Lawns will have suffered over the winter period, especially if it has been walked on during frosty spells.
This could have led to bald or brown patches which can be annoying and unsightly.
In a previous video for Waitrose & Partners, gardening pro Alan Titchmarsh shared top tips on how gardeners can perk up their garden lawns with his “easy” method.
While reseeding is commonly recommended to fix bare lawn patches, it can take time, patience and maintenance. What’s more, the soil needs to be at the right temperature in order for roots to become established.
Instead of reseeding, Alan has suggested an alternative solution that he claims is “much easier”.
He explained: “If you get bare patches in the middle of your lawn – where the goal mouth is or where you’ve been hanging out the washing or a place that’s regularly trodden over and just worn out – then you can of course just prick it over with a fork and reseed it.
“But in the middle of summer, the grass may take a while to grow and look unsightly.
“It’s much easier to replace it with a piece of turf – but how do you do it so the turf fits perfectly?”
Alan instructed gardeners to take a piece that’s larger than the area that you want to cover, lay it over it and then cut a shape in the middle.
He said: “You know this is going to be larger than that bare patch underneath. Cut right through this turf and through the grass below.”
Alan pulled away the excess grass, leaving the small patch he had cut out.
While carving the turf, Alan managed to make a neat cut into the lawn underneath. He removed the carved-out area from the original lawn.
A way to get the lawn to absolutely match is to take a piece of turf from elsewhere on the lawn.
Alan said gardeners can do this when they’re making another border. “That’s great for patching because it’s exactly the same turf,” he said.
Using new turf does mean that the lawn doesn’t completely match but it will eventually “meld in” so gardeners won’t see the difference.
What you will have to do then is make sure it’s the right level. Alan watered the new patch of lawn and advised gardeners to try and keep people from walking across it.
The gardening expert added: “With a little nip and a tuck you can stop it looking like the aftermath of a pop festival and turn it into something rather more refined.”
This whole process took Alan less than two minutes and the lawn looked greatly improved.
