Mow in dry weather as and when needed, keeping the cutting height high. This will help the grass withstand the last of the warm, dry weather, and also make it more resilient to being walked on when wet weather arrives.
Add grass clippings to the compost heap in thin layers. Too much all at once is likely to cause wet, poorly aerated conditions, resulting in smelly slime rather than compost.
In Scotland and northern England, start autumn lawn care, including scarifying (raking) and aerating (spiking) the lawn, to repair summer damage, boost growth and get it into good shape for next year. You can finish by applying a soil- and sand-based top dressing to fill the spiked holes, especially if you’ve used a hollow tine aerator that removes soil cores.
Then apply an organic autumn lawn feed if your grass is growing poorly. Autumn feed is rich in potassium and phosphorus, to encourage hardiness and root growth. Don’t feed with leftover summer feed, as this contains too much nitrogen, which stimulates lush growth that would be vulnerable to disease at this time of year.
Plant spring-flowering bulbs in lawns to add colour and pollinator-friendly flowers – great choices include snowdrops, crocuses and daffodils. Remember that you’ll have to leave the area unmown in spring, from once the leaves start to appear until they die back, so it’s usually best to plant in specific areas that can be left unmown.
If you didn’t plant your meadow or mini-meadow in August, get this done before wet autumn conditions set in.
Prepare the ground for a new lawn by forking over, weeding, levelling and firming lightly. Doing this several weeks in advance gives the soil time to settle, so you have an even surface for sowing or laying turf.
Sow a new lawn on prepared ground when the soil is damp after rain, as the grass will have plenty of time to get established over autumn.
Lay turf onto prepared soil once the ground is moist and keep well-watered so it roots well. Avoid walking on newly laid turf – leave it undisturbed for several weeks to allow the new roots to establish.
Sow a wildflower meadow or plant wildflower plugs into existing lawns, again when the soil is moist after rain.
Lawns browned due to drought will quickly green up by themselves when autumn rain arrives and high temperatures fall.
Start repairing any damaged or bare areas using turf or seed.
See all our lawn care advice.
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