Larry Smith and the Riverside Gardens team talk all things pots, plants and pruning in their weekly gardening column.

One of the most familiar weekend sounds of an Aussie spring and summer is the sound of lawn mowers echoing across the neighbourhood.

It is a sure sign that spring is here when it is heard on increasing frequency as the weather warms up and gardeners try to keep their patch of mown weeds under control or tend to their manicured lawns.

Either way, it is amazing how much difference it makes to the appearance of a house and garden or even a neighbourhood when they are set off by freshly mown lawns.

Lawns not only soften and ground a garden, but they also help cool the environment around them, creating a microclimate more suitable for other plants to grow.

They also help with the problems of water run-off and erosion control in urban areas, which is becoming quite a concern as we increasingly cover our urban space with impervious surfaces and larger houses.

As I wrote about a few weeks ago, there are several different grass types that grow well in our area, and the different options are more suited to the situations we are trying to grow them in.

If you are still unsure, drop into the Garden Centre and we can run through them for you or even blend a mix from our bins that is best going to suit you.

But no matter the type of lawn you are growing, there are a few simple tips that will turn your neighbours green with envy as your lawn colours up beautifully, looking great and healthy, all with what seems like very little maintenance.

A good lawn needs feeding.

Yes, it is going to make it grow faster, but it will also thicken up the leaf, giving you a denser cover and it will also encourage a stronger, healthier root system, making it a lot more resilient.

Each time we cut and catch the lawn, we are robbing it of nutrients that it used to grow.

At some stage, we need to replenish the nutrient for the grass to continue to grow well, so a dressing of a well-balanced specific fertiliser will show great benefits.

This does not include most Weed and Feed type products, which are basically just iron sulphate that will leave you with a green but not necessarily healthy lawn that is very tender.

Set the cutting height of your lawn mower depending on the type of lawn you are growing.

Couch, buffalo and kikuyu lawns can be cut closer, keeping in mind that they will slowly build a deeper thatch that will need to be scarfed down or scarified occasionally.

Rye and bents lawns will grow so much better if they are cut slightly higher at about 40 to 50mm and fescue lawns at as high as 75 to 100mm.

One of the common mistakes people make with lawns is watering.

Lawns do not require watering a few minutes every day, even through the summer months.

They are best given a deep water once or twice a week, depending on soil type, and then left to search for their own water from further down.

This helps build strong, deep root systems, making the lawn more resilient and drought tolerant.

If, like so many, you have been shallow watering your lawns regularly, don’t just change it up from one extreme to the other.

Gradually increase the days between watering and the duration of the run time, allowing a chance for the roots to develop down deeper.

Weeds growing through lawns can be a real headache for some people or a real foot ache for others if we are talking about Prickly Jo Jo or bindii.

Most of these weeds can be controlled in your lawn, but care needs to be taken when choosing the right sprays and how they are applied, or if they can be better controlled by other means.

If you are using selective chemical controls, you are best to call in to get specific advice for your situation.

This is most important as different weeds and different lawn types will require different sprays, even if you are controlling the same weed.

You also need to be aware of the safety aspects, cross-contamination, and spray drift when using sprayer applicators.

Manual weeding can be an option when dealing with weeds like cape weed or dandelion.

Remember, a strong growing healthy lawn will often outcompete a lot of weed problems.

The biggest lawn problem we get in the Garden Centre is African Black Beetle attacking people’s lawns.

The larva of this beetle feeds on the roots of the lawn and often goes unnoticed until the lawn is stressed in the summer heat, when suddenly random dead patches start to appear.

Sometimes people notice birds pulling apart their lawns as they dig down to feed on these grubs, and that is a good sign that they have a problem.

Once again, there are multiple options available to control these pests, so you are best to call in and get the right advice for your situation.

There is so much more that we could talk about when it comes to lawns, and we have not even touched on fungal problems, as they are not usually a big concern in our hot, dry climate.

So, if you are wanting to have the best lawn in the street, drop by and we will help you turn your neighbours green with envy.

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Saturday, 1st January 2028

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