With the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee fast approaching, many of us will be celebrating our quintessential Britishness this summer with garden parties for family and friends galore. But is your lawn ready for the regal festivities?
If you do one thing to perk up your garden this spring, make sure you overseed with Barenbrug’s Green Velvet grass seed. Professional grass seed breeder Barenbrug is the grass seed of choice among elite golf, sports and landscape users – the Green Velvet range condenses all its expertise into mixtures especially formulated for keen gardeners and house-proud homeowners.
A top product pick for damaged lawns is Green Velvet SOS Lawn Repair. This mixture harnesses a unique grass seed variety that’s been saving the surfaces of Premier League football clubs and top golf clubs the length and breadth of the county. Able to germinate in temperatures as low as 3.5 degrees C, it’s great for getting fast, early coverage.
And come the warmer weather, try Green Velvet Water Saver featuring RTF (Rhizomatous tall fescue), a grass specially bred by Barenbrug for its strong and prolific rhizomes – the underground stems that till through the soil to spread the plant and form new growth. This could be the answer for the east and southeast, where the ongoing drought is certainly causing lawns to suffer.
Water Saver does just as its name suggests, conserving water and lessening the need for watering – an environmental credential that’s earned it the Waterwise Marque seal of approval. With its denser sward preventing moisture loss from the soil’s surface via evaporation, plus its deep roots finding moisture where other grasses fail, Water Saver was the first grass seed to be applauded for its water-saving capabilities.
If you’d rather be scoffing scones this 2 to 5 June, then Green Velvet Mow Less is the mixture for you. Containing a crested hairgrass called Barkoel, which boasts very short growth, a fine leaf and an attractive year-round green colour, this product reduces the need for cutting by a whopping 40 percent. That means mowing could be a fortnightly rather than weekly chore! It also benefits from outstanding drought tolerance and disease resistance, plus can withstand close mowing down to 5mm.
The range is completed by the tough Green Velvet Shady, the popular all-rounder Green Velvet Multi-Purpose and the ultimate for a really smart lawn – Green Velvet Luxury – which features chewings fescue, slender creeping red fescues and browntop bent.
The Green Velvet grass seed range is available to buy online from www.greenvelvetlawnseed.co.uk as well as from garden centres and country stores nationwide. The range is currently sold in 500g packs, which cost from £7.99 – from September 2012, 1kg, 2.5kg, 12.5kg and 20kg packs will also be available.
