Green lawn at your home: choosing lawn grass

Not a single classic landscape design of a site is complete without a lawn: after all, against its background, both compositions and solitaire plantings look very advantageous. A soft green lawn can also play a functional role: be a playground or a pleasant place for a picnic.

However, in order for the lawn to be pleasing, it requires care, in particular constant mowing. A classic lawn needs to be mowed at least once a week. Not all land owners have so much extra time or desire to do this. But there is a solution to this problem - a lawn for the lazy!

How to sow?

A low-growing lawn is sown in the same way as an ordinary lawn. In order for the green carpet to please the eye for a long time, it is necessary to carry out the following preparatory work several months before sowing (for example, in the fall):

1. Clear the area of ​​debris. At this stage, it is necessary to remove stones, stumps, and also decide the fate of existing plantings.
2. If necessary, cut off the turf. Dig up the site. Remove weeds, for example using herbicides.
3. Level the surface and organize drainage.
4. Make sure that the layer of fertile soil is at least 15 cm and compact it.

Sowing seeds can be done manually or using a seeder. To achieve uniform seedlings, you need to sow half of the seeds, passing along the site, and half - across.

It is advisable to leave some seeds in reserve. They can be used later if bald spots appear.

Where do weeds come from on the lawn?

Planting a lawn is preceded by weed control in the selected area using herbicides and careful digging of the soil, during which all rhizomes are removed. But even such drastic measures do not save gardeners from the appearance of unwanted “guests” on the green lawn. Weed seeds are carried by the wind, birds, animals, and the gardener himself can bring them on the soles of his shoes.

A beautiful lawn is the dream of many gardeners, but not everyone can grow it.

Weeds greatly spoil the appearance of the lawn; in addition, they tolerate the vagaries of weather and trampling much better than “cultivated” grass, gradually displacing it. Not everyone is ready to do constant weeding. To save time and effort, it is recommended to plant varieties of grasses that prevent the appearance of weeds.

Dandelions, along with thistle and wheatgrass, are one of the most persistent weeds; it is almost impossible to completely remove their rhizomes from the soil.

They, of course, do not have the properties of herbicide chemicals. These fast-growing rhizomatous perennials form a very close interweaving of roots, “clogging” the surface layer of soil. An extremely dense turf is formed. When weed seeds fall on your lawn, they cannot get into the soil. And the shoots from those that are already in the ground will break through to the surface.

Which herbs to choose?

A lazy person's lawn consists of grasses that grow slowly and therefore do not require frequent mowing. Breeders have done their best for you and have developed many suitable varieties. Let's look at the grasses that are most often used to create a dwarf lawn.

• Red fescue. Has excellent grass density. Strong underground shoots. It grows quickly, covering the “holes”. Relatively heat tolerant. Short. The varieties Rossinante and Maxima 1 have proven themselves well.
• Modified red fescue. It forms a dense turf, produces many above-ground shoots, and takes root quickly. Drought resistant. Does not tolerate low mowing.
• Red fescue. Adapts well to different conditions: relatively shade-tolerant, drought-resistant. It is especially worth noting its resistance to salinity, thanks to which it can be planted on roadsides. Dense grass.
• Meadow bluegrass. Strong underground shoots. Resistant to trampling and low mowing. Tolerates heat well. Resistant to diseases.
• Bentgrass shoots. Beautiful dense thin-leaved grass stand. Good winter hardiness. It grows back slowly. Rich green color.
• Sheep fescue. It has high disease resistance, is drought-resistant, winter-hardy, and tolerates salinity. Grows in all types of soil and tolerates shade well. It has a dense standing density.

In what ratio should all these herbs be combined? Of course, if you wish, you can independently develop a lawn mixture taking into account the characteristics of various grasses. But this is absolutely not necessary, because knowledgeable people have already collected various mixes for you. You can find them on store shelves. For example, consider the composition of the Lilliput grass mixture:

• Red fescue 'Rossinante' 25%
• Meadow bluegrass 'Oxford' 25%
• Modified red fescue 'Mariza' 20%
• Red fescue 'Maxima' 1 15%
• Red fescue 'Greenlight' 15%

Another popular mix is ​​the low-growing Mini-Green lawn:

• Red fescue 'Reverent' 55%
• Modified red fescue 'A >

It all depends on the conditions

As cliche as it may sound, it's true. If you got the plot

- plant moisture-loving plants.

, and on sandy or rocky soils - those flowers that naturally grow on dry rocky areas. If you fulfill this (not so difficult, you must admit!) condition, the flower beds will require minimal care - after all, the plants find themselves in their familiar environment, where they are able to take care of themselves.

A very simple example to illustrate this idea. Astilbe and brunnera are two extremely unpretentious plants that can grow and bloom magnificently without any care at all. There is only one “but”: they need partial shade and plenty of moisture. And if I can provide them with the first, then the second can be difficult on our sandy soils. And I understand that it will be impossible to do without any care here - either water it in dry weather, or refuse to grow these plants...

How to care?

A low-growing lawn will require the same care as a regular lawn, with the exception of the frequency of mowing.

In early spring, you need to ensure that no puddles form on your future lawn. For this reason, it is advisable not to walk on the area where there will be a green lawn during the snow melting period. If a hole does form somewhere, then you need to pierce the ground to drain the water. Otherwise, rotting processes may begin. Fertilizing the lawn should be done after the onset of warm weather. Like other plants, lawn grasses need nitrogen and phosphorus during the early growing season. These elements contribute to the growth of green mass and roots.

In areas with arid climates, the lawn must be mulched with a layer of fertile soil to reduce the amount of evaporated moisture. The lawn also needs aeration after winter, as the soil has become compacted. Using a simple fork or special aerator rake, the turf is pierced evenly. And of course, you need to carry out general cleaning (scarification): use a fan rake to rake off moss and felt.

In summer, the lawn needs to be watered. The amount of watering depends greatly on specific weather conditions.

Approximate recommendations for watering the lawn: once every 3-4 days, moisten the soil to a depth of 15-20 cm. This activity is best done early in the morning or at sunset, as the bright sun can lead to burns.

In addition, in summer the lawn needs fertilizing every 2-3 weeks.

Autumn lawn care activities are approximately the same as in spring: fertilizing, aeration, combing.

As for cutting, it must be carried out depending on the growth rate of the grass. It is necessary to maintain the grass height at 4-7 cm. This is where the main advantage of a low-growing lawn comes into play, because it will only need to be mowed a few times a year.

How to prepare an area for a lawn

First you need to decide where you will have your lawn. You may, of course, want your entire plot to consist exclusively of lawn, but practice shows that this is very rare.

Any plot, even the smallest one, consists of zones - there is always a relaxation area where you can sit on a sun lounger with a book, a barbecue area with a fireplace or just a barbecue, a utility area with buildings, flower beds, beds and garden trees.

As a rule, the lawn is located where the recreation area is planned - usually this is the space adjacent to the house. And before scattering seeds there, the area for the lawn must be prepared.

Preparation consists of thoroughly cultivating the land and freeing it from weeds. It is better to carry out this treatment twice - in the fall before frost and in the spring before sowing.

Preparation is a very important part of planting your lawn. How thoroughly you cultivate the soil will determine how your lawn will look. After all, we want to have a well-groomed, flat, beautiful clearing near our house, and not an area with unevenly growing grass.

Preparation comes down to the following:

• The lawn area needs to be leveled. To do this, after the soil is dug up in the fall and the main roots of the weeds are removed, the area must be properly leveled with a rake so that there are no uneven spots, bulges or holes. Keep in mind that you will not get rid of weeds right away, no matter how carefully you remove the soil, there will still be weed seeds in it, which will begin to emerge in the spring. Therefore, you will not get by with simply cultivating the land;
• after this, it is advisable to cover the dug up soil with something - cardboard, oilcloth or plywood. Then during the winter the earth will settle slightly and some of the weed seeds will die;
• in the spring, after the frosts have subsided, you need to dig up the soil again and leave it until about mid-May. At this time, it will already be clear whether burdocks, dandelions or wheatgrass are growing in this area. The roots of these plants must be pulled out in such a way that not a piece remains in the ground, otherwise they will appear again;
• If you have patience, then after you have removed the weeds in May-early June, carefully dig up the area under the lawn again and also cover it with dense material. In the fall, you will remove it, dig up the soil and leave the area for the winter. Next spring you can safely plant lawn grass there;
• If you absolutely do not want to put off creating a lawn for another year, you can start creating a lawn this year. However, you need to choose a lawn grass that crowds out weeds.

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Some hobbyists do the following to get rid of weeds: they cover the lawn area with sheets of cardboard, sprinkle store-bought soil on top of it in a layer of about 8-10 cm, and plant seeds on top.

In this case, the weeds really won’t make their way onto the lawn, and the cardboard will turn into humus over a few seasons and fertilize the soil.

However, this is an expensive and time-consuming method, especially if the lawn area is large enough. Then it’s easier to buy a rolled lawn, spread it near the house and forget about weeds forever. But not everyone can afford it. We have another way - to choose grass for the lawn that will destroy weeds.

Advantages and disadvantages of a dwarf lawn

Low-growing grass has a number of advantages:

• aesthetics - even in winter the coating retains its green color;
• high resistance to trampling and weather conditions;
• unpretentiousness to the composition of the soil;
• long period of existence - up to 30 years with proper care;
• resistance to pests and fungal diseases.

Among the disadvantages of low-growing grasses is the financial cost. A dwarf lawn, compared to other types, requires a larger amount of seed material. It is also important to choose the right composition of the herbal mixture. It should include thin-leaved, slow-growing crops. They will allow you to create a universal coating that does not require frequent mowing - “a lawn for the lazy.” It is enough to do this 3-4 times throughout the entire season. This is an ideal option for those who do not have the opportunity to devote a lot of time to caring for the site. For comparison, a lawn with tall grass has to be mowed several times a month.

Lawn grass that can be cut 3-4 times per season.

Monocultures or grass mixtures?

Monoculture is one type of lawn grass that is used for seeding. Grass mixtures are collected from the seeds of several plants, which have good germination.

A beautiful green lawn can be obtained either from one type of grass, if you choose it correctly, or from a grass mixture. But experts note that in the case of a mixture of herbs that are selected to take into account the advantages and disadvantages of each plant in the herb mixture, this is easier to do. Lawn grass mixtures contain both perennial and annual and biennial grasses.

