From the picturesque lawns at the Chateau De Versailles to the crisp striped tennis courts at Wimbledon, many acclaimed lawns from across the world help bring beauty to their surroundings. In this article, we look at some of the world’s most famous lawns and delve into what makes each one unique.
Wimbledon Grass Courts
If you are a tennis fan, you most likely have taken awe of the grass courts at Wimbledon. These grass courts are meticulously maintained throughout the year to ensure they look their best and perform well. The grass courts play from May to September (excluding courts used for the championships). One aspect that makes this a truly unique lawn is that the soil base of the courts must be hard and dry to allow the ball to bounce correctly. The courts are rolled and kept covered throughout competitions to ensure they are kept dry and firm for play.
Opera House – Bennelong Lawn
The Bennelong Lawn in the Royal Botanical Gardens overlooking Sydney Harbour, the Opera House and Harbour Bridge showcases Australia’s most iconic skylines. This area is used for some of Australia’s largest events, including the New Year’s Eve fireworks and Vivid, while regularly utilised for corporate events, gala dinners, and weddings. TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda was the chosen turf type for this area due to its high wear tolerance and fast repairing nature, all while being aesthetically pleasing.
Chateau de Versailles
The Chateau de Versailles, located in France, boasts beautiful gardens and meticulously manicured and unique lawns. Although the Main Lawn is the biggest grassed area throughout the garden, it is the four grass sections located at The Orangerie that are the showstopper. Each section is carefully manicured into unique circular shapes, creating a picturesque landscape.
Buckingham Palace
An iconic building known throughout the commonwealth is Buckingham Palace. It has beautiful gardens with 325 wild plant species, 1,000 trees, and 30 species of breeding birds. One of the standout lawns at the palace is the Main Lawn, which consists of mixed grasses and chamomile, which is always beautifully striped. This space is used for annual garden parties and official events for the Royal Family.
The White House
The world’s most iconic building is The White House, which has not only one but two spectacular lawns, the South Lawn and the North Lawn. The South Lawn boasts two ceremonial gardens (the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden and the Rose Garden), a tennis and basketball court, a swimming pool, a putting green, a running track and even a helicopter landing area. The North Lawn, often described as the front lawn, is commonly used as the backdrop for news broadcasters bringing the latest US political news across the globe.
Scott Morrison Told to “Get Off My Lawn”
Here’s a throwback to 2020, when we saw the Australian Prime Minister told to “get off my lawn” mid-press conference! During the press conference, which was held in Googong, NSW, media teams set up in a new housing development on the front lawn of a recently seeded lawn. Once the man told off the Prime Minister and press crews, they retreated to the nature strip.
Check out the scenes from the press conference here…
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Science is all around us and when we use it, we can better understand how plants grow and how we can provide them with their optimal growing conditions. In this blog, we delve into soil pH, soil health, nutrients that your lawn needs and the important role of photosynthesis and how they all affect plant health and growth.
If your lawn is not performing at its best, or is struggling to absorb nutrients, you may need to do a soil pH test. pH measures the acidity on a scale ranging from 0 – 14, 7 being neutral, below 7 acidic and above 7 alkaline. The ideal pH range for turf is 6 – 7.5. When your soil is outside this range it can make it either difficult or almost impossible to absorb nutrients.
The process of measuring your soils pH might be easier than you think. Some pH tests are as easy as putting a probe into the soil and others require you to collect a sample of soil and mix it with a solution to give a reading. Soil pH test kits are readily available to nurseries and hardware stores, or can be purchased on our online Lawn Care Store.
If your soil pH is out of range, please check out our blog on how to correct your soils pH here for more information.
Why is Soil Health Important for My Lawn?
In combination to looking at pH, there are a range of other factors to consider when looking at the health of your soil. The soils’ ability to hold water is one. If your soil has become hydrophobic and repels water, the roots of the plant in the soil won’t be able to absorb water effectively. One way to tell that your soil is hydrophobic is if water runs off or pools on the surface, without being absorbed into the ground. If your soil has become hydrophobic, apply a wetting agent like our Lawn Soaker and aerate the soil.
