Housing home user guide

Your Garden
Your garden is yours to enjoy and maintain, but please do not remove any of the
turf, plants or trees that may have been planted in your garden without
consulting the Housing Officer. The planting scheme is a Planning Condition and
if we have to replace the planting that you have removed, you will be charged.
A shed has been provided in your rear garden, this is lockable and a key should be
provided at handover.
Please note that before carrying out any changes to fencing or paving
permission MUST be obtained from the Housing Association.
Maintaining your lawn
During the first few months after new turf has been laid, it is important to help
maintain it to allow the grass to establish its roots, try not to use the grass too heavily
in the first few months to allow the ground to settle.
In dry weather, frequent watering may be necessary to keep the new turf
constantly moist. During dry periods in mid- to late summer, water every five
to 10 days. At other seasons water during dry periods every 14 days.
Be careful not to over-water, as this can lead to shallow rooting and
encourages the weed grass, annual meadow grass.
Mow, with the blades set high, as soon as the grass has grown to about 5cm
(2in).
Don’t leave anything on the lawn for long periods.
Once established, mowing little and often is the recipe for success. Regular cutting
keeps the lawn thick, tidy and deters weeds. For most lawns, at the start of the year
set the mower blades to 3cm (1.25in) and cut the lawn about once a week.
When the grass grows faster during the spring and summer, lower the blades to 2cm
(1in) and you may need to cut up to twice a week.
During long dry spells, mow less frequently, let grass grow longer and don't
use summer feeds that will make lots of new growth. If you are in a drought
area your lawn may turn brown in summer, but learn to live with this rather
than using a sprinkler and it will soon recover when it rains in autumn
Removing weeds:
Learn to tolerate a few weeds in the lawn, but if small patches or single weeds
need to be removed, pull up by hand with the help of a daisy grubber tool or
similar device. This helps to get the deeper roots of perennial weeds out.
Alternatively spot-treat with a dab-on weed killer that can be bought in tubes.
Use a selective weed killer on lawns with large colonies of weeds, such as
creeping buttercup
Repairing patches: