All about lawns: types of lawns, selection, planting, care

Recommendation points

• Lawn – selection and planting
• Your own lawn – where to start
• Characteristics of grasses, the seeds of which are included in the main composition of almost any lawn mixture
• The second way to create a lawn is a roll lawn
• How to make a lawn
• How to lay a roll lawn
• How to choose lawn grass seeds
• How to choose a roll lawn
• Lawn care at a glance

In the article: choosing a lawn, types of lawn and their purpose, the main types of grass in grass mixtures, how to make a seeded lawn, how to lay a roll lawn, how to choose a lawn, how to choose a lawn for rolls, the average cost of grass mixtures and a roll lawn.

Lawn – selection and planting

When thinking about a lawn, an idyllic picture appears – a pretty house in the countryside, in front of which is a patch of green grass, neatly trimmed, and inviting to walk on it barefoot.

As you know from the products of the Western film industry, a well-groomed lawn in front of the house is some kind of fetish for foreign homeowners – it is watered daily, cut on time, proud of it.

Unlike the inhabitants of Europe and the American continent, we do not live in houses, but in apartments, and it’s not easy to plant a lawn near a high-rise building – neighbors will trample and litter. In the city, lawn areas are mainly surrounded by public and private administrative buildings, park areas. Only a summer residence allows you to realize the dream of your own lawn – here nothing threatens the lawn, you can really devote yourself to caring for it. And even without a lawn, the landscape design of the summer cottage area will be somehow incomplete – lawn grass hides broken lines, softening and shading the surrounding landscape.

Your own lawn – where to start

Asking the question of how to make a lawn, the first step is to decide on its purpose – the lawn is different from the lawn. The composition of the turf of the lawn is formed by several types of grasses, each of which gives the grass carpet its own characteristics. The most popular lawns are:

• The parterre lawn is just perfect, it contains elite herbal varieties, usually growing in Canada (the climate of this country is more similar to ours). Lawn grass seeds for its cultivation are the seeds of the best varieties of fescue, bent grass and bluegrass. The sod of the parterre lawn has a dense green color, it is cut to a height of 3 centimeters and (important note!) You cannot walk on it – the parterre lawn performs exclusively decorative tasks. One of the subspecies of this type of lawn is the golf lawn;
• The Mauritanian lawn is formed by annual (self-seeding) flowering plants, including poppy, gypsophila, cornflowers, crocuses, carnations, escholzia, zeferanthus, evening primrose and primroses. Its role in landscaping is the formation of flowering forb meadows that resemble natural ones. The Moorish lawn is planted in open areas, on the banks of water bodies, as well as in places where it is impossible to grow crops. Such a lawn is mowed twice a year..
• The meadow lawn is close to the Mauritanian in terms of the grass mixture, the difference between them is that it is not cut. A meadow lawn is planted in park areas, it is excellent for landscaping urban landscapes. The grasses that form such a lawn are resistant to various loads.
• Ordinary lawn, despite the last position on this list, is actually the most popular. It is formed by domestic grasses, which, unlike imported varieties, have a stronger stem and a branched root system, i.e. – resistance to trampling. Such a lawn is planted mainly in hilly places, close to water bodies, shaded, on peat and clay soils. An ordinary lawn contains perennial ryegrass, bent grass, red fescue and bluegrass.

Characteristics of grasses, the seeds of which are included in the main composition of almost any lawn mixture

Meadow fescue – this type of grass has a few rough leaves and a short stem. The sod formed by it is not particularly dense and is prone to brittleness. Meadow fescue grows in a bundle, you should not expect an ideal grass cover from it – for this reason, it is used only for ordinary lawns. It is frost-resistant, its active growth begins in early spring. Moisture-loving, does not tolerate drought. The best type of soil for planting it is rich loam, the average seed consumption is 10-12 g per m2².