But there is one argument that explains the choice in favor of monoculture. The fact is that despite all the care for a lawn created from a grass mixture, you will not get the ideal color and texture, as is the case with sowing one type of lawn grass on the site.

Types of lawn grasses

Let's look at the grasses most commonly used for dwarf coverings:

• Bentgrass is a bright green plant that retains its color throughout the summer. Its height does not exceed 12 cm. Gardeners are attracted by the ability of bentgrass to grow quickly. One plant covers an area of ​​more than 1 m² with shoots in one season. The bentgrass bushes merge and form a continuous carpet. The grass tolerates trampling well.
• Clover is another popular perennial plant from the low-growing group. Beautiful pink and white spherical flowers give the lawn an original look. Clover's root system is very powerful, so it can be safely planted on steep slopes. Among the disadvantages, gardeners note the plant’s ability to absorb moisture, as a result of which after rain the lawn becomes very slippery and moving on it is dangerous.
• Meadow bluegrass. The plant remains green until late autumn. The lawn sown with it looks excellent for several years. The bushes grow extremely slowly, forming shoots underground, which creates a dense turf. Bluegrass loves water, so it needs to be watered often.

Meadow bluegrass grows quickly and survives the winter well.

• Simple red fescue is a low-growing grass that is especially popular among gardeners. The bushes cover the area evenly, giving the lawn the appearance of a fluffy green carpet. Prolonged drought has a detrimental effect on the plant.
• Hairy red fescue is the most suitable plant for a dwarf lawn. Long, stiff stems look like wire. Hairy fescue is resistant to temperature changes, drought, and unpretentious to the soil.

Low-growing lawn grasses are usually used for sowing in the form of a mixture in which the ratio of different plants is selected in such a way that the decorative characteristics of each are clearly expressed.

Maria Ivanovna, a summer resident from the Volgograd region, shares her impressions of the clover lawn:

“My daughter told me about this lawn. At first I didn't really want to. I thought it would look cheap. And they imprisoned me - and I didn’t regret it. That's so beautiful! The flowers are like white balls on a bright green blanket! Then they turn brown. Then we mowed them, and the meadow bloomed again. However, in wet weather our rug becomes too slippery and slugs appear on it. This is the only inconvenience."

Kotula bristle-haired

Visually, the kotula looks like a rug of different density and height. The flowers have the shape of a hemisphere, the diameter of which reaches 1.4 cm. They can grow both in partial shade and in sunlight. It blooms for two months: May – June.

Cotula Squalida (Leptinella Squalida) is an excellent evergreen for walkways. The small leaves of the plant resemble a fern; they are green in summer and turn bronze-red in autumn. At first glance they are fragile and delicate, but in fact they do not trample. After a person passes, the cover of the cotula is quickly restored.

Classification of low-growing lawns

Depending on the grasses sown, the following types of low-growing lawns are distinguished:

• Clover. Several varieties of clover can be used simultaneously. In sunny weather this area looks especially beautiful. Considering that this plant is considered a weed, sow it away from vegetable beds.

Do you dream of walking barefoot on your own lawn?

• Lugovoy. The lawn is sown with a mixture of cereals and legumes. Various shades of colors look great against a green background.
• Mauritanian. The most colorful of all. Thanks to flowering plants, it can change color many times throughout the season. In addition to various herbs, poppies, cornflowers, and daisies are planted on the lawn.
• Parterre. A selected combination of grasses from red fescue, meadow grass and raygrass provides an unusually beautiful appearance of the lawn. Seeds are sown mainly in prominent places well lit by the sun. The ground lawn is finicky - it is very sensitive to lack of moisture and requires careful soil preparation. He has to be cut more often than others.
• Sports. It is characterized by rapid growth and high resistance to mechanical stress. The root system is perfectly formed. The grass mixture includes perennial raygrass, red fescue, meadow grass, timothy grass, taken in certain proportions.

There is another interesting type of lawn - rolled lawn. It is a layer of turf with overgrown grass. It is enough to spread such a roll on the site - and the lawn is ready. The grown grass takes root well, allowing you to easily and quickly fill the required area.

Rolls are a completely finished plant cover without weeds.

Best time to seed your lawn

Herbal mixtures are frost-resistant and can be sown not only in spring and summer, but even in autumn. However, experts believe that it is best to plant lawn grass in the spring in order to be able to eliminate all the shortcomings during the season. By winter, the plants will get stronger and gain vitality.

Review from gardener G. I. Nesterov (Voronezh region):

“I sowed the Liliput variety in April. By August, a powerful carpet had formed, which is very pleasant to walk on barefoot.”

Fallowing a plot - what is it and how to do it

To completely get rid of weeds and normalize the soil, fallowing is carried out. In agricultural technology, fallow is an unseeded field that is “gaining strength.” That is, it is plowed and left unseeded. For lawns, the fallowing procedure will not take a whole season, but only 1-2 months. Therefore, it would be the right decision to start work at the end of March in order to be able to sow seeds by May. During the fallow period, emerging weeds must be constantly removed. Periodic combing of the soil with a fan rake will help awaken dormant seeds. They will help saturate the top layer of soil with air and thereby speed up the process of weed germination. Then all that remains is to manually remove harmful plants. An alternative to fallowing can be considered sowing green manure. For example, 1.5 months before sowing the lawn, sweet clover and lupine are planted. After this period, the area is plowed. Thus, the grown shoots will be “dug” into the soil. They will help enrich the soil and create favorable conditions for the growth of lawn grass.

