Some things to consider when planning your garden is:

• How much sun versus shade do you have in your garden?
• What type of soil do you have?
• Do you have pets or kids that will be using this space on a regular basis?
• How is your backyard used by you and your family?
• What are council requirements in your area for hard and soft surfaces?( Council requirements generally give more credits for lawns, as they absorb water which in turn puts less pressure on the storm water systems)
• Mowing ,general maintenance and available water can influence your turf choice as some varieties are more demanding than others.

Once your plan is completed it makes it a lot easier to work out how much turf,plants materials etc that you will need if drawn to scale.You can even add some colour to the plan to help you clarify the different ares in your garden and this will also make it easier to read.

It may well be, that the mower you are using now may not necessarily be the right one for the job.

Lawn mowers come in two types-rotary & Reel.

Reel Mowers

Reel mowers have been around the longest. It is not the most popular in recent years with most people replacing for rotary type mowers.

Reel mowers are mostly used by people with smaller yards (usually 30m2 or less).

Some good facts about the reel mowers are they are quite and non polluting and virtually free to run. Most people believe that they provide a better quality cut from the scissor type action that they produce.

They are also very light in weight. Reel mowers come in a variety of blade patterns but for general lawn cutting a 5 blade pattern would be the best choice.

A lot of couch lawn owners prefer to use the reel type mowers as they feel they get a much better “carpet look” to their lawn.

Rotary Mowers

Rotary mowers were introduced in the 1950’s. The advantages of the rotary mower are that you get a much faster cut. You can adjust the height at which the lawn is to be mowed quickly and with ease. It is also much easier to cut lawns at a higher height with rotary type mowers.

All rotary mowers use power to make them operate. Usually it is electricity or gasoline (petrol). Rotary mowers are either push, self propelled, walk behind or sit down (ride-on mowers).

The blades are normally 18” to 24”, with the ride on mowers which are normally 36”.

Ride on mowers are a great choice for people with large yards (over 200m2). If you use a ride on mower in a small yard you will find you will go over areas twice or three times, are you will be unable to get into smaller corners.

The most important thing to remember when cutting your lawn with any mower is to have the blades nice and sharp.

Edges

To cut a lawn where it meets an edge such as a pathway or fence etc, you will need to use a trimmer or edger. You can find these at very reasonable prices at your local hardware store or lawn mower store. They give a nice, tidy finish to your lawn and they are very easy to use.

Some of the most common problems are too much clay or too much sand in the area. When you have a lot of clay or sand in the area we recommend you put down a good turf underlay or topsoil. You should put a minimum of at least 50ml but remember that the more soil you put the better outcome.

If you think that your soil is good to go and you do not think you need any new turf underlay or topsoil you can always purchase a soil tester kit for around $20 and test the soil before you start. Your Ph level should be sitting between 6 and 7.

If your soil is not good enough you can purchase a pre-mixed turf underlay from your local landscape supplies.

If you live in the eastern suburbs of Sydney we recommend Skippens Landscape Supplies at Matraville 9316 4044 or if you live in the Western Suburbs we recommend either Blacktown Nursery & Landscape Supplies 9627 5445 or Turtle Landscapes 9629 2299.

Lawn Aeration

Sometimes lawns need to be aerated in very dry conditions so that water and fertilizer can absorb into your soil. In backyards that are the opposite and very moist also need aeration to enable the turf to have some air flow. This will help the lawn to dry out and thus helps new growth in the root system.

You can use a garden fork for the smaller yards. What you need to do is stab the fork into the ground that needs the aeration. You will need to really disturb the soil underneath the lawn. You will need to repeat this process in consecutive rows about 10cm apart. This will leave the area in a bit of a mess so we suggest you aerate in the warmer months when the turf is actively growing, so it can repair itself easily after a few weeks of mowing.

For the larger areas you can hire a larger type of lawn aerator that you fill with water and roll along the ground which would cost you about $47 a day or if you are feeling a little lazy, you can hire a petrol powered aerator for around $139 a day. Both of these types of aerators’ are available from your local Kennard’s Hire.