Lawns – turf or seed

There are advantages and disadvantages to turfing and seeding and it would be wrong to advise ones preference. To a certain extent price is an important consideration. Seeding is certainly cheaper. Turf is variable in quality and price, the best being a specialist seeded turf such as ‘Fescue’ or Bermuda’, which is itself sold in a number of grades. The next is good quality or special meadow turf and at the lower end, standard meadow turf.

If you want a good lawn without coarse grasses you should go for the ‘fescue’ (or similar), but it is twice the price of good meadow turf which for most people is adequate. Standard meadow turf should generally be avoided as it will have a lot of coarse grass and possibly other weeds. The problem generally with non-seeded (or naturally seeded) turfs are the presence of coarse grasses which cannot be selectively killed. There is no chemical that will distinguish one grass from another and in this respect fescue’ and similar seeded turfs are of great advantage. Turfing has a considerable advantage if you have a poor stony soil. A seeded area can take a while before developing sufficiently to smother the stones.

Apart from the savings, sowing a lawn does guarantee that you have a control of the grass species in the lawn. This can be particularly advantageous if you wish to have a lawn in a shaded area or an extremely wet or dry part of the garden. A seed merchant will be able to advise which mixture is the most suitable. You will find, however, that some unwanted broadleaf weeds and coarse grass seedlings will appear in your lawn as there will be dormant seeds in your soil which will germinate at the same time as the sown grass. Most will be annuals or tall perennials which will not survive regular grass mowing. A mild broadleaf weed killer may be used at an early stage without damage to the young grass seedlings.

Turf may be laid almost throughout the year, with the exception of periods of drought or frozen ground. If you turf during the summer it will be essential to water regularly and thoroughly the entire area as it is prone to drying out and shrinking in the early period before rooting into the soil. When to sow seed is more critical. For best results the spring period (April/May) will produce very quick germination. Similarly late August/September. At other times of the year when germination is either slow (or when very cold completely delayed) other weed seeds will germinate at these lower temperatures and compete with the grass when it starts its growth in the warmer weather.

Soil mounding/cut and fill Soil mounding is hardly a soft landscape ‘material’ but nevertheless it needs discussion. Soil mounding and grading is another one of those areas where subtlety and skill are essential for success. A relatively small rise in soil level will have a surprising effect and often transform an otherwise flat garden. It is all too easy to have a load of soil delivered, rake it over a little and leave it ‘as dumped’ and expect it not to look like a burial mound!

You need to try and copy nature and re-create it on a smaller scale in a garden. A gently rolling landscape with the very gradual slopes required to give a soft appearance to the eye. Soil mounding can greatly assist screening exercises and is instant. Mounding can also reduce road noise and is particularly advantageous for establishing planting in areas that would otherwise be flat and poorly drained.

Trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants
Here the overall design is considered, and for this purpose it is assumed that you are planning a garden which is empty of plantings. Deciding which plants to include in your garden and preparing detailed planting plans is one of the most time consuming planning operations. There are after all so many plants to choose from and so many restraints; suitability to the soil, height, flower colors, spread, leaf shape, tolerance of shade, speed of growth, and so on.

Faced with a vacant garden one can easily be daunted by this planning and be tempted to go to the garden center and pick up what happens to be looking good at the time. A grave mistake, and you still have to decide where to put them and discover that perhaps you haven’t chosen the right plant for the right reason. It is helpful to first write out a check list of all your favorite plants that would be suitable to include in the garden, or garden area you are considering. Divide the list into trees, shrubs, herbaceous and ground cover plants. This ’suitability’ list is often a very encouraging start. You must remember to omit the obvious plants, and large trees if the garden is too small for them, and add more detailed constraints as you progress. The same exercise is equally valuable if you are planning just one border. This ‘basic suitability list’ or ‘pool’ of plants to choose from can then be used to form the framework of your planting design.