My Poor Lawn

Ian D J

Ian D J

Michael Fish
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Ian D J
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I've not seen any significant rain (rain that does more than just slightly moisten the pathways) in over 6 weeks now.
To round off what has been one of the driest August on record for my home location (Folkestone) where I've only received 11.7 mm (just a whisker over a centimeter) of rain for the whole of that month, I thought I'd do a contrast and compare photos-type thread.

This is what my lawn normally should look like. This picture was taken on April 2008.

GrassApr08-1.jpg


And this is what my lawn looked like yesterday afternoon.

GrassAug09.jpg


I've tried everything to keep it alive, watering, feeding, etc, but what moisture that stayed in the soil just got sucked up by this constant warm drying winds (I call it the Hairdryer Effect). Mind you, what with living right next to the coast, the salty sea air can't have helped much.
Even now as I type, it's mainly clear, sunny, and of course, very, very dry.

Is it just as bad where you are? (Bearing in mind this seem to something affecting only the far extreme south east of the UK). Or you could make me green with envy (no pun intended) by showing off your lush green lawn in here.
 
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House swap! if you want to live where there's plenty of rain I might be persuaded to swap, I've been trying to get my grass cut for a fortnight and it keeps ****ing down :(
 
It's peed down a lot up in Chester, I'll swap climates with you if you like
 
Please! I'll have some of your rain if you don't mind. I'm bored of this Mediterranean-type climate, it's just been constant sunshine, humidity and sheer dryness for literally the whole of the summer.
Bear in mind I'm a summer hater since I work in a tomato greenhouse so this is like my worse nightmare coming true.
Roll on the coolness and freshness associated with Autumn and Winter. Time to call time on this silly season that's dragged on for too long.

Perhaps I should be "grateful" that I've had (and still having) a "good" summer, but trust me I'm bored of it and would be glad of seeing some "real" weather.
I'm hoping that perhaps the remnants of ex-tropical storm, Danny, might come along and shake things up as we go into the second half of this week.
 
Ian D J said:
I'm bored of this Mediterranean-type climate, it's just been constant sunshine, humidity and sheer dryness for literally the whole of the summer.
Click to expand...


:eek:

It's not been like that in North London!
Rain, overcast days, breezy and every now and again, some sunshine.
 
Well here in Cheshire, we've had plenty of rain throughout the summer, and my back garden is nice and green................with weeds, not grass!:shrug:
 
Ian, I'm just starting my first full fortnight off work for over a decade and it's looking like it's gonna pee down all this week..........I might have to pop down there and have a word with you about your sun hating :bat:

:D
 
digitalfailure said:
Ian, I'm just starting my first full fortnight off work for over a decade and it's looking like it's gonna pee down all this week..........I might have to pop down there and have a word with you about your sun hating :bat:

:D
Click to expand...

:eek: :help: :D But you should come down here just for the sunshine alone. Save your money on going abroad.
Enjoy your break whatever the weather anyway. ;)

Overall it really has been a tale of two halves as far as this Summer over the UK has been concerned. Actually, it really should be 95%/5%. Kent is absolutely parched bone dry - quite akin to 1976's - and there's been regular outbreaks of grass, bush and wood fires across the county in the past fortnight. At one time, a wildlife park just off Canterbury was seriously being threatened by widespread wood fires, but the good work of the fire brigade and the staff working there managed to keep it under control. Apparently there are still very localised "hot spots".
It seems that beyond Kent, it's been a rather disappointing summer with the north west of England and Scotland experiencing a much wetter one than normal.
What a huge contrast, quite fascinating in it's own right but it's time for me to have some of that wet stuff.
 
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Can I join the queue for the house swap please?

No shortage of rain here at all since June :(
Are you sure that you're really in Folkestone and not some alternate universe with completely different weather to the rest of the UK?

I know that dry weather can have its own problems, especially in your line of work, but I'd love a bit of sunshine at the moment :p

And just because I've got nothing better to do this morning and we've just had a break in the rain . . . here's some very wet grass . . .

IMG_0007-2.jpg
 
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I've tried everything to keep it alive, watering, feeding, etc, but what moisture that stayed in the soil just got sucked up by this constant warm drying winds (I call it the Hairdryer Effect). Mind you, what with living right next to the coast, the salty sea air can't have helped much.