Another factor to investigate when examining soil health is compaction. When soil is hard and compacted, it can make it difficult for water, air, and nutrients to go within the profile. To help assist with this, you can aerate the soil to help alleviate compaction.
Importance of Sunlight to Your Lawn
Like other plants, grass will convert energy from sunlight into a sugar called glucose through the process of photosynthesis. Without getting sunlight your lawn won’t be able to produce glucose, causing the grass to thin out and die. Grass also uses light to produce a pigment called Chlorophyll and when there is less light available to the grass throughout the cooler months, this can cause the lawn to lose some colour.
Different turf types can survive with different amounts of light. Buffalo grasses like Sir Walter DNA Certified Buffalo can grow with as little as 3 to 4 hours of direct sunlight. While other grasses like kikuyu require full sunlight all day to thrive.
What Nutrients Does My Lawn Need?
When looking at nutrients and your lawn, you can break it down into two different sections, Macronutrients and Micronutrients. Macronutrients are the primary nutrients for the health of your lawn. These are Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K). Micro nutrients are needed in smaller quantities, but still help contribute to a healthy lawn. These include Calcium, Iron, Manganese, and Zinc just to name a few.
When it comes to giving your lawn nutrients that it needs to thrive, we recommend using a balanced NPK and Micronutrient fertiliser, like our Lawn Solutions Premium Fertiliser, or our Exceed Liquid Fertiliser. Granular fertilisers will generally release nutrients to the lawn over a slower period, resulting in a longer and more sustained boost over a couple of weeks. Liquid fertilisers are better used for providing your lawn with a quick boost.
For more lawn care tips and advice, make sure you check out our other lawn care blogs here.
As the warmer temperatures of Summer start to transition into Autumn, now is a great time to focus on getting your lawn into shape before the cooler temperatures start to set in. Here’s some Autumn lawn care products that are great to use on your lawn when preparing for Winter.
Both fast and slow-release granules packed with essential nutrients and trace elements encourage strong growth and rich colour.
The slow-release granules will deliver a small amount of nutrients to your lawn each day for up to 12 weeks after the initial application to aid in sustained growth for best all-round results.
Contains 16% Nitrogen (N), 0.7% Phosphorus (P), 4% Potassium (K), 20% Sulphur (S), 1.5% Calcium (Ca) and 2% Iron (Fe).
Provides nutrients for turf growth and recovery.
Lawn Solutions Premium Lawn Fertiliser was developed specifically for use on Sir Walter DNA Certified Soft Leaf Buffalo and works equally well on other lawn varieties.
Lawn Solutions Australia’s ProPlus Natural Carbon Fertiliser is a professional extended-release fertiliser. This newly developed natural carbon based fertiliser minimises leaching by binding nutrients to naturally occurring carbon and is suitable for all lawn types.
9kg can cover up to 400m2
Improves soil structure and reduces leaching of nutrients
Increases water retention – helps retain up to 20 times its weight in water
Extended-release up to 90 days – bonding nutrients using peat moss
Contains nitrogen, potassium, sulphur and other essential micronutrients
Recommended for all lawn types
Lawn Solutions ProPlus Natural Carbon Fertiliser includes nitrogen, potassium, sulphur and other micronutrients. For lawns that are cut short and highly manicured, the mini-prill can easily make its way down into the lawn canopy to the soil where it can be absorbed by the plant’s roots as required to sustain even plant growth.
Oxafert controls annual grass-type weeds including Winter Grass, Crowsfoot, Summer Grass, Creeping Oxalis and Crabgrass before they appear.
Oxafert will prevent the targeted weed seedlings before they take hold, preventing them from growing and spreading throughout your lawn for up to 12 weeks.
Fertiliser contains a balanced ratio of Nitrogen 16%, Phosphorus 2.0%, Potassium 6.0%, Sulphur 16%, Iron 1.5%, and Magnesium 0.2% to give your lawn a boost.
Lawn Solutions Oxafert won’t harm healthy turf or inhibit turf root growth or recovery from damage.
Fertilise your lawn and control weeds in one easy application.
Pre-emergent Herbicide, Insecticide and Fertiliser
Oxafert Plus is a combination pre-emergent herbicide, insecticide and fertiliser for pre-emergent control of summer grass, crowsfoot grass, winter grass and creeping oxalis and curative control of African black beetle, Argentinian scarab and billbug in turf with the added benefit of a fertiliser to feed turf.
Warm season turfgrass areas, including fairways, golf tees, municipal sports fields, industrial and lawns.
Lawn Solutions Oxafert Plus Herbicide, Insecticide and Fertiliser is a convenient ready to use formulation for the control of certain annual grass weeds and insect pests in turf with added benefit of providing a fertiliser treatment.
Iron Guard Plus is a turfgrass-enhancing bio-stimulant that contains iron and amino acids, formulated to provide a boost in colour and turf strength. Iron Guard Plus will maximise turfgrass colour retention and promote lateral growth, making it ideal for improved winter dormancy transition.
You can apply Iron Guard Plus monthly when active growth is present or when nutrient deficiency symptoms are visible to maintain even growth and colour for your lawn.
Wanting to keep your lawn looking as best it can until the warmer months?
ColourGuard Plus is a liquid fertiliser and a natural grass pigment that instantly restores the colour of your lawn. Apply this 100% natural grass colourant to keep your lawn looking green year-round. Just one application can give your lawn up to three months of great colour.
ColourGuard Plus delivers micron-sized pigment solids into the tiny pores of leaf tissues via water spray. The colour pigments are organic and natural making ColourGuard a safe product for the environment, pets, and people. Once it’s dried, it’s locked in. ColourGuard won’t bleed, run, or stain once absorbed.
Easy to use, works on all lawns, in extreme heat, rain, cold and frost. Plus, ColourGuard reduces the amount of fertiliser and water your lawn requires. Lawn Solutions ColourGuard can dry on your lawn in as little as 2 hours when in full sunlight and will work like a lawn paint.
ColourGuard Plus is available in 4 convenient sizes:
Easy to use, works on all lawns, in extreme heat, rain, cold and frost. Plus, ColourGuard reduces the amount of fertiliser and water your lawn requires. Lawn Solutions ColourGuard can dry on your lawn in as little as 2 hours when in full sunlight and will work like a lawn paint.
Have you ever wondered what goes on behind-the-scenes of a working turf farm. It’s a lot more than just watching grass grow, it takes years of experience and dedication to develop the skills required to grow and harvest quality turf.
Toolbox Meeting
Every day is different, but on a normal day on a turf farm generally at the start of the week, staff will get together for a toolbox meeting. Workers gather to discuss the tasks and goals for the day, ensuring everyone is aligned and aware of their responsibilities. This coordination is crucial for smooth operations and efficient workflow.
Field Inspection
One of the first tasks of the day is field inspection. Skilled workers walk through the turf fields, carefully observing the health and condition of the grass. They look for signs of pests, diseases, or any other issues that may require attention as this can dictate some of the tasks required for the day.
How Grass is Planted on a Turf Farm
Most turf varieties in Australia will be planted by sprigs, which are small sections of mature grass stems. These sprigs are carefully placed and pressed into the soil, allowing them to take root and establish themselves.
Water is essential for the growth and establishment of sprigged planted turf. Workers operate irrigation systems to water the fields, ensuring the grass receives the necessary hydration. They monitor the water distribution, adjusting as needed to prevent overwatering or under-watering.
Workers regularly inspect and repair any issues with the irrigation infrastructure, such as broken sprinkler heads or damaged pipes.
Application of Fertilisers, Herbicides and Pesticides
Another essential task on a turf farm is the application of fertilisers. Workers carefully measure and apply the appropriate fertiliser blends to provide the grass with essential nutrients. This step contributes to the vibrant colour and overall health of the turf.