Fallowing the area.

Grass sowing technology

Preparing the site involves clearing it of stones, stumps, bushes, and other objects that will interfere with the new lawn. The earth is carefully dug up, weeds are removed and the surface is leveled. Regardless of whether water stagnation occurs or not, a drainage system must be installed. Crushed stone, brick chips, and sand are suitable for its arrangement.

Before planting grass, fertilizers are added to the soil. You cannot sow on a freshly dug area. The soil must catch its breath, sit down. Weeds that appear during this time must be removed.

For planting seeds, choose a windless, dry day. Sowing is done manually or using a seeder to a depth of no more than 1.5 cm. This is done in a cross way - first in one direction, then crosswise.

To compact the soil above the seeds, you need to walk with a roller.

The seeded surface is carefully compacted and watered using the sprinkling method - the water is distributed to different heights and in different directions using a special watering gun. The next watering is carried out after the first shoots appear. It is important to correctly calculate the area of ​​the lawn so as not to make a mistake and buy the right amount of seeds.

Several recommendations for choosing and planting a lawn

What you need to know about lawn work

Stack of finished rolls

To begin with, let’s look at the installation of ready-made rolled grass, grown by specialists.

Before laying a rolled lawn, the following activities are carried out:

• The soil is dug up to a depth of 100 mm, and during the digging process it is cleared of stones and weed roots.

• Next, the surface is carefully leveled, large pieces of soil are broken up - a rake, shovel and other suitable garden tools are used. The surface should not have any differences, otherwise the strips of grass carpet will be difficult to fit together.
• When the site is prepared, you can purchase rolls of lawn. Moreover, when choosing or ordering, it is very important to check the most important condition - they must be cut no earlier than one, maximum two days before installation.

Growing a lawn in a nursery can take a year or more, depending on the type of surface and the types of grass used. Recognized as ready-made, the coating is cut into individual strips of standard width, rolled into rolls and sold. And the accepted practice is that the lawn is cut only after an order is received for it. Until this time, the coating is looked after - watered and trimmed. Therefore, a finished lawn is quite expensive.

• Individual rolls are laid according to the principle (of brickwork), that is, with the joints shifted. Each of the transverse joints should be approximately in the middle of the fabric of the previous row.
• After all the elements of the lawn have been laid, the area should be thoroughly watered, taking into account the characteristics of the particular type of grass.
• After a month, the roots of the lawn grass will grow into the prepared soil, and you can walk on the surface and use it for active games.

We repeat: all this is very easy to write and read. But in reality, doing such a delicate job of installing a living lawn and maintaining it until it is fully established is an extremely difficult task. And it would be more correct to attract agricultural technicians to implement it.

rolled garden lawn

Self-planting lawn

If you decide to sow lawn grass yourself, this process will be significantly cheaper. True, the final result will be visible only after a year or two, or even more, when the root system of the grass covers the soil with a continuous carpet.

The stages of sowing the lawn mixture are arranged in the following order:

• The mixture is sown on the prepared area of ​​the territory, which should be leveled and slightly moistened. It is good to sow on cloudy days in any period, from spring to autumn.
• It is not recommended to plant on sunny, and especially very hot days, as a crust may form on the soil, which will slow down seed germination.
• On average, 30÷50 grams of seed are used per 1 m², but the manufacturer indicates the exact amount on the packaging.

• Sowing can be done manually or using special devices. For example, seeds will be scattered more evenly if holes of the required size are made in a plastic bottle or tin can, focusing on the size of the seeds.

When shaking the device with seeds over the prepared soil, you need to ensure that the material is distributed evenly.

There are also special seeders that will significantly speed up and simplify the sowing procedure.

• When the seeds are scattered with the required uniformity and density, they must be covered with a thin layer of soil, using a fan rake for this.
• As a rule, after mixing, the soil is compacted by rolling it over the surface of the sown area with a heavy metal roller.
• After sowing, the site must be watered regularly to prevent a hard crust from forming on the soil surface. Therefore, it is better to water on cloudy days.

In general, it is better to sow a lawn in the fall, when the hot days have already passed and the humidity is high. And then the fallen snow will cover the young crops with a “blanket”, which will simultaneously replenish the soil with moisture.

• The first mowing of a grown lawn is carried out after the grass has risen by 100÷120 mm. This initial operation must be carried out with extreme care. After mowing, the lawn should have a grass height of approximately 40 mm.

How to choose lawn grass for your garden and yard

The author of this article, frankly speaking, is far from thinking that any serious sellers or suppliers of lawn seeds will sell in one region or another those varieties of grass mixtures that are unsuitable for local climatic conditions. Simply, trading like this is at a loss; they can lose much more on complaints than they can gain from selling. This means that in local specialized stores the buyer should find those mixtures that are exactly suitable for the existing planting and care conditions. Although, of course, there must still be control so as not to become a “victim” of the banal “human factor”. When, say, due to an oversight, some box was sent in a completely wrong direction.

Conscientious sellers usually give intelligible advice. True, even here you can find some marketing tricks in order to obtain benefits. Let's say a buyer is persistently presented with a lawn that is supposedly selected specifically for children's playgrounds. For children, as they say, you will give your last. And only then will you see that the composition of such a grass mixture is no different from a traditional sports lawn, with a cost three times lower.

