Need help with my lawn

[Halloween Jack]

Hi folks,

We moved to our house 6 years ago. The garden was completely overgrown, I cleared it and put rolls of turf down. It was great for a year, but every year it gets a little worse.

I reseed it each year, which helps but it's still not thick.

It's a NE facing garden so I guess that doesn't help. It has a lot of shade too. I have tried using Shady lawn seed from B&Q, it has very fine blades and does come up but doesn't last long.

I've included a picture so you can see the state of it and imagine the shade.

We live in Greenwich, London, so near the Thames. I think this makes the soil a heavy clay type? But I'm not sure.

It's also very uneven. My plan was to put a mixture of Family Lawn and Shady Lawn seed down then put compost and a tiny bit of sand over the top and rake it around to get it more level and to bury the seed a bit.

Can anyone give me any tips or tell me what's wrong with the garden?

I'd love to get it all thick and healthy again, and more level would be a plus.

Thanks

 

[bobby spray]

looks compacted to me. probably from walking to and from the bench. Areate using a graden fork and putting in a few stepping stones will help the remaining grass

 

[vv2806]

The secret for a good lawn is in the preparation - cultivating, fertilizing, etc. I would buy a good book and would follow the instructions. Hessayon is one of the authors that pops in mind. My ex redid the lawn a couple of years ago, it looks great.

 

[MFCGMFC]

aerate then overseed

as the previous poster said put in some stepping stones or slabs towards the bench

compaction is a big no no

 

[Halloween Jack]

Thanks guys.

I thought it might be compacted.

I did put in some stepping stones a few years back, but we don't actually use it that much (mostly just stay on the decking near the house)

I will check out that book.

Thanks again