Who doesn ’ t love the look and smell of a lush freshly mown lawn ? There are even Facebook pages dedicated to ‘ lawn porn ’! I know I certainly have a few friends who are very lawn proud - and so they should be ! In my opinion nothing lifts a house facade or backyard like lawn . It softens harsh lines and the lush green just makes everything look better . Did you know that having lawn around your house ( as opposed to cement or gravel ) can keep your home up to 20 % cooler in Summer ? Nature ’ s insulation ! Coming out of winter and into spring , many lawns need a bit of love . There are many varieties of lawn that go semi dormant during winter and can go quite yellow in colour - especially here in the Barossa where we can get some pretty nasty frosts . There is little point fertilising lawns

during winter because the ground is just too cold to take up any nutrients . However , come Spring when the days and nights are warming up and there ’ s more sun , your lawn will absolutely love an application of lawn fertiliser . Always remember to water in lawn fertiliser well as it can burn your lawn otherwise . After applying fertiliser your lawn should green up really quickly within a couple weeks . Lawn fertilisers we recommend are : Munns Golf Course Green ; Greenup ; or a newcomer to the market which has received great reviews ( plus we love the name !) - Lawn Porn . Spring is also a great time to do any lawn repair work . If your lawn has bare patches or holes in it ( cheeky dogs are a common culprit here ), or if the levels of your lawn don ’ t look even , spreading some lawn dressing or topsoil can combat

these issues . A good feed and water is recommended after applying topsoil . Another common lawn issue is the build up of thatch , dead grass runners in your lawn . If your lawn looks worse after a mow with unsightly ‘ dead or frayed ’ looking patches , or looks and feels really thick and spongy , you may have a build up of thatch . This happens especially in very robust growing lawns like kikuyu and some couch varieties . Spring ( mainly October through to December ) is a great time to dethatch your lawn . This can be done by hiring a scarifyer , or as we do at home to save on costs , just mow your lawn 3-5 times , lowering your blades after each mow until you have removed all green growth and the area basically looks like you have mown down to dirt .

Then an application of a good lawn fertiliser , water in well , and with some warmth and sunshine you will have what looks like a brand new , lush lawn in about three weeks ! The final Spring lawn maintenance job is weeds . When lawns are dormant or struggling in winter , weeds can take hold . There are many products on the market that you can use to kill the weeds in your lawn without damaging your actual lawn . Our favourite selective lawn weeder at Barossa Nursery is Kleen Lawn for all your kikuyu , couch and fescue varieties , and Buffalo Pro for buffalo lawns . You can get ‘ weed and feed ’ products that do both weeding and feeding , but I always think you get the best results when using a lawn weeder and fertiliser separately . Get outside and enjoy the Spring weather and get lawn proud ! Give your neighbours and friends lawn envy ! Happy gardening !