Creeping buttercup spreads by runners that root as they go, so it forms a spreading mat rather than separate plants. It thrives in damp, compacted lawns, which is why it takes off in autumn, so fixing the drainage is half…
A dandelion holds on through one deep taproot, so the trick is lifting the whole root, not pulling the leaves off the top. Early autumn is close to the ideal time to clear them, while the soil is soft and…
Lawn mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of underground fungi feeding on buried dead roots and thatch, and most of them help your soil rather than harm it. Pull larger ones by hand and scatter small clusters with a stiff broom…
A Week Under Wet Leaves Is All It Takes to Yellow the Grass Walk back inside after the first proper leaf fall and the lawn looks buried. The fix is simpler than the pile suggests. Rake or blow the leaves…
Clover takes hold in thin, underfed grass, so the real fix is a thicker lawn rather than a bottle of spray. Fork out established patches, rake and mow the creeping stems, and reseed any bare soil this early autumn while…
Summer lawn feed is loaded with nitrogen, which pushes soft leafy growth that struggles in cold, wet weather and falls prey to fungal disease. Autumn feeds drop the nitrogen and load up on potassium and phosphorus, feeding the roots so…
If patches of your lawn have started lifting like loose carpet, or you keep finding turf ripped up and scattered across the grass in the morning, the cause is underground. Chafer grubs eat grass roots through autumn, and the birds…
A tired, patchy lawn at the end of summer usually points to one hidden culprit sitting right at the base of the grass: thatch. Early autumn, with its mild air and damp soil, is the window to rake it out…
A broken lawn edge pulls the eye faster than almost anything else in a garden. The grass in the middle can be thick and green, but a crumbling border or a scalloped bite out of the edge makes the whole…
If pink or rust-tinged patches have appeared on your lawn over the past few weeks, the culprit is almost certainly red thread, a fungal disease that turns up on many lawns in late summer and early autumn. The good news…