Pest and weed control are also a crucial aspect of turf farm management. Workers monitor the fields for any signs of pests or insects and implement targeted control measures.
Mowing of Turf Paddocks
Mowing the turf paddocks is a big task that is undertaken in some cases a few times a week to maintain the desired height and uniform appearance. Skilled workers operate tractors with large cutting decks to carefully trim the grass, promoting denser growth and a neat, manicured finish.
How Do You Harvest Turf?
Daily turf harvesting is an integral part of a turf farm’s activities and is usually started very early in the morning. When the turf reaches its ideal maturity, it’s time for a paddock to be opened for harvesting.
Skilled workers use advanced turf harvesting machines featuring robotics. These machines carefully cut the mature grass into turf rolls or slabs and stack it on a pallet. This task requires precision and attention to ensure the turf is harvested in optimal condition before loading onto trucks for delivery.
Machinery Cleaning and Maintenance
The day concludes with equipment maintenance. Workers clean and inspect the machinery, ensuring they are in optimal condition for the next day’s tasks. Regular equipment maintenance prolongs its lifespan and guarantees smooth operations.
We this gives you a good idea of how extensive turf farming can be and what goes into supplying premium quality turf. If you are in need of some turf, get in touch with your local Lawn Solutions Australia Accredited turf suppliers here.
You can find more lawn care tips and advice on our website here.
Creeping Indigo can be particularly annoying to remove from your lawn due to its large tap root. So, what is the best way to tackle this weed in your lawn? Let’s find out…
Creeping Indigo’s Identifying Features
Creeping Indigo is an herbaceous weed with flexible green stems and leaves arranged on alternate sides. The Creeping Indigo will spread out from all directions from its large tap root. The large tap root, unfortunately, can make it a difficult weed to remove fully.
Creeping Indigo flowers year-round. Its flowers are pink, pink-orange in colour. This weed spreads by seed, so removing it before the plant goes to seed will help stop it from returning to your lawn.
This weed is commonly seen throughout Southeast QLD, particularly in the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane, but has also been seen in northern parts of the Northern Territory.
Key Features:
Large tap root.
Grows flat on the ground.
Pink, pink-orange flowers 5-25mm long.
Tips for Stopping Creeping Indigo
As this weed spreads from its seeds, getting on top of any Creeping Indigo before it goes to seed is best. If it has gone to seed, it is recommended to ensure you are mowing with a catcher on, so the weed seeds are less likely to spread across the lawn. It is also recommended to ensure you dispose of your clippings appropriately so the seeds won’t grow back.
How to Remove Creeping Indigo from Your Lawn
If the weed is still young, you can look at removing it by hand. You will need to find the centre of the plant as this is where its tap root will be. Then, gather the stems of the weed in one hand, and in the other, use either a narrow trowel or a long knife to help loosen the soil around the long root. Then, you should be able to pull out the weed and its roots gently. If you are planning to pull this out by hand, watering the soil prior can help make it an easier task.
Creeping Indigo needs to be slowly killed otherwise if it is hit with round up for example it shuts down quickly and doesn’t absorb the herbicide down to the roots. Repeated application of Dicamba-based herbicides can be used as treatment. However, it is important to note that Dicamba-based herbicides are not safe to use on Buffalo lawns.
For more lawn care tips and advice, make sure you check out our other lawn care blogs here.
When mowing your lawn, there are a few golden rules to follow to get the best cut. In this blog, we will specifically focus on what height your lawn should be mown at and look at some helpful tools to help you measure your current height.
What are the Golden Rules?
Don’t cut your lawn too short for your variety. Measuring your lawn’s height of cut (HOC) will help you know if you are cutting either too high or too short for your turf type.
Measure how much you cut each time you mow. By doing this, it will help you stop removing too much of the leaf in one go. We recommend removing no more than one-third of the leaf with each pass.
