Despite the fact the weather hasn't quite yet gotten the memo, spring is almost upon us - so it's time to get cutting your lawn ahead of warmer days. It's likely that your lawn is looking a little bit worse for wear after a winter of rain, frost, snow, and general cold temperatures, so it's time to give it a little bit of TLC.
Around March, lawns begin to grow again, but very slowly, so it's the best time to start giving your lawn the first mow of the year. If you live in the North of England or Scotland, you may need to wait another couple of weeks as the temperatures tend to be colder.
When the temperatures rise in April, the lawn growth frequency will increase. When this happens, people will need to start mowing their lawn every 10 days to two weeks.
Paul Hicks, product and marketing manager at STIHL GB, has shared his expert advice on mowing the lawn for the first time this year.
He said that if you mow your lawn correctly now, it'll look lush and healthy for the rest of the year, and you'll appreciate your outside space more.
Paul suggested timing your first cut carefully, warning against mowing if the soil is wet, or if there's frost on the ground.
He said: "Be sure to clear the area of any leaves, sticks, and other debris that may interfere with mowing or could damage the mower blade.
"Don't be too eager the first time around - a trim is all you need! We recommend following the one-third rule when cutting for the first time."
The 'one-third rule' means never cutting more than a third of a blade of grass in one go. Cutting the grass too short, too quickly can 'damage' the grass and lead to 'disease or weed infestation'. Common weeds found on lawns include dandelions, white clover, daisies, and creeping buttercups.
It's also important that you have the right tool for the job as "all lawns and gardens have different needs."
The Express reported that by May and June, gardeners may need to start mowing their lawns every week and will likely need to lower their cutting height, then in July and August, lawn growth will slow down so gardeners will only need to mow their lawns every two weeks.
August and September can be good months to mow lawns more frequently due to autumn rain and warm weather.
From October, it's likely you will need to stop mowing the lawn until the spring months.
Have you mowed your lawn yet? Let us know in the comments.
