Scarify out the thatch first, then aerate every 15cm, top dress with a sand and compost mix, and finish with a high-nitrogen spring feed. Do it in this order and your lawn will look transformed within a few weeks.
After a long winter, your lawn is likely compacted, mossy, and in need of a proper wake-up. The good news is that a few hours of effort in March will set you up for a beautiful lawn all summer long. Warwickshire's clay-heavy soils can make lawns particularly prone to waterlogging and moss, so spring care is especially important here.
1 Scarify
Use a rake or electric scarifier to remove the dead thatch and moss sitting at the base of the grass. This allows light, air and water to reach the soil properly. You'll be shocked by how much dead material comes out — it's completely normal for it to look worse before it looks better.
Don't be put off by how bad the lawn looks straight after scarifying. Within 2–3 weeks the grass bounces back greener and thicker than before — it's a dramatic transformation every time.
2 Aerate
Push a garden fork 10cm into the lawn every 15cm across the whole surface, or hire a hollow-tine aerator for larger lawns. This relieves compaction dramatically and is the single best thing you can do for lawns on heavy Midlands clay.
3 Top dress
Work a mix of sharp sand and compost into the aeration holes. It improves drainage and soil structure over time. For clay soils common around Leamington Spa, a heavier sand mix helps break up the compacted layers beneath the surface.
Use the back of a rake or a stiff brush to work the top dressing into the holes fully — you want it to fill them completely rather than just sit on the surface.
4 Feed
Apply a spring/summer lawn fertiliser high in nitrogen to encourage lush green growth. Avoid feeding too early — wait until the grass is actively growing. In Warwickshire, that's usually mid to late March depending on the weather.
At a glance — spring lawn care
- Scarify first — remove thatch and moss before anything else
- Aerate every 15cm; hire hollow-tine for larger areas
- Top dress holes with sharp sand and compost, work it in fully
- High-nitrogen spring feed — but only once grass is actively growing
- Expect it to look worse before it looks better — that's normal
If you'd rather leave it to us, our lawn mowing service includes seasonal advice and we're happy to carry out a spring treatment visit. Give us a call on 07904 174399.