Adjust your inputs to accommodate your HOC. The shorter you go, the more inputs your lawn will require. Measuring your HOC will help you adjust this appropriately.
How Do I Measure My Lawns Mowing Height?
There are a few different tools that you can use to help measure your lawn mowing height. Some mowers already have their mowing heights labelled for each adjustable height notch, but if your mower doesn’t have this, don’t fret!
Measuring Your Lawn Height of Cut with the Allett Grass Gauge
If you want an accurate way of measuring your lawn’s HOC, one of the best and most precise ways to do this is with the Allett Grass Gauge. This premium product provides accurate measurements while being easy to use. Push the prism firmly down onto the ground and look at the grass’s height against the scale.
The grass gauge also allows you to inspect the quality of your grass blade up close as if you were at a bug’s level on the turf. This will also help you inspect the quality of your cut and see if any your mower blades need to be sharpened or changed. The scale provides measurements up to 50mm high and has a 100mm wide viewing width.
Measure HOC on Your Lawn Mower
Another way to measure your HOC is to measure the distance between your mower’s blades and the bottom of the wheels. To do this, we first recommend disconnecting the spark plug from your mower to ensure that it won’t turn on. Then, turn the mower upside down on a flat surface. After this, use a tape measure and look at the distance from your mower’s blades to the bottom of the wheel. This will give you your lawn mowing height.
If you are using this method, we recommend taking note of all of the mower’s HOC at each notch, so you don’t need to repeat this process if you are changing your lawn’s mowing height in the future.
What Height Should I Mow My Lawn At?
Each turf type has a preferred range of mowing heights at which it can grow its best. So, let’s take a look at what height your turf type should be mown at:
Guideline for ideal mowing heights:
(General rule of thumb: shorter for summer, longer for winter)
Buffalo grass (Sir Walter DNA Certified): 30 to 50mm
Hybrid Bermuda (TifTuf): 5 to 30mm
Zoysia matrella (Sir Grange): 5 to unmown
Zoysia japonica (Zoysia Australis): 10 to ummown
Kikuyu: 30 to 50mm
Green couch: 5 to 30mm
Queensland blue couch: 5 to 30mm
Broadleaf carpet grass: 30 to 50m
Fescue: 30 to 50mm
For more lawn care and mowing tips and advice, make sure you check out our other blogs here.
Are you looking to elevate your lawn by lowering its height of cut (HOC)? Reducing your lawn’s HOC is not always essential, but it can improve the aesthetic of your home and lawn, especially if you are after a more manicured look. In this blog, we look at all you need to know about effectively bringing down your lawn’s HOC.
When lowering your mowing height, it is best only to do so while the lawn actively grows throughout the warmer months in spring and summer. This will ensure that the lawn can repair itself quickly. It is best to avoid doing this in autumn and winter.
Lowering HOC on Couch and Kikuyu
When giving Kikuyu and Couch grasses (like TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda) a low mow, you can take the lawn down almost back to dirt in the one mow, and the grass will be able to recover. Generally, you will only need to take the lawn down a notch or two below your preferred height and then, on your next mow, raise it back up to your preferred height. It is best to only do this in the warmer months when the grass is actively growing and should be avoided in autumn and winter.
Lowering HOC on Buffalo and Zoysia
When lowering your HOC on Buffalo and Zoysia grasses (like Sir Walter DNA Certified, Zoysia Australis and Sir Grange Zoysia), you may need to do this over a few goes as they will take longer to recover. Take your mower down by 2 or 3 notches, then wait for around 50% green up. Best to only do this in spring and summer and avoid in autumn and winter.
If you are wanting to maintain your HOC above this height, raise your mower back up to your preferred mowing height and continue to mow regularly.
If you want to maintain your HOC below this height after the grass has had a 50% green up, repeat this process of lowering your HOC by 2 -3 notches.
Recovery Tips
Once this is done, we recommend applying a granular fertiliser like our Lawn Solutions Premium Fertiliser and increase irrigation to the turf over the following days.