Red fescue – among other lawn grasses, it stands out for its high resistance to drought. In the first year of planting, you should not expect a dense lawn from it – this type of cereal grows slowly, the area sown with it will be covered with turf no earlier than in a month and a half. Thanks to the developed rhizomes, red fescue forms a dense elastic turf in the second year, an elegant herbage. A dry climate and fertile light soils are especially suitable for sowing red fescue. Shades well. Seed consumption during planting – 10-12 g per m2².

Meadow bluegrass is a recognized leader among lawn grasses; in the United States, lawn improvement is carried out with this lawn grass, since this plant is vegetatively renewed and provides a high-quality lawn for decades. Differs in high frost resistance, tolerates even the most frosty winters. In the first year after planting, meadow bluegrass grows slowly and requires constant attention – removing weeds. The lawn sown by it gains full strength in the second year, successfully displacing weeds and actively gaining growth. Moisture-loving, it can grow on various soils, but most of all prefers light sandy loam and loose loam. The best time to plant bluegrass is mid-August. Before planting, you need to soak the seeds for a day, the consumption when planting is 10 g per m2² – plant on soil thoroughly cleared of other plants.

The creeping bent (escaping) is widespread in nature, its shoots about 30-40 cm long spread along the ground, take root easily – the plant quickly spreads over the entire available area. These qualities put it in the first place in the creation of sports lawns. The creeping bent is planted mainly not by the seed method (it forms a small number of seeds), but vegetatively – shoots planted in the spring at a distance of 10-12 cm from each other, after one and a half to two months they form a dense carpet. The plant is moisture-loving, does not tolerate drought.

Pasture ryegrass is moisture-loving, does not tolerate drought and frost, prefers a temperate climate. The best soil for planting it is loam with good drainage. The plant is distinguished by fast germination – after two weeks it completely covers the area allocated for it. After frequent mowing, it grows quickly, especially if you carry out regular feeding. However, a beautiful lawn based on perennial ryegrass is possible only in the first year – in the second year the grass becomes rare. Typically, this plant is used on lawns with annual replanting. Seed consumption – 14-15 g per m2².

The second way to create a lawn is a roll lawn

Laying a rolled lawn on a prepared soil area (removing weeds and loosening) will allow you to get a lawn almost immediately. Roll lawn is especially popular abroad, it is used for quick landscaping of park areas after the completion of earthworks.

What is a roll lawn? These are layers of finished turf with a grass cover, owing their name to the method of transportation – they are transported in rolls, like a carpet.

In landscape design, a roll lawn is used in areas near borders and tree trunks, to strengthen the banks of artificial and natural reservoirs, to repair lawns – even sports and ground.

Such a lawn is grown for a little over a year in special nurseries, the resulting sod (the top layer of soil up to 10 cm, saturated with plant roots) has such a high density that it does not break when cut and rolled into a roll.

The market offers two types of rolled lawn – turf with mature grass up to 18 months old, soil thickness on it up to 15 mm, rolls (strips) sizes 400 mm by 2000 mm; turf with young grass up to 10 weeks old, there is no soil on it, it is replaced by a plastic mesh with a nutrient medium applied to it, the size of rolls (strips) 750 mm by 3000 mm.

How to make a lawn

Carefulness and care is important in preparing the lawn, otherwise the seedlings of the lawn grass will be suffocated by weeds. All construction waste must be completely removed, taking as long as necessary. After that, you need to take care of drainage.

Reference: drainage will avoid stagnation of water under the lawn; when creating sports lawns, a drainage device is mandatory. There are two ways to organize drainage:

1. a pit with a depth of about 600 mm comes off, the walls of the pit are given the shape of a square with a side of 450 mm. Large stones and bricks are laid in the first layer in the pit, tamped tightly – the layer thickness should be 400 mm. A layer of sand or fine gravel is laid on top (also rammed) – the thickness of this layer is 100 mm. The top layer is laid with fertile soil, followed by tamping (rolling) – a layer of 100 mm;
2. the second method is more complicated and laborious – fragments of bricks and large stones, sand (fine gravel) and fertile soil are laid over the entire area of ​​the future lawn. This method is rarely used, the first method of device drainage is usually sufficient.