Not so sure about ill effects of salt. Look at the greens on links golf courses next the sea.
They appear pretty good.
 
SarahLee, you don't realise how your photos is really having the effect of making me feel bad!
Here's another photo of my lawn using the same "depth of field" method as your's. No alterations or colour adjustments had been carried out on this picture, straight out of the camera taken only a few minutes ago at time of typing this post.

drygrass.jpg


Today has been a day of wall-to-wall unbroken sunshine with cloudless blue skies all day. It reached 24 C in the shade at 2 pm. I've just been for a long walk and my head's now burnt . . . again.

I suspect them golf courses probably have high tech irrigation systems manned by staff almost constantly. I'm having to use a hose or watering can whenever I could find the time. But any moisture that does stay in the soil seem to evaporate faster than I clould keep it moist as this "hair-dryer" type wind continue to prevail.
 
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Water at night and give it a good soaking?
 
Come by the Wirral where it's raining right now!
 
Pieface said:
Come by the Wirral where it's raining right now!
Click to expand...

And I'm only wearing shorts (no top) as strong sunshine (amongst 100% cloud-free clear blue sky) is streaming into my room right now. I'm sweating like a loon as it's so warm in here.
There is a definite North West/South East split in the UK's weather.
 
I in the SE, and it feels like have worn my waterproofs more this 'summer' then i did in the winter, ok its been bloody hot to go with it, but a cant remember a week that it hasnt rained at some point!

I spend 95% of my working day's outside.
 
Ian D J said:
SarahLee, you don't realise how your photos is really having the effect of making me feel bad!
Here's another photo of my lawn using the same "depth of field" method as your's. No alterations or colour adjustments had been carried out on this picture, straight out of the camera taken only a few minutes ago at time of typing this post.
Click to expand...

:hug:
Oh your poor lawn really is looking in a sorry state isn't it?

If it's any consolation we just haven't been able to get out and enjoy the garden at all for the last couple of months . . . and we're having to wipe the dog's muddy paws every time she comes in.
It's actually quite cold here at the moment too.

Have you tried watering at night when it's a bit cooler or get one of those lawn sprinklers that you just attach to the hose and leave running?

BTW the dof on my lawn photo wasn't deliberate. I tried to get down low to show how soaked it was, but I just picked the camera up when I read this and it was still set to whatever I'd used it for last :D
 
At the end of the hot spell in June, I bought an air conditioner, I doubt since that purchase we have had two consecutive days of dry weather (it doesn't seem like it anyway).

I think this has been one of the poorest summers for years down here, working for the Water Industry I cannot remember another time at the end of the summer when our reservoirs are as full as they currently are!
 
Mmm, I haven't really thought about watering it at night. Mind you, what doesn't help is that the soil itself isn't native. In fact, my house is perched on a mound made up of rubble from previous buildings that got destroyed by WWII bombings. Soil was placed on this pile of rubble and my house was built on top of it so I have very quickly draining soil. Fantastic during wet weather as my house isn't prone to flooding and rising damp, but when it comes to extended periods of dry weather . . . :shake:

Oh well. Statistics does show that I do pay for it by having massive deluges after a long spell of dry and warm weather. Just hope September and Autumn doesn't let me down in terms of decent rainfalls.
 
Here's something for you to think on. It's just been confirmed that Eskdalemuir had recorded 395 mm of rain in total for this August. If that's the case, that's pretty close to the all time record of the highest August rainfall total ever.
Kinda made my 11.7 mm (just a whisker over 1 cm) for the same month seem very puny in comparison.

This August most certainly has been a month of extremes as far as our UK climate is concerned, which makes it even more of a fascinating hobby for me!
 
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If it's any consolation, our lovely green grass is no more either :( We have had the hottest summer on record here and to top it all, we are on a complete watering ban. I can't remember the last time we had proper rain... must've been back in May!
 
Sun's just creeping over the hills again this morning...lovely

Sod the lawn, plant a patio...

(mind you I won't be saying that in 3 months time - this time last year when I came home on leave from Iraq it was grey and drizzly and I loved it...walked around with my face upturned revelling in the cool moisture...)
 
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