I have heard that rupturewort ( Herniaria glabra) is another good alternative. It is soft underfoot and drought-tolerant, even on sandy soils. Establish it as above. Even the priciest grass seed costs significantly less than buying rolls of turf, but it does require more patience and work to create a lawn from seed than from turf. What is grass seed made from? Alternatively, you can buy a distributor available from our online store. (These can be used for putting down lawn seed as well as fertilisers.) Again, go over the area one way and then repeat at right angles to ensure proper distribution of the seed. When you have sown your seed, rake it in lightly and, depending on weather conditions, your lawn will begin to show in 14 – 21 days. Improving existing lawns

Key specs – Seed types: Abernile perennial ryegrass, fescue, bentgrass; When to sow: Spring/autumn; Mowing height: Optimum 2.5cm; 500g covers: 14m ² These mixtures are all ryegrass-free, and are predominantly made up of fescue and bentgrass species tailored for the perfect finish.

The onslaught of my two labradors means I have paved over most of my lawn, but the remaining grass turns nasty even with frequent cleaning and raking. Can you suggest tough, flat, non-grass groundcover?

People find this mix works well for them because of the ease of establishment and high quality lawn that is created. What’s in the mix?Football pitch vs posh lawn: If your lawn needs to withstand endless close encounters with kids, pets and BBQ guests, then go for a predominantly ryegrass mix. But if you want a smooth ornamental lawn, avoid ryegrass completely and go for bentgrass, with some fescue in the mix to help it survive underfoot. Lawn Care Our lawn care range is designed to make Lawn UK a one stop shop for all your lawn care needs. We’ll be expanding our lawncare range over time, with new products constantly being added to our range.’ It’s best to try and keep of the lawn area for around 6 weeks after sowing. This is to allow the seeds a chance to get established. Mowing height: Fine ornamental grass can and should be mowed quite close – as low as 1cm. Coarse ryegrass performs better if you let it grow a little more – up to 4cm. That said, any type of newly-sown grass should be left to grow up to around 7cm before you cut it for the first time.

According to long-term users it really does work, maintaining a dark green colour even during droughts. It’s pricey (although still cheaper than buying turf), but it is a reliable grass that gardeners say is particularly good at resisting disease. Sprogs and Dogs has attracted attention from the media too, with the Independent Newspaper recommended our superb lawn seed mixture (read more about that here). The process is similar to that above. Sow at 50g/m 2, slightly less this time. Rake or scarify the existing lawn, spread the seed, and tread the seed into the lawn. Now of course these estimates can vary greatly depending on the weather. If it’s warm and damp, germination tends to be faster, cold and dry, and germination can take much longer.Five weeks on now and the grass is really starting to come through, even if it’s slow growing, with well over half of the seeds germinating. Weeds: Coarse grass is good at competing with weeds, but fine grass isn’t. So, if you have a soft bentgrass lawn you’ll have to work harder to keep weeds at bay. Spreaders Spreaders are a great way to evenly distribute seed and fertiliser. A variety of different types are available.’

All Purpose Seed Our all purpose range of grass seed is great value, and very versatile. We have several mixtures that you can buy by the kilogram, as well as our bulk discounted universal lawn. Customers frequently tell us that they have different uses for our seed, and allsorts lawn is a great mix for that.’ Key specs – Contains grass types: Chewings fescue, red fescue, bentgrass; When to sow: Spring/autumn; Mowing height: 1-2cm; 1kg covers: 20m ²If you require a finer quality lawn seed mixture, you can browse our range of high quality mixtures here.