When deciding to construct a new lawn it is very important to make a number of decisions before physically starting the work.

First of these is to look closely at the site and how best to design the lawn taking into account the existing contours. Do they require modifying, and if so can this be done by hand or will a small digger be required. Any heavily shaded areas and tree root problems should also be taken into account, and try to avoid awkward turning areas for ease of mowing.

Next, is the soil of good quality and free draining, or do you need to modify the existing soil, import new soil, add drainage, or even a combination of all three? To aid drainage, try to make sure there is a little slope to one or more sides, and there are no hollows to collect water.

The quality of lawn you wish to have will dictate your choice of seed or turf, as there are many different grades to choose from. A wildflower meadow mix, for instance, requires very little maintenance, but is no good if the lawn is to be used as a play area which needs a hard wearing mix of grasses. This is probably the most important choice that has to be made in creating a lawn as once the grass is established it is then very difficult to change the mix without killing it and starting again.

The last big decision is the type of mower that will be used to maintain the lawn, and generally speaking the more you spend the better the quality of cut, and the better the quality of the finished lawn. Mowers range from cheap strimmers and rotary mowers through to the high quality finish given by a ten or twelve blade cylinder mower such as are used on golf and bowling greens. The higher the quality you aim for, the more work you will have to put into the overall maintenance. It’s your choice! Please see my free lawn advice offer if you are not sure.

All of this is explained in much more detail in my e-book which will be available soon. In the meantime I am using a piece of waste ground at the back of my house as a lawn construction demonstration plot and will give regular updates, with pictures, on the progress.