Monthly gardening tips & advice - May

Jobs for May: Lawns

Get involved with No Mow May – take a break from mowing and let wildflowers in your lawn grow up to bloom and provide pollen, nectar and shelter for insects and other wildlife. You can ‘no mow’ your whole lawn or just part of it. Leave it long until at least August for maximum wildlife benefit.
Mow regularly if you want to maintain a traditional lawn. Even within a traditional short lawn, reducing trimming to once a fortnight to allow flowering will improve provision for biodiversity. Add the clippings to the compost heap or leave them on the lawn to act as a mulch to retain moisture, especially in drought-prone areas.
Define the lawn edges using a half-moon edging iron or spade, creating a 8cm (3in) ‘gutter’ around the lawn. This will prevent grass creeping from the lawn into your borders.
Most lawns grow perfectly well without feeding. If you still need to boost your lawn and the ground is moist, choose an organic, pelleted or granular lawn feed, as these have less environmental impact. Follow the recommended dose.
See our guide to spring/summer lawn care.

Sow a new lawn and re-seed bare patches in early May. Prepare the ground for sowing by forking over, weeding, levelling and lightly firming. If you don’t get it done early in the month, then wait until September.
Avoid walking on or mowing newly sown grass until it has reached 5–8cm (2–3in) tall. Even then, only give it a light trim, with the blade at the highest setting.
A flush of weed seedlings appearing in a newly sown lawn is nothing to worry about. They will disappear once regular mowing begins.
Water new lawns (either from turf or seed) in dry spells to make sure they establish well. Ideally use stored rainwater collected in water butts.
Wait until at least September if you want to lay turf, as it won’t establish well if laid now and may die in a hot, dry summer. It will settle in much better during the autumn.
See our video guide to creating a new lawn.

In a hot summer keep your lawn a little longer than usual. Also consider leaving the clippings on the lawn, as a mulch, to help hold in moisture. See our advice on lawn care in droughts.
Remove unwanted weeds using a trowel or grubbing tool. Bear in mind that the presence of wildflowers such as dandelions in lawns greatly increases their value to wildlife.

If moss is a problem (usually only in damp, poorly drained lawns) and you want to get rid of it, remove it with a spring-tined rake and add it to the compost heap. See our guide to moss in lawns.
See all our lawn care advice.

Jobs for May: Lawns