My lawn needs a makeover

[keswickgirl]

Hello everyone, I am a first time home owner and a total gardening newbie.

I attach a photograph of my lawn. It is absolutely inundated with dandelions. It also has a lot of different sorts of weed grasses and thistles and big mossy patches.

I’m a bit overwhelmed and unsure how to start! I’m not after the ‘perfect’ lawn and love a few daisies and clovers etc for the bees, but at the moment I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s probably 60% weeds and 40% grass. I have planted lots of flowers for pollinators in pots.

Any advice? I don't want to be spraying it with lots of weedkiller regularly, but I’m prepared to do so now to give myself the edge. With the caveat that I’d rather not kill the mini-beasts that live there, so if there is a weedkiller that is not a pesticide then I’d be keen to use that.

Went to the garden centre yesterday and came home without most of what I’d gone for as was too overwhelmed with options and not sure what to go for!

The lawn is in shade half the day, and sun the other half of the day.

Many thanks for any pointers!

oops forgot photo! Here it is (pending approval)

I’ve used a product called Grass Gains lawn feed. Bit pricey but it’s done exactly what it said on the tin (well, packet 😁) and water, water, water. Two very patchy lawns are looking great now.

You will need to get rid of the weeds first using weedkiller for lawn. Then reseed

Thanks. I’ve seen weedkiller for moss, and a more general weedkiller. Do you know if it matters which order I use them?

I have bitten the bullet and put black plastic down, am praying for a heat wave and then will reseed or turf over the results at the last minute this summer. so 4-5 months under the plastic. I am worried it might not be enough where I live though.

I gave myself a wrist injury removing creeping buttercup and dandelions for hours and just looked like I had a moonscape of tiny mole holes at the end of it and had barely made a dent in the grass/ weed ratio.

You can buy a combined one. Weed and moss killer. Just ask in a garden centre.

Lots of youruve videos on restoring you lawn too. I need to repair mine as I have patches and I've learnt I need to.do a few steps:

I have a scarifier machine I got from screwfix for £70 so will use thay to pull out all the thatch and create some marks in the grass. Then I'll throw down seed amd fertiliser then compost of top soil on top and then water.

I can skip the weed killing stage as I don't have any.

Ouch! Hope wrist heals soon, and good luck with the lawn. I’m not sure I’m ready for that yet, but I will keep it up my sleeve if I don’t see progress.

Had the same problem last year due to ‘No Mow May’ on adjacent verges. I used a product that was weed/feed/seed. It killed the dandelion and then the seed filled in the brown/bare patches and generally thickened it up. This year I’m tackling the moss in the other lawn with a cheap electric scarifier. Beware the quantity of thatch/moss is immense - I filled a full wheelie bin from a small lawn. I’ve overseeded and fingers crossed the new growth will overtake the moss and weeds after a month or so. I’ll repeat the process in the autumn. It’s a slow process!