; fretting about the rain, the scarifying and the fact that I once drove my Volvo onto the front lawn when it was soaking wet and caused a massive muddy dent that took months to resolve. I'm not sure he ever forgave me. He certainly mentioned it quite a lot. But then, in 2019 Justin died suddenly. Obviously we were all devastated, and the garden wasn't exactly a priority. Now, however, almost four years later, it isn't just my problem, it's my passion. I initially outsourced the mowing, but this year it became too expensive, and I had to take responsibility for our 21,500-square-foot lawn. Over the past three months, I have become obsessed with the state of the grass. What's more, I have a new understanding of – and respect for – my husband's delight in getting it just right. Not to be too self-indulgent, but in some ways I think of my new-found love of mowing as a tribute to him. It has not been easy. The incredibly wet spring meant that even after the one and only mowing by the professionals, the grass was sodden, thick and too long. The cuttings were left in thick lines up and down the garden, mouldering away on top of the rapidly growing blades below. Then the weather abruptly switched and the entire thing looked like a hayfield. It was time to call in the experts… 'Lawns are part of the family,' says gardening expert James Field, whose name perfectly matches his job. He's also known as the Gardening Gent ( thegardeninggent.co.uk ), and his company looks after large residential gardens. 'Use them as they need to be used,' is his advice. This might sound obvious, but although our back garden isn't that large, it takes three hours to mow and is also employed as){kind=link}
I never shared my husband’s obsession with a perfect lawn, but when he died, tending the grass became a labour of love
Had you said to me five years ago that I’d turn down a lunch invitation because I was doing the lawn, I’d have laughed myself sick. Back then my husband, Justin, was in charge of our garden, and during the 16 years of our marriage, he spent hours mowing, up and down, week in, week out (it’s a big lawn); fretting about the rain, the scarifying and the fact that I once drove my Volvo onto the front lawn when it was soaking wet and caused a massive muddy dent that took months to resolve. I’m not sure he ever forgave me. He certainly mentioned it quite a lot.
But then, in 2019 Justin died suddenly. Obviously we were all devastated, and the garden wasn’t exactly a priority. Now, however, almost four years later, it isn’t just my problem, it’s my passion. I initially outsourced the mowing, but this year it became too expensive, and I had to take responsibility for our 21,500-square-foot lawn. Over the past three months, I have become obsessed with the state of the grass. What’s more, I have a new understanding of – and respect for – my husband’s delight in getting it just right. Not to be too self-indulgent, but in some ways I think of my new-found love of mowing as a tribute to him.
It has not been easy. The incredibly wet spring meant that even after the one and only mowing by the professionals, the grass was sodden, thick and too long. The cuttings were left in thick lines up and down the garden, mouldering away on top of the rapidly growing blades below. Then the weather abruptly switched and the entire thing looked like a hayfield. It was time to call in the experts…
“Lawns are part of the family,” says gardening expert James Field, whose name perfectly matches his job. He’s also known as the Gardening Gent (thegardeninggent.co.uk), and his company looks after large residential gardens. “Use them as they need to be used,” is his advice. This might sound obvious, but although our back garden isn’t that large, it takes three hours to mow and is also employed as a cricket pitch and a bumpy croquet lawn.