawn feed encourage grass to grow and help keep weeds and moss under control.

• Inorganic lawn feeds: powder or granules that you must apply evenly (invest in a spreader). These give a boost for a month or so.
• Organic lawn feeds: as inorganic, but their effects tends to last longer.
• Slow release lawn feeds: perfect for small and hard wearing lawns. More expensive than the others but the effects last longer.
• Liquid lawn feeds: ideal for a fast boost with a short effect. Ideal for lawns to look lush for a party.

Weeds can be tackled by a combined 'feed and weed' mix or on a mild day use an old knife to dig out the weed roots. Can't wait for your well fed lawn to shade the moss out? Get rid of moss in one of two ways:

• use a proprietary moss killer
• rake the moss out (great exercise!)

[caption id="attachment_4634" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Or try a moss lawn like this one at Fernlea.[/caption]

Fill bare patches in lawns

• Dig out weeds and rake over the soil.
• Mix half and half grass seed and top soil and sprinkle the mix over the patch (half a bucket of the mix will do 1-2 square metres).
• Mark the patch with sticks that you can't miss and keep it watered if we have a dry spell.
• Once the grass is about 4cm high give it a light cut with shears, then remove the sticks and mow as usual.
• Our autumn lawn blog highlighted a useful video that may help you now.

Love (slightly untidy) lawns

Lawns don’t have to be lush and green and moss free. Moss is always green and is soft underfoot. And where would we find daisies for daisy chains if not in lawns? Wild flowers (weeds to some) can flourish in untidy lawns and support wildlife so think about the benefits of a slightly untidy lawn. [caption id="attachment_4633" align="aligncenter" width="665"] Love an untidy lawn and celebrate daisies.[/caption] Now, bring on the lazy hazy days of summer ....