Lawn Renovation 101: Tips and General Guidance

Let’s face it; we’ve all poked our head over the neighbour’s fence at one time or another to see what their lawn is like. Then you look at your own and wonder why on earth it looks awful in comparison. To take care of lawn depressions, dips, death, and damage, it might be time to consider renovating your lawn. It’ll then be your neighbour’s turn to look at your yard with envy.

What Does ‘Renovating’ Your Lawn Involve?

When you renovate your house, you give it a fresh coat of paint, maybe lay some new carpet, or update the light fixtures. When you renovate your lawn, you’re technically doing the same thing – giving it a new lease on life.

Just as you would look at your home with a critical eye before renovating it, do the same with your lawn. Notice the low spots, the high spots, the dead patches, and weeds. Spot the scalped edges where your garden meets the lawn, the ruck marks from the kids’ rugby games, and the broadleaf trying to disguise itself as grass.

Renovating your lawn is the process of fixing all those imperfections so you can benefit from lush, even, and manicured lawns you’re proud to call yours.

Okay, So How Do I Renovate My Lawn?

There are three popular methods for giving your lawn a new lease on life. The one you choose can depend on how much time you have, and how passionate you are about achieving that picture-perfect lawn that even the local bowling club is jealous of.

Topdressing

Topdressing is the process of putting soil over the top of your lawn to fill in sparse areas and small depressions in the earth. It’s a multi-step process, but one that you’ll learn was entirely worth the hassle the next time you go to mow your lawn.

Firstly, you’ll need to weed your lawn by carefully going over it to pull weeds out by the root. Some of the most common ones include broadleaf, Onehunga weed, poa, clover, and moss. Once you’ve removed as much of these pesky plants as you can, mow your lawn to a height of about five centimetres, or two inches.

At this stage, your lawn probably doesn’t look at its best – with dug-out patches and bald spots. But that’s okay! Next, you’ll need to dethatch it, which involves using a vertical mower, short-tined rake, or power rake to remove the layer of dead and living plant material that builds up between your grass and the soil surface.  

Finally, it’s time to topdress. For damaged areas, apply up to four inches of soil over a well-graded soil base. Where your lawn meets the damaged area, spread around two inches of topsoil over your freshly-mown grass. Rake the entire lawn level – soil and all.

Follow up this process by spreading out fertiliser, followed by lawn seed, and water it until it’s thriving and ready for its first mow.

Sod

Not everyone has the patience or time to literally watch the grass grow. In that case, you may decide to work with sod instead. Sod is real grass and soil held together by roots, harvested on the day you need it, and rolled up.

When you purchase sod, ensure you do so on the day you will be using it as it doesn’t have a shelf life. You can lay an entire lawn in sod or simply use it to repair the parts of your property that require it.

Cut a smooth seam along your current lawn, and place your roll of sod up against it, so there is no space in between, but the two aren’t overlapping. Around walkway, garden bed, and driveway edges, overlap the sod and cut to the edges. Push soil up against those edges to prevent the exposed roots from drying out.

Once you’ve finished laying the sod, roll a water-filled drum over the top to ensure the new sod has made contact with the soil underneath. Water daily to promote root growth and keep pets and people off the grass until top growth becomes present.

Hire the Experts

The third way to renovate your lawn is to hire the experts! If you’ve got no time, patience, or passion for lawn care, but you’ve got a desire for a beautiful, lush, green lawn, you can simply request a lawn care service company to take care of the job for you.

When to Renovate Your Lawn

You now know how to renovate your lawn and give it a new lease on life, but do you know when to do it? Aim for spring or autumn when lawn growth is in overdrive and heavy rain isn’t predicted in the forecast.  

You can also ask your local garden centre employee or lawn care company worker for helpful advice, tips, and tricks, on how to ensure the best growth for your new lawn.

Ready to Renovate?

If your lawn isn’t looking at its best, you’ve got options. Is today the day you place an order for grass seed or sod and get your lawn renovation project underway? Once you start mowing your lush, new lawn, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.

This article is included in Twinkl's Keeping Children Healthy campaign and is part of their article called “Some great tips to keep your children healthy in 2021”.