So there are no universal solutions here - attention and a thoughtful approach are required. To help you make your choice, you can offer several recommendations, shown in the table below:

* * * * * * *

Lawn grass seed mixtures sold by domestic and foreign manufacturers, as a rule, are optimally designed for the weather conditions of our country. However, when purchasing one or another option for seeding material, it makes sense to study not only the characteristics indicated by the manufacturers, but also consumer reviews.

Based on the analysis of the reviews left, the proposed rating-review of grass mixtures for lawns was compiled.

Features of lawn care

In order for a green carpet to always have an attractive appearance, it must be properly cared for. Water your lawn at least 2 times a week. Fertilize the soil periodically - at least 3 times a year - in April, late May and autumn (September-October). If necessary, when the grass turns yellow, even in summer, feed it. Use special ready-made fertilizers for lawns, which must contain potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen. The main rule when applying fertilizing is its uniform distribution throughout the area. Otherwise, the height of the grass cover may vary.

If your lawn begins to turn yellow, use fertilizer.

Review from Olga Galatinova, owner of a country house (Tver):

“I have two large dogs, so I sowed the area with low-growing lawn grass for them to walk. Experience has shown that when a layer of dead grass accumulates, it is necessary to pierce the turf around the perimeter of the area to restore aeration. After this, pour plenty of water.”

Pankov Vladimir Ilyich, pensioner (Lipetsk):

“We have a lawn with white clover, bluegrass and red fescue. It is very simple to contain plants from spreading beyond the boundaries of lawns. We mulch first, put high borders around the flower beds, and you can tear off the excess with your hands if it grows too actively. I will add that in the dry summer the lawn practically does not rise in height at all, and in the rainy season it grows to a maximum of 15 cm by the end of August.”

Olga Prokopenko (Saratov region):

“I purchased the Lazy Lawn mixture for sowing. It contains clover seeds, but I added more. It turned out very well - there are white lights on the green field. By the end of summer, the dried inflorescences were almost invisible in the grass.”

A low-growing lawn is the best solution when there is no time to maintain the decorative appearance of the grass. With minimal effort, it will perfectly complement the landscape design of the site and will delight you with its greenery until late autumn.

A lawn gives a well-groomed appearance to overgrown areas of land, getting rid of weeds, and ennobles parks, gardens, and suburban areas with green cover. Lawn grass protects the ground from erosion and dirt, improves the soil, maintains the required level of moisture in it, and absorbs dust.

Before you go shopping in our catalog, you need to understand what kind of lawn you need and how to choose it

Decorative - lawn for beauty and landscape design. It is assumed that no one will walk on it. An example is a low-growing lawn with white clover.

To strengthen the soil - suitable for outdoor sports games and active recreation. Covers the soil and protects from weeds (paths between beds, soil under trees), grows well in the shade. Strengthens slopes against sliding soil. Suitable for adverse climatic conditions.

Grass that does not require cutting

For those who have absolutely no time to care for the lawn, but still want to have a cozy green lawn at their dacha, artificial grass is the best option.

In this case, you will have to spend a lot of money, but only once, when purchasing artificial lawn rolls. Over time, the costs will pay off. Such a lawn can last from 3 to 15 years (depending on quality and price), and it does not need to be watered, mowed, fed or treated with pesticides and herbicides.

Recently, landscape design specialists have begun to combine natural coverings with artificial ones. This is very convenient when you need to allocate space for regular children's games or football and tennis activities. Often artificial lawns are laid out near gazebos and swimming pools, and around trees.

It’s not difficult to choose such grass; there are three main types:

1. Backfill. This type of grass is made from polypropylene and is very durable and wear-resistant. The pile in it is tougher and thicker, there is an additional bulk layer of rubber crumbs and crushed crushed stone. Suitable for sports lawns. Its special advantage is that such grass does not slip, even if you decide to play football on it immediately after the rain.
2. Half-filled. To make such grass, special elastic polyethylene is used. The beautiful and soft coating holds up well when walked on, so it is suitable for children's playgrounds or for organizing a picnic with friends. This lawn does not use a layer of crushed gravel.
3. Unfilled. Such artificial grass can hardly be distinguished from natural grass. This covering is intended only for decorating the landscape; you cannot walk on it, otherwise it will immediately lose its quality appearance.

Still, this is an option that is worth taking a closer look at. Artificial grass is fireproof and environmentally friendly, can withstand frost and heat, and retains its shape and rich color for many years. And if you suddenly need to install a lawn in another place for some design reasons, you can always re-lay the artificial turf like a regular carpet.

Main types of lawn grasses, with examples of varieties

For wet soils

Dog bentgrass - forms a beautiful decorative covering. Ideal for parterre lawns. Disadvantages - does not tolerate trampling and drought. Lives no more than 5 years.

Frost-resistant

Suitable herbs for the Russian climate. With proper care, a lawn made from these grasses will last for decades.

Drought resistant

Shade-tolerant

Fast growing

Resistant to frequent mowing

Grass "Liliput" - planting rules

"Lilliput" is distinguished by a number of features:

• It takes root well in any climatic conditions.
• Frost-resistant, shade-loving.
• Tolerates drought and trampling well.

Experienced summer residents, when choosing seeds for sowing a lawn, most often purchase the “Lilliput” mixture, because it is the least demanding of care compared to other similar herbs.

