Lawn assistance needed!

[Lavender14]

So my lawn is just dead and I've been trying unsuccessful for the past few years to bring it back to life. The main issue is that the soil is very thick dense clay. In winter it almost floods a bit and is waterlogged and then in summer it bakes hard. I have never been able to get more than sparse tufts of grass. Does anyone have any advice on what to do? I've tried creating a little cut out border around it to help with drainage and forked it all and laid grass seed but it never takes and looks awful? Any advice would be so appreciated!

Do you have a big garden?
Do you have children?
Do you need a lawn?
Could you have a paved area and have beds around it?

I have a toddler and a dog (he tends not to toilet on the lawn weirdly) it's not a big patch, most of the garden is paved or gravel but I would love to keep a bit of grass for ds to have a wee slide etc on. We probably wouldn't have the money to pave over the lawn we have as there's other more pressing things that need done in the house. The weird thing is that our lawn at the front of the house has always been really lush so I don't know why the back is so awful.

In that case, you need to improve your soil and grow seed suitable for heavy clay soil. Do a little reading around the internet and find some cost effective tips. Good luck.

We started to scarify our previous lawn and add sand, that helped over time.

You could check for leatherjackets which love to eat grass roots.

Could you have moss instead of grass?

I would be more than happy to have moss instead of grass if it still had the same effect. Is there any implication to the garden for having moss instead of grass and will it hold up being sat on etc as well? (Not that my grass has done any of these things!)

Google moss lawns 😶

From a quick Google it seems moss lawns don't hold up well with dogs or children playing so I'm not sure it would be a good option for us. Just was wondering if anyone had one and found different.

We have clay soil too and have the same winter water logging issue. We have a lawn company come and see to the lawn every few months. On Monday they did an aeration and overseeding treatment to see if that helps with the bare patches left from winter. I'm desperately checking for sprouts every time we go outside 😂

Not sure what the plan is next if that fails!

I pay a local grass care company to come every few months. Our lawn was sparse and full off weeds and moss before and now it really does look great and I have two kids always playing out there. By the time you've paid out for all the products and put your back out, it's actually cheaper to use a lawn care company.

Ducks were out this morning eating our grass seed 😂🦆

You need to use an aerator tool with hollow prongs. That takes plugs of soil right out of the ground and leaves holes all over, which you then fill with sharp sand. It would probably need doing several times before it makes a difference.

The other main thing is to keep right off it altogether when it is very wet, to stop any further compaction.