Once your preferred height has been achieved, to maintain your lawn at this height, ensure you are mowing the area regularly. As a general guide, you will need to mow your lawn regularly enough so that only one-third of the leaf is removed with each pass.
Lawn Solutions Premium Fertiliser
How to Get a Lower HOC When Cylinder Mowing?
If you want to lower your HOC when mowing shorter with a cylinder mower, it is best to use a rotary mower to do the height reset rather than using a sharp cylinder mower (this can be dependent on the height you want to achieve). This will take a couple of mows in different directions. Once the height is down, wait until new green leaf growth appears, then mow again with the rotary mower. After this, get your cylinder mower out, set it to your new HOC, and start mowing regularly. This will help tighten the surface.
What Height Should I Mow My Lawn at?
Different lawn types have different recommended mowing heights. Knowing your lawn’s recommended height will help ensure it looks its best.
Guideline for ideal mowing heights:
(General rule of thumb: shorter for summer, longer for winter)
Green couch: 5 to 30mm
Buffalo grass (Sir Walter): 30 to 50mm
Kikuyu: 30 to 50mm
Zoysia matrella (Sir Grange): 5 to unmown
Zoysia japonica (Zoysia Australis): 10 to ummown
Queensland blue couch: 5 to 30mm
Broadleaf carpet grass: 30 to 50m
Hybrid Bermuda (TifTuf): 5 to 30mm
Fescue: 30 to 50mm
For more lawn care tips and advice, make sure you check out our other lawn care blogs here.
When enjoying your lawn on a summer’s afternoon, flies and mosquitos can be quite a nuisance! So, what is the best way to keep the bugs at bay? In this blog, we will look at various mosquito and insect repellents that will help make spending time outdoors more enjoyable.
The Thermacell E55 Rechargeable Mosquito Repellent
Thermacell has a great range of mosquito repellents, but the E55 Rechargeable Mosquito Repellent is the best overall choice. This model is easy to use, starting with the push of a single button, protecting a 28m2 zone. The Thermacell has a 12-hour repellent cartridge included, which is unscented and easy to replace. They are easy to charge and have a run time of 5 and a half hours.
The Thermacell Insect Repeller Perimeter System – 2 Pack
If you want to cover a larger area, the Thermacell Perimeter System has a larger 42m2 protection zone from mosquitoes. This model still contains the same perks as the E55 but needs fuel cartridges and is not battery-charged. The model has a great variety of mounts and can be used out on your grassed area or patio.
Bug Fans
If your primary concern is keeping flies and insects away from food, a bug fan might be the way to go. Flies, mosquitoes, and other insects don’t like flying into air currents, so if you can have a current of air near where you are entertaining or near your food, there should be fewer bugs present.
Bug fans will spin quietly and have a soft, flexible blade that stops if they come into contact with an object, making them safe around children. Bug fans will usually have a reflective pattern on the blades, which flies and bugs will steer clear of. They are odourless, portable, and chemical-free.
Candles and Repellent Coils
If you don’t mind the scent of citronella, a candle or repellent coil might be the way to go. These are generally the cheaper, longer-lasting, standard way to go. However, they might not be ideal if you are not a fan of the scent or smoke they can produce.
There is a great range of citronella candles available; some of our favourites are the Santalum Estate Citronella Sandalwood Soy Candle, as it comes in a stylish glass container and has three wicks with a 35-hour burn time. Another favourite is the Waxworks Stone Tabletop Oil Burner. The sleek and stylish oil burner provides effective protection without using chemicals.
The Bite Shield Diffuser with 10pk Coil & Stand is another natural way to help prevent mosquitoes from entering your entertaining space. Each coil will provide up to 6 hours of repellency and comes with a handy shield diffuser.
Bug-A-Salt
If you are after a fun, safe and non-toxic way to conquer bugs the Bug-A-Salt will be your weapon of choice! This uses ordinary table salt, without using any batteries to defend your turf! All you need to do is load it up with salt, then aim and take shot at any pesky flies or mosquitoes!