What herbs are included in the Liliput lawn mixture?

Fescue: A plant that lives for several years, has roots that spread underground in different directions. In living nature, such a crop grows in meadows. Fescue grows rather slowly, especially in the first season, but then quickly picks up growth rates. A distinctive feature of this grass is its appearance: rather narrow flow. Small thickness and very dense shoots. This crop survives cold and frost, drought or shade quite well, and also does not require special fertility from the soil.

Meadow bluegrass: perennial, winter crop. This grass loves soil rich in minerals, best in the south or north of the country. Active growth of bluegrass is observed in spring. It tolerates heat, lack of frequent watering and trampling.

Bentgrass shoots: it has short roots that are quite developed and tend in different directions. This crop is also a perennial plant, its shoots are low and thin, and some of its soft emerald leaves lie directly on the ground. The plant grows quite quickly, so it needs a lot of free space.

Fine bentgrass: a variation of the previous grass species. It has a fairly developed root system, not too dense and thick shoots and abundant foliage. It tolerates winter and drought well and does not suffer from trampling at all.

All care for such grass consists of planting seeds, the only drawback of which is their small size, so to sow even a small area, you will need quite a lot of mixture. Immediately before planting seeds, the soil must be dug up and all weeds removed from it. You can add a little sand to the soil, which will slightly slow down the growth of grass. Then the soil is compacted and moistened.

The Lilliput lawn grows quite slowly, but thoroughly, so it does not have to be mowed too often. In fact, it is mowed for the first time only in the second year of growth. The grass "Lilliput" requires almost no additional fertilizers; sometimes it should be treated with special agents against diseases. Such a lawn should be watered in the morning, about twice a week, if the summer is hot. You should not water the “liliput” in the heat of the day to avoid sunburn and premature yellowing. In other words, it can be noted that the “Liliput” lawn fully justifies the nickname given to it - “grass for the lazy.”

Lawn grass for the lazy - "Lilliput", the planting and care of which is described in this article, consists of seeds selected in such a way that any gardener or summer resident can enjoy its beautiful appearance without spending any effort at all on caring for it. lawn. The fabric of this lawn is always thick, quite neat and dense, and the grass pleases with its softness.

How to choose lawn grass mixtures

Our online store sells ready-made herbal mixtures. Depending on the function of the lawn, the percentage of herbs in them varies. The composition combines fast-growing, but soon degenerating herbs and slow-growing, but long-living herbs. The seeds are selected in such a way that a green cover is obtained already in the first year after sowing. It is created by fast-growing herbs while slow-growing ones gain strength. In the second year, the main grass will become stronger and replace the temporary, fast-growing grass.

Sports turf

Designed for stadiums, children's and sports grounds. Often the mixture contains perennial ryegrass, tall fescue, and meadow bluegrass. The grasses form a dense turf. Does not require frequent mowing - it is enough to mow once every 10 days, to a height of 2-4 cm. Fertilizer application, aeration 2-3 times a year. The lifespan of a lawn is about 7-8 years. A sports lawn is best suited for a private home because it is resistant to stress, trampling, and mechanical damage.

Simple Lawn (Universal)

The grass mixture includes bluegrass, tall fescue, red fescue, and perennial ryegrass. Occasionally weeding may be required. Regular haircut is required - once a week. Aeration, fertilization 1-2 times a year, mulching. For your dacha, you can choose a simple lawn, because the covering must be resistant to trampling and drought, and shade-tolerant.

Lawn "for the lazy"

Lawns “for the lazy” are an undemanding surface suitable for different types of terrain. The mixture contains seeds of low-growing grasses that do not require frequent mowing. If you want to choose a lawn that you don’t have to carefully and regularly maintain, give preference to this option.

meadow lawn

Mixtures of cereals are used - such as sainfoin, clover (red, white, hybrid), and varieties of alfalfa. The seeds are sown onto the existing grass stand. The mixture for meadow lawn blooms picturesquely, forming bright lawns and clearings. Care consists of cutting several times a season and watering.

Moorish lawn

A beautiful lawn grass mixture for the garden. Consists of seeds that are capable of displacing weeds. 95% of the mixture consists of bentgrass, meadow grass and other grasses. The remaining 5% are seeds of annual and perennial flowers, poppies, cornflowers, calendula, flax, chamomile, etc. The Moorish lawn requires almost no maintenance; it is enough to cut it twice a year. Moorish lawns are mowed in the spring, before the flowers grow, and in the fall, after they fade. In summer, the lawn is not mowed so as not to damage flowering plants.

The selection of grasses begins with determining the type of lawn!

Should you choose rolled or seeded lawn?

The created lawns are divided according to different criteria. And we can start, perhaps, with the general “technology for obtaining” this decoration of the site.

• The most obvious and most often used option is to sow, grow and periodically trim on a prepared area. It is with this approach that the selection of herbs becomes especially important.

• The second option is to use already grown grass, supplied in turf rolls that are rolled out onto a prepared area.

To arrange such a lawn, landscape design specialists are usually invited, but such a service will not be cheap. Of course, no one forbids purchasing a rolled lawn, which is specially grown on soil of a certain composition, and with a set of grasses optimized for local conditions. That is, this method of creating a lawn can be applied in practice independently.