So, the debris has been removed, the drainage pit is set up – we continue to make the lawn. Sparing no effort, we will dig up the entire area of ​​the future lawn, removing all (all!) Rooted weeds – for this you can use a manual cultivator. After that, the plot of land is neatly leveled, sprinkled on top with a layer of 80-100 mm of vegetable soil (sift it through the mesh beforehand), for example, compost combined with sand and peat. If the existing surface layer of soil is sufficiently nutritious for lawn grasses, the layer of prepared vegetative soil can not be added, although in this case you will have to devote more time and effort to the young lawn – here an optimal compromise is to apply a bulk layer in a smaller layer, say, 50 mm.

Having completed the filling of the soil layer, it must be rolled with a roller (weighing at least 300 kg), having adapted for this, for example, a metal barrel filled with water. After rolling, we leave the area of ​​the future lawn for two weeks – subsidence will appear in places and weeds will germinate. We level the area of ​​the lawn again, filling up the soil, remove the root systems of weeds, and again roll the area with a roller. A day before sowing lawn grass seeds, it is necessary to fill the area with water – it is necessary for the soil layer to be moistened to a depth of 200 mm, therefore, the water consumption should be at least 10 liters per m2². On the day of planting, we introduce a complex of mineral fertilizers into the soil (consumption rates – according to the instructions for them), after which we pass the area for the lawn with a rake. For sowing lawn seeds, you need to choose dry and calm weather. After sowing the seeds according to the instructions for them, you need to carry out the next soil compaction with a roller weighing 200 kg, then water the area using a garden hose and a diffuser nozzle. Do not allow the formation of gullies! In the first year, the lawn will require daily watering, a dense layer of sod will be formed only in the second year, but for now, do not let the lawn dry out. If the carpet of young lawn grass is not uniform, weeds drown it in places – this is a signal that the area of ​​the lawn is not uniformly wetted. When arranging a lawn in an area with a hot climate, its area is covered with burlap or a special material – sponbond before germination.

It is important to water the lawn at least every day using a spray nozzle (in no case use an open stream of water from a hose!), Water consumption – at least 10 liters per m2².

How to lay a roll lawn

With regard to the selection of debris, drainage and leveling the surface of the site – everything is the same as when creating a sown lawn. After that, and a week before laying the roll lawn, it is necessary to introduce complex fertilizer over the entire area of ​​the area covered by the roll lawn, mixing it with the soil layer with a rake. Enclose the edges of the site with a cord stretched over wooden pegs.

It is important – if the rolls of turf were purchased no more than three days before laying, it must be stacked in a pile of 3-4 rolls; if the laying time for some reason is delayed, and the lawn rolls are already on the site – you need to unfold and place them in a shaded area, watering if necessary.

When to lay the rolled lawn, it is best at the end of autumn, before the first frost. Laying is also possible in early spring (March-April), but in this case, watering will be required. Choose a styling day – clear and dry.

It is easiest to start stacking from the side closest to the turf stacks. When laying a strip of turf, it is necessary to press it to the ground with a special press, consisting of several thick boards and equipped with a handle – we press, not drive in! After tamping, check the levelness of the laid sod using a board and a level (the level is placed on the board). Pits and bumps are leveled – in the first case, by adding soil, in the second – by cutting excess soil with a bayonet shovel. Attempts to “trim” the sod will damage it and kill the plant.

Before laying the sod, study it carefully – remove the weed rosettes. If the turf contains a lot of grass with wide leaves and weeds, throw it away without regret. Having laid the first layer, we lay the second, tightly pressing it to the next one – each row should begin and end with either a whole strip or half of it. Do not stack lawn trims around the edges!

It is only necessary to move on the laid lawn on the board, and do not step on uncovered areas at all. The strips of the rolled lawn should only be laid in a straight line, if a curved edge is required, lay a straight strip and then cut it along the desired contour. When laying adjacent rows of lawn, place them offset, as in masonry.