For more lawn care tips and advice, make sure you check out our other lawn care blogs here.
Warm-season grass varieties include Couch, Kikuyu, Buffalo, and Zoysia grasses. These are the most common varieties found across Australia and for good reason. In this blog, we explain what warm-season grasses are and why they are the best choice for Australian lawns.
What are Warm-season Grasses?
Warm-season grasses are known as C4 grasses and are suited to the hot Australian summers and relatively warm winters. The C refers to carbon and the 4 is the number of carbon atoms in the first compound produced by photosynthesis. What this results in is an adaptability to higher temperatures and light with lower requirements for moisture.
For reference, cool-season grasses have 3 carbon atoms and are known as C3 grasses. C4 grasses are considered more heat and water-stress tolerant than C3 species. This is because C4s have an evolutionary advantage for adaptation to hot and dry climates making them more efficient with conserving water.
Geographically, we have a limited true cool season area compared to North America and Europe. To apply the US terminology, in Australia, the north is the warm season zone, and the rest is a transition zone with some isolated cool season pockets.
Benefits of Warm-season Grasses
There are some significant benefits to warm-season grasses in such a climate.
Less watering requirements.
Higher resilience during warmer months.
Higher heat tolerance.
Better soil stability due to generally having more robust root systems.
Better capacity for self-repair and lateral growth.
Higher suitability broadly to the Australian climate.
Warm Season Grasses in Winter
Warm season grasses can hold their colour well throughout the warmer months. But when the temperatures start to cool, photosynthesis is limited to conserve energy and they can lose some of their green colour during dormancy.
As mentioned earlier, most areas of Australia only experience a limited cool season, so warm-season grasses can hold up quite well in the Australian winter. Once the temperatures begin to warm up the grass will be able to produce chlorophyll again and return in colour.
A solution to this discolouration of warm-season grasses in winter is to apply a pigment product like ColourGuard Plus. ColourGuard Plus will improve the colour of your lawn instantly.
Watering Warm-season Grasses
Most warm-season varieties once established will be able to thrive on mostly rainfall with additional watering when required. On the other hand, cool-season varieties will need a substantial amount of water to survive compared to warm-season varieties.
If you have a warm season grass, make sure you raise the mowing height a little to help it retain nutrients during the cooler months.
Choosing the Best Grass for You
Climate consideration is an important factor when deciding on a turf variety for your home.
For this reason, we always recommend warm-season grasses and in particular improved varieties with superior drought tolerances like the Smart Approved WaterMark awarded TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda.
If shade is a factor, then buffalo grasses like Sir Walter DNA Certified may be the perfect solution for you.
Native plants make sense in our hot climate, the drought resilience, adaptability to thrive in the poor soils and ability to help bring in native wildlife makes them the obvious choice for easy gardening at home. I love adding in native plants to my garden simply because they look good and come with beautiful flowers!
Combining Native Plants and Lawns
Combining lawns and native plants can be a harmonious combination but there are a few things you need to consider ensuring both thrive together. There are the obvious concerns about sufficient light on the lawn, you don’t want to plant anything too close to the perimeter that will shade out the lawn and think about the flowers as well as the fine stamens and berries that can clog and blunt cylinder mowers. Try to grade the height of your plants having the tallest at the back of the bed and the smallest around the lawn to maximise light.
Native plants in the Proteaceae family such as Grevilleas, Banksia and Hakea have Proteaoide roots just under the surface of the soil that help the plants absorb phosphorus. This makes them sensitive to fertilisers that are high in this element so it’s a good idea to group them together away from exotic plants and be wary when fertilising your lawn so that you do not overdo it as it can kill these sensitive native plants.
Planting Hedges
Hedging is often thought of as a European element in the garden, using exotic species of plants, but hedging doesn’t always have to be in a formal garden or exclusively exotic either. There are many native species of plants that work well in our climate for hedging and can work in many styles of garden, be tightly clipped or looser for a natural appearance. They help to separate garden zones and remove unsightly views as well as create structure to a space by defining boundaries and garden beds.