However, achieving the desired effect yourself is extremely difficult, and quite often such attempts end in failure. Simply because of the large number of nuances that need to be taken into account when improving the territory - from careful leveling, otherwise the lawn strips will not fit well together, to creating optimal conditions for the grass to survive, since any replanting becomes a kind of stress for most plants.

• The third option is an artificial lawn, for which you will also have to prepare the base. This is where the help of agricultural technicians is not required.

This option is perfect for those land owners who do not want or do not have the time to put the territory in order on their own and do not have the funds to maintain a gardener. Artificial grass does not require cutting or watering; it will always have the same height, with its “perky look”, if you do not look at it from a close distance, making the area green and well-groomed.

This lawn option is also quite expensive. And it is best used in such local areas where constant supervision is provided. The problem is that such coverings sometimes become objects of theft - they are quite easily rolled up and taken away.

Types of lawns by general purpose and “degree of grooming”

Before purchasing seed or roll material, you need to decide what functions you plan to assign to this covering, since there are several types of lawn.

Parterre lawn option

Parterre lawns are considered the most “prestigious”. But at the same time, they are also the least practical, since they have exclusively decorative value. True, their decorativeness really cannot be doubted. – similar area decorations are used to arrange the territory around historical and museum complexes, administrative buildings, and memorial sites. With a common feature - moving through them is strictly prohibited!

The parterre lawn is distinguished by the high density and uniformity of the planted perennial grass, which has the ability to bush - this is fescue of different varieties, meadow bluegrass, thin bentgrass and other grasses that are traditionally included in the sowing harvest.

The ground lawn is a decoration of the territory; it makes it very neat and presentable. However, it did not find popularity among owners of average suburban housing. The reasons are on the surface: the disadvantages of this type of grass cover are much greater than the positive qualities (which, we repeat, can be attributed exclusively to decorativeness).

• The ground lawn is not intended for recreation, walking on it, or for children to play. If it is used in this way, even with very low intensity, then the beauty will quickly be spoiled, the lawns will soon lose their “aristocratic” and neatness.
• The cost of both the seed and the finished rolled version of the parterre lawn is significantly higher than the price of more functional analogues.
• The area for a parterre lawn (with any technology for its creation) requires ideal leveling. Even very small errors will definitely appear.
• Not only will creating such a lawn require a lot of time, effort and money, caring for it turns into another, rather difficult and almost daily task, not only during the summer, but throughout the year.

Conclusion: on the territory of a summer cottage or area around a country house, such a lawn is useless. It will “eat up” a considerable piece of space without any practical benefit, and caring for it will be too expensive.

Landscape lawn type

This version of the lawn is more common, as it can be found on almost every summer cottage. Many home owners sometimes don’t even sow or grow plants on purpose, but simply trim the grass that grows everywhere. Such a lawn is called ordinary or universal.

This type of coating is not susceptible to moderate mechanical impacts and loads. It is installed in gardens, around pools or fountains, in picnic areas, and in children's play areas. That is, you can move around them without fear of disturbing their appearance.

If specially selected herbs are used for planting, they will eventually kill the weeds growing in the area - such plants, when properly selected for climatic conditions, show high survival and recovery, and, as a rule, do not stand any chance for the usual weeds. Some weeds themselves can become material for organizing a lawn, but in this case, you must remember that the surface will have to be adjusted quite often.

For sowing a garden lawn, grass mixtures are used using both those plants that go to the elite “parterre” and others, cheaper and less demanding: perennial rygars, sheep and furrowed fescue, common and/or forest bluegrass, rhizomeless wheatgrass, common comb grass and others.

Meadow and Moorish lawns

If you don’t want to frequently trim your property, but want to add something closer to nature in the design of your lawns, there is a wide range of meadow lawns to choose from.

The meadow lawn looks very picturesque and natural - as if all the plants grew independently, and were not carefully selected by specialists. Each of us has probably encountered similar picturesque meadows with scatterings of wildflowers while walking through fields or forests.

Flowering herbs that have a small height are selected for the seed mixture. A good selection also involves flowering throughout the summer, usually alternately. That is, after the flowering period of some plant species ends, others begin to bloom.

Most often, the seed material of meadow lawns, typical of the central region of Russia, includes seeds of plants such as alfalfa, blooming with yellow or blue flowers, white or purple clover, sainfoin, horned lilyweed and others.

The Moorish version of the lawn is very similar in appearance to the meadow one. The difference between them is that a meadow lawn is more like, let's say, a clearing in which wildflowers have naturally grown. And the Moorish lawn can rather be compared to a large flower bed, “run wild and crawling out of its boundaries.” If the plants in the seed mixture are correctly selected according to their flowering time, then such a lawn will delight the eye with its forbs from spring until the first frost in autumn.

In addition to flowering herbs, the mixture for a Moorish or meadow lawn must include seeds of cereal plants. They will help drive out most weeds from the site, and will also create the perfect green background for a bright, colorful flowering palette. And for this brightness of the flower carpet, poppies and cornflowers, daisies and flax, hollyhocks and calendula, mouse peas and perennial gypsophila, and many other plants, the number of which sometimes amounts to several dozen, are pumped into the mixture!