To backfill the gaps between the strips of the rolled lawn, you will need mulch designed for heavy soils.

Reference: what is mulch – a material of organic or inorganic origin, placed on the surface of the soil to retain moisture in it and suppress the growth of weeds. Organic mulch consists of shavings and wood chips, sawdust and garden compost. Inorganic mulch consists of gravel chips, special landscape fabric or recycled glass, its purpose, in addition to controlling weed growth, in landscape decoration.

The mulch is placed in the slots between the turf strips using the back of the rake and broom, making it easier to combine the turf strips into a single carpet. At the end of the work on laying the rolled lawn, trim its edges, giving them the desired shape. To get even, straight sides, place a flat plank along the edge of the lawn, stand on top of it and trim the sod around the edge of the plank. For straight, curved lines, use a garden hose – using it to set the desired line, trim the sod along it.

In the spring, do the first work on the new lawn: the first cut should include only the ends of the grass carpet, gradually lower the knives during subsequent mowing. If small pits and bumps appear, mulch them – this will smooth them out. It is important – a rolled lawn tolerates drought worse than a sowing lawn, so water abundantly in the absence of rain.

How to choose lawn grass seeds

Demand creates supply – more and more companies are entering the market offering lawn mixtures. Are their products quality? Or, instead of the elite lawn they claimed, wheatgrass and dodder will grow?

The first step is to determine for ourselves what type of lawn is needed: sports, undersized, parterre, ordinary, meadow, flowering or a lawn for a shady garden.

Find out which grasses are suitable for the required lawn, for example, for a shady lawn in an orchard (50% daylight), red fescue is suitable as it is most resistant to low light. If the composition of the grass mixture, persistently offered by the seller, contains less than 60% of fescue seeds, they are trying to cheat you.

Never make your choice of lawn seeds based only on the label name (or the name in the price list) – for many years, a frankly low-quality product has been disguised as loud brands.

The low cost of the lawn mixture should be alarming – elite lawns cannot cost 100 rubles. per kg. Carefully study the composition of the lawn mixture – if it contains meadow timothy, reed or meadow fescue, hedgehog, wheatgrass or rump, then this mixture is by no means noble. The listed herbs are used only for ordinary meadow lawns, so to speak, for cheap landscaping..

Average price for grass mixtures (seed consumption 2-4 kg per 100m²): for a Mauritanian lawn – 340 rubles / kg, a parterre lawn – 230 rubles / kg, a meadow lawn – 183 rubles / kg, an ordinary lawn – 158 rubles / kg.

How to choose a roll lawn

The first step is not to confuse meadow turf and lawn – the latter is grown from special nurseries, while the first is cut from a regular meadow.

When choosing rolled sod, pay attention to the characteristics of the sod layer – it must be the same with the natural environment in your area, otherwise the lawn will not be able to take root.

Vegetation should not show signs of any diseases and contain any pests – attentiveness and only attentiveness, no trust in the word! Examine the root system – there should be no damage, it should not be too dry. A high-quality grass carpet is uniform and dense, its color is rich. No yellowish spots of grass are acceptable. There should not be a significant number of weeds among the noble grass. The mowing of the rolled lawn should be fresh, the roots in the turf are tightly intertwined with the earthy layer, with a high content of young (white) roots. Shake the roll lightly by the edge – it should not break.

Average price for a rolled lawn: parterre – 100 rubles / m², park – 90 rubles / m², meadow – 80 rubles / m².

Lawn care at a glance

Remember that the grass of the lawn is alive, without watering and feeding it will die. Without timely mowing, treatment and “repair” the lawn will turn into a dubious lawn. Only constant care will make the lawn a subject of your pride, the envy of neighbors and guests.

Be aware that there are no lawn grasses that can control weeds on their own. There is no lawn mixture that does not require maintenance – perhaps, a natural meadow somewhere in the outback.