Endemic Plants
Endemic plants, those that evolved in the area you will be planting them into require little soil preparation, they are used to the conditions and will thrive with minimal interference, just loosen the soil in a wide planting hole to help the first emerging roots. Those that are still native but from a different area will appreciate some help with the ground, dig through some compost and a native fertiliser but steer clear of manures as these can have adverse effects on the root system. Once planted mulch with a coarse bark.
Callistemons
One of the best loose hedges and screening plants, perfect for the back of a garden bed is the callistemon, its fool proof and can tolerate drought, coastal conditions and frost as well as being adaptable to both clay and sandy soils. Callistemons come in a range of sizes too, from the lower growing (up to a metre) ‘Green John’, perfect for a low hedge, the medium sized ‘Macarthur’ will cover a fence to 1.8 metres, but not block out light and the taller ‘Slim’ to 3 metres.
Whatever variety you go for I like to leave them a little loose as this promotes more flowers, perfect for attracting birds. Once flowering has finished you can trim the plant to keep it tidy, sometimes it’s hard to find the right time as they bloom so prolifically but if this is a problem early spring is a good time, if you time it with your lawn renovation your garden will sing.
Coastal Areas
If you have salty coastal conditions and nothing will grow, try the Adenanthos or woolly bush, this native is very hardy to salt-laden winds thanks to its incredibly tactile foliage. Almost silvery in colour this plant looks exactly as the common name makes it sound and it works perfectly as a windbreak to help you grow more sensitive plants behind. Having still air in the garden will also allow you to relax more especially sprawling out on your lawn. If the foliage of this hedging plant isn’t enough for you it also gets a small red flower that is great for native wildlife too.
Attracting Wildlife
Having your plants double up as a wildlife and bird-attracting element to the garden as well as a screen or a feature can only be a benefit and Grevilleas are a great way to have your cake and eat it. Much like the Callistemon, they are incredibly versatile coping with heat, frost, salt and a range of soil types too. New modern varieties of grevillea also open up the rainbow as to what colour you can have in your garden, from subtle greens to flamboyant salmons and reds, as well as everything in-between. I like a variety called ‘Moonlight’ as it has bright creamy white flowers that illuminate a planting scheme, another fail-safe is ‘Robyn Gordon’ and ‘Superb’.
Lilly Pilly
If you are after a more formal look the Lilly Pilly is the plant for you, but you will need to add compost to the soil to aid in the water retention. Naturally a rainforest tree but highly adaptable to the home garden it’s popular as the small leaves knit together to give a dense hedge. There are many varieties from different species including Syzygium, Waterhousia and Acmena. My favourite is the weeping Lilly Pilly as it has a beautiful lime green new growth and a pendulous habit to the foliage. If you are looking for a hedge in a narrow space the Syzygium ‘Pinnacle’ is a good option as it grows up to 6 metres in height but only takes up a metre in garden bed to do so.
Westringia
For lower-growing shrubs the coastal rosemary Westringia is hard to beat. Grey, silver foliage highlights lower parts of the garden and being versatile to clipping you can leave it loose and sprawling or tight and topiarised just make sure you have good drainage as it doesn’t like wet feet or humid air, making it the perfect plant to surround a lawn. This plant is so good in 2015 the variety ‘Grey Box’ was awarded the plant of the year. Ornamental star-like flowers in whites, pinks and even purples can be seen throughout the year.
Ornamental Grasses Around Lawns
Another great type of plant to surround a lawn is the ornamental grasses such as Dianella and Lomandra. These help to soften the edges of a lawn and blend the boundary between lower soft lawn and ornamental planting pockets. Like your lawn ornamental grasses will love free-draining soil and similar water requirements so if there is any spill over from your irrigation it will only benefit the garden.
Australian natives make for a perfect pairing with functional outdoor lawn spaces. For more garden and lawn care tips and advice, check out the Lawn Solutions Australia blog here.