Meadows, including Moorish lawns, are a very attractive “thing”. But it should be remembered that this version of lawns, in addition to its undeniable external advantages, has many serious disadvantages.

pros

• The naturalness of the design of the territory - in this parameter they have no equal.
• Seed material, as a rule, is not particularly demanding in terms of soil and grass care;
• Both meadow and Moorish lawns do not need to be mowed frequently, since the plants must mature and produce seeds that will sprout next year.

Minuses

• There is a need for more frequent watering. If plants lack moisture, flowering will be sluggish and unattractive. In addition, the plants may not produce seeds for next year. Well, the lawn itself will turn yellow and take on an unpresentable appearance.
• In order for the lawn to look neat and beautiful, weeds that can clog the planted herbs will have to be removed manually. And this task is very difficult.
• Flowering meadow grasses will inevitably attract hordes of insects collecting honey and pollen. Some of them are harmless, but the majority will be bees, wasps, and bumblebees, which can sting if you are not careful in such a neighborhood. This means that you yourself need to be on guard when relaxing on such a lawn, and you will have to watch your children very carefully.
• A meadow or Moorish lawn will not be suitable even if one of the household members has a predisposition to allergic reactions. Flower pollen, unfortunately, is one of the most powerful allergens, and can provoke a situation with serious consequences.

However, if the area of ​​the site is large enough, and there is no possibility or desire to completely cover it with an ordinary lawn, which requires frequent mowing, then a certain area can be allocated for a flowering meadow.

It only remains to add that despite all the shortcomings, meadow and Moorish lawn options remain very popular.

Sports turf

This type of seed is used to grow lawns at sports facilities or in areas reserved for physical education and play activities. The seed mixtures contain herbs that have increased resistance to external stress. Examples include the following:

• varieties “Platinum”, “Stravinsky” and “Neruda” of perennial and perennial ryegrass;
• varieties “Miracle”, “Julius” and “Panduro” of meadow grass;
• varieties "Blenheim", "Maritsa" and "Trophy" of red fescue;
• varieties "Cobra Nova" and "Kromi" bentgrass.

A sports lawn requires careful and constant care, only in this case it will look properly. And its creation and maintenance in proper condition is a very difficult and expensive task. Therefore, sports lawns are often replaced with artificial ones.

Artificial turf

Artificial lawns are made from polymer materials and are sold in rolls. “Synthetic grass” in some cases becomes a good replacement for a natural lawn, and most importantly, it does not require constant maintenance.

By the way, not only traditionally green artificial lawns are on sale. You can also purchase colored, very bright inserts, and with their help you can either simply complete the necessary sports markings for the playground, or make the children’s yard area “more fun.”

Synthetic lawn coverings, as a rule, have high wear resistance and can withstand intense loads. They allow water to pass through perfectly, so the artificial lawn will have a good drainage layer under it, which will allow precipitation to be drained away in a timely manner.

Thanks to this coating, children can play on the playground even after rain, as there will be no puddles or dirt on it.

Previously, artificial grass was made from only polypropylene, but today it is most often made from polyethylene, as it is less slippery and softer.

In addition to drainage artificial turfs, products are produced that do not allow water to pass through; they are used on indoor courts, as well as in children's playrooms.

On sale you can find non-fill, semi-fill and in-fill synthetic lawns:

• Non-fill coatings perform a decorative role, that is, they are used on areas where there is no traffic.
• Semi-fill coatings are used much more often - they are usually practiced on children's and sports grounds. Such lawns are covered with fine sand on top, approximately to ⅓ of the height of the pile. Thanks to this layer, the coating acquires a certain rigidity and resistance to medium loads.

• Infill lawn options have higher rigidity and resistance to intense loads. To strengthen them, both sand and rubber granulate are used.

Artificial turf also has its pros and cons, which you also need to know about.

pros

• With the help of artificial surfaces, you can very quickly put the area in order, without waiting for the sown lawn grass to sprout and gain strength.
• It is quite possible to carry out the work of laying lawns yourself. They are laid end-to-end on previously prepared soil. The connection of two adjacent mats is carried out using special adhesive strips or glue.
• The most important thing is that artificial lawn does not require fertilizing or mowing. It will always have the same height. If there is no rain for a long time, then you should only wash off the dust from the grass - yourself using water from a hose.
• The service life of high-quality artificial turf is about 15 years.
• The material from which the coating is made is resistant to low and high temperatures, it will not turn yellow or freeze.
• In addition to short-pile artificial grass, today manufacturers have even developed and produced lawns with meadow flowering grasses.

Minuses

• Unnatural material. Despite all the similarity to a natural lawn, its imitation cannot replace natural warmth and naturalness.
• In case of falls (inevitable during children's games), synthetics can leave very unpleasant welts on the skin of the feet, akin to burns.
• Labor-intensive preparatory processes when creating a lawn include leveling the area, creating a drainage base, laying and carefully compacting a sand layer.
• Over time, artificial turf creates an environment favorable for the development of various pathogenic microorganisms.
• Polymer materials can get very hot in the sun, and walking on “hot grass” will not be pleasant. Yes, and a smell can appear in such conditions.
• If a synthetic lawn is damaged, it will not recover itself, unlike natural grass. Therefore, you will have to replace partly or even completely the entire coating.
• Artificial turf is quite expensive, and it is better to lay it in an area that will not attract undue attention from the outside. As already mentioned, such synthetic lawns have more than once become the subject of special attention from intruders.

artificial grass