The secret is in the colour. Germinal is so confident about the world-beating hue of its So Green grass, which uses specially-cultivated Abernile ryegrass, that it planted the stuff on the side of a house for its product photo (above). Yep, that sure is green. And it promises to stay green all year round. If you want to create a fabulous lawn you’ve got two main options: buy turf (which is expensive) or sow grass seed (which is not). Grass seed is also widely available in more varieties, giving you the freedom to create the kind of lawn you want.

People find this mix works well for them because of the ease of establishment and high quality lawn that is created. What’s in the mix? Fescues, bentgrass and ryegrass species are all used in this mixture. This unique blend gives the best results for your lawn. Professional Uses Sun vs shade: Most types of grass prefer full sun, but fescue is a shade specialist (and will also grow in sunny spots). A ryegrass/fescue mix is the most reliable choice if your garden has shady bits.

The best lawns start with the best grass seed. We reveal our favourite seed mixes for growing your own lush green carpet

For one of the cheapest seed mixes in our rundown, Sprogs Dogs is a clear all-round winner. The only downside is that birds love it, so invest in some netting while your lawn takes root. Lawn Fertilisers Lawn UK supply a range of different fertlisers for various applications, including preseeding fertilisers, and Spring and Autumn feeds.’ These hard-wearing grass seed mixtures are designed to be easy to grow and fast to establish, with minimal effort. Like all grass seeds, they will benefit from a pre-seeding fertiliser such as Growmore.

Spreaders Spreaders are a great way to evenly distribute seed and fertiliser. A variety of different types are available.’ The main downsides are that it’s slow to establish, and the ryegrass-free mix requires warmer temperatures to germinate. Sow it in spring and you should see a healthy growth in early summer. If all of these fail, bark mulch is your best bet. It is not as pretty as grass, but it will keep the mud at bay, is easily topped up and the dogs won’t mind walking on it. Lawn Care Our lawn care range is designed to make Lawn UK a one stop shop for all your lawn care needs. We’ll be expanding our lawncare range over time, with new products constantly being added to our range.’Now of course these estimates can vary greatly depending on the weather. If it’s warm and damp, germination tends to be faster, cold and dry, and germination can take much longer. The onslaught of my two labradors means I have paved over most of my lawn, but the remaining grass turns nasty even with frequent cleaning and raking. Can you suggest tough, flat, non-grass groundcover? Don’t forget to consider giving your new lawn seed the best possible start. You can use a pre-seeding fertiliser such as Growmore or Blood, Fish & Bone. Key specs – Contains grass types: Chewings fescue, red fescue, bentgrass; When to sow: Spring/autumn; Mowing height: 1-2cm; 1kg covers: 20m ²

I have heard that rupturewort ( Herniaria glabra) is another good alternative. It is soft underfoot and drought-tolerant, even on sandy soils. Establish it as above. Football pitch vs posh lawn: If your lawn needs to withstand endless close encounters with kids, pets and BBQ guests, then go for a predominantly ryegrass mix. But if you want a smooth ornamental lawn, avoid ryegrass completely and go for bentgrass, with some fescue in the mix to help it survive underfoot. We understand how important a perfect lawn is. Your lawn is the centrepiece of your garden and achieving the perfect striped finish is part of every Saturday routine. That’s why we’ve created our range of high quality lawn seed mixtures. It will produce a lush lawn providing you with a lovely consistent green colour all year round. Whilst a mixture like Premium Green is of ornate quality, this mix is high quality and provides a tough ground cover. It is a hard wearing mixture, perfect for lawns with high traffic density.Bentgrass is a fine ornamental grass that can be mown very short for a beautiful velvety lawn. It’s rather high-maintenance, so it’s usually mixed with fescue to make the lawn harder-wearing and weed-resistant. Many all-purpose grass seed mixes include a dash of bentgrass to soften the overall look of your lawn. What grass seed mix is best for me and my garden?

Alternatively, you can buy a distributor available from our online store. (These can be used for putting down lawn seed as well as fertilisers.) Again, go over the area one way and then repeat at right angles to ensure proper distribution of the seed. When you have sown your seed, rake it in lightly and, depending on weather conditions, your lawn will begin to show in 14 – 21 days. Improving existing lawns Five weeks on now and the grass is really starting to come through, even if it’s slow growing, with well over half of the seeds germinating. The process is similar to that above. Sow at 50g/m 2, slightly less this time. Rake or scarify the existing lawn, spread the seed, and tread the seed into the lawn. That’s not a silly question, honest. All the products in our line-up are seed mixes, made up of different grass varieties that each have their pros and cons. If you require a finer quality lawn seed mixture, you can browse our range of high quality mixtures here.With patience you’ll get a lovely low-maintenance lawn that’s happy to grow to 4cm or more before you need to get the mower out. And if you need proof that it’s hard-wearing enough to withstand lots of heavy trampling, it’s undergone extensive testing by third-party researchers including the Sports Turf Research Institute. It’s best to try and keep of the lawn area for around 6 weeks after sowing. This is to allow the seeds a chance to get established. Key specs – Seed types: Abernile perennial ryegrass, fescue, bentgrass; When to sow: Spring/autumn; Mowing height: Optimum 2.5cm; 500g covers: 14m ² Or try sowing with clover, which will blend in the bare patches and survive drought much better than grass. Clover ‘White Nanouk’ is a low-growing variety.