Gardening by Judith Adam Customizing your lawn Unlike idealized golf greens, domestic lawns are almost never made from one singular variety of grass. They are initially grown from blends of three or more grasses with differing characteristics; they are then augmented by wild turf plants such as clover that arrive as volunteers. Putting aside the care and maintenance which you provide, domestic lawns perform differently depending on the kinds of grasses growing in each location. Grass lawns surrounding newly built homes are installed by a contractor, and it’s unlikely that you’ll be offered a choice of grasses. When purchasing an older home, the established grass lawns may have been planted decades ago and their profiles may be a mystery. In both circumstances, you’ll own lawns that are made up of unidentified grass species. Watching these lawns grow, you’ll become aware of their potential success or possible problems. Despite your best efforts to deliver maintenance, you may have the wrong selection of grass plants for the soil, light and moisture conditions in your location. If you have a high percentage of moisture-loving Kentucky bluegrass growing on sandy, quick-draining soil, bald spots will eventually appear where the grass is chronically starved for moisture. If lawn grass refuses to grow in dappled shade under trees, chances are that you don’t have the ryegrass and fescue grasses that are adapted to growth in partial shade. No one wants the work and expenses required to replace an entire lawn that is not performing well. It’s easier and far less costly to renovate the lawn, adding the seeds of more suitable grasses that will change the performance of your turf areas. This is something which you can do yourself in one or two days with easily available materials. Making lawn renovation an annual spring project should significantly boost the health, colour and thickness of lawn areas. Over three Revitalizing a Lawn, the Permanent Way With no petals to distract us, winter is a good time to consider basic issues such as a thinning lawn. If repeated fertilizing is at best a temporary solution, consider a more lasting renovation. As a reward, find a place for a shrub that delivers beauty from July to December. 44 | www.snowbirds.org
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