Gardening for Amateurs 



The Perfect Lawn; How it is Obtained 





MUCH of the charm of English 

 gardens is due to the perfect 

 lawns that form so conspicuous 

 a part of them. A well-made and well- 

 kept lawn is a feature of great beauty, 

 ,nd the close velvety swards of our own 

 country gardens are second to none. The 

 lawn may be of any size, or of varying shape, 

 but the larger it is the better the effect, and 

 it may be sloping or level, but in every case 

 careful upkeep regular mowing and rolling 

 is necessary to ensure a perfect sward. 



Preparation of the Ground. A lawn 

 must be carefully made or no amount of 

 subsequent work will bring it to a satisfactory 

 state ; autumn is the best time to carry out 

 the preliminary work, though it may be 

 done during winter and early spring. Soil 

 that is heavy and clayey has to be brought 

 into a fit state for grass by laying drains 

 every 15 feet or so. Some soils do not need 

 draining at all, for the sandy, gravelly, or 

 shingly nature of the ground ensures a free 

 passage for all surface water ; only heavy 

 land need be drained. The ground is then 

 dug over in the usual way, one spit deep, and 

 -at the same time something should be done 

 to bring it into a suitable state for the sowing 

 of grass seeds. Light soil may be rendered 

 staffer by the addition of clay, peat, leaf- 

 mould or farmyard manure ; clayey soil 

 will be all the better for a mixture of fine 

 ashes to render it more porous, and to 

 enable stagnant water to pass away from the 

 roots of the grasses. When digging, too, a 

 little well-rotted manure should be added 

 to give " body " to the soil, or, if this is not 

 available, bone meal or guano are advisable. 

 Make sure that all the larger weeds are 

 removed ; fibrous-rooted weeds may be 

 buried and stifled, but the tap-roots of some 

 weeds and the long roots of Bishop Weed, 

 ouch Grass, and the like should be carefully 

 picked out and cast aside. Rake the ground 

 as level as possible, and remove large stones ; 

 allow it to settle for a few weeks at least, and 

 it is then ready for the next process. 



Laying Turf. It is not always realised 

 that a good soil bed is essential even where 



turves are laid ; shallow digging encourages 

 moss and weeds, and, if the soil is poor, 

 patches may fail altogether to establish 

 themselves. Turves are cut from some level 

 spot where there is a good growth of fine 

 grasses, and they ought all to be of uniform 

 thickness, and as large as can be conveniently 

 handled. The usual size of a turf is 3 inches 

 thick, 9 inches wide, and about 15 inches 

 long. Roll them up grass side inwards, and 

 pack them in the barrow or cart ; if they 

 are all of one width the actual laying of the 

 turves will be a work of short duration. 

 Place them evenly on the ground, and push 

 them close up against one another in such 

 a way that the end of one turf is on a level 

 with the centre of the next. Do not place 

 the end of one in a line with the end of the 

 next. Spread a thin layer of fine sifted soil 

 over the surface, and brush it across so that 

 it will fall into any interstices and fill them 

 up. A turf beater should then be employed 

 to hammer the surface a little ; this instru- 

 ment consists of a flat thick piece of board 

 with a hole bored in it, and a handle inserted 

 firmly and in such a manner that the turf 

 beater always falls flat upon the ground ; 

 it should not be used too violently. When 

 turves are laid on top of heavy soil great 

 advantage may be derived from a layer of 

 fine ashes or coarse sand slightly forked in 

 the soil immediately below the turf ; drainage 

 is then facilitated, and a firm surface ensured. 

 Don't cut too severely the first year, and 

 attend to any slight inequalities as they are 

 noticed. To get rid of hollows take up the 

 turf and fill in with soil made firm. To 

 level high places beat the turf when moist 

 with the turf beater. The best month for 

 laying turf is September, though the work 

 may be done in mild weather from September 

 to March. 



Sowing Grass Seed. The soil which was 

 dug in autumn should be raked with a long- 

 toothed rake about the end of March and 

 carefully levelled up before any seed is sown. 

 Seed may also be sown in September ; stones 

 must be removed, as well as weeds which have 

 by chance established themselves there since 



