Where Lawns are Concerned.
Where lawns are concerned, they are just a group of similar plants growing closely together.
All lawns begin life in the same way, hopefully being sown in cultivated and well prepared soil.
Once seed starts to germinate, you get a better sense of the individual nature of each plant.
And after a fairly brief time, as each plant develops, thickens and merges into its neighbour, that sense of individuality is lost.
However, if you remember to think of it in that way, it may help to prevent you from doing some of the harmful things that are done to lawns through lack of thought.
Like not walking on a waterlogged lawn which compacts the wet soil further and makes matters worse.
Or allowing weeds to establish and spread, thus out-competing the grasses.
If you have ever had a close look at the different styles of grass surfaces at a typical golf club, you cannot fail to have been impressed by how good they look. It is worth remembering that we too can have lawns as good as those if only we give them the treatment and respect that they deserve.
Many different grass species exist, each having different characteristics and tolerances. A successful general purpose mix of grass species may include grasses which grow rapidly, or which spread laterally. Dwarf varieties of grass or fine leaved varieties. Grasses which will tolerate drought or excessively damp conditions. Shade tolerant varieties — the list of possibilities goes on.
So remember when you buy some turf or grass seed – each will only have the varieties of grasses that it has, and the average mix of species will ‘deal’ with the average setting or situation, or for the average useage. But it will not cater for everything that we might throw at it.
Remember, a lawn is just a group of similar plants growing closely together, and if you forget that fact, you do so at your peril.