Green tomorrow, or roots for years
Whether it will be green in August is decided before it goes in: in the soil preparation, the choice of variety and the irrigation waiting for it. We take care of all three, whether you choose ready-made turf or seed.
Georgios Maravas, agricultural technologist, chooses the variety and method for your space, with thirty years of lawns for homes, hotels and sports grounds in Messinia.
Ready-made turf
When the space has to be green in a few days: a hotel before the season, a garden before an event, a house about to be handed over. Turf is laid on prepared ground and within two to three weeks it has rooted and can be walked on.
Soil preparation
Clearing, rotavating, improving with sand and organic matter, levelling to the right gradients.
Irrigation
Automatic irrigation goes in before the turf, with sprinklers that cover it evenly.
Laying
The rolls are laid the day they arrive, with tight joins and no gaps, and then rolled.
First watering and first weeks
We give you the watering schedule and the date of the first mow.
Lawn seeding
When there is time and the area is large, seeding gives a lawn with deeper roots that copes better with drought and foot traffic. The green shows in two weeks and the lawn can be walked on after two to three months.
Seeding season
spring, from March to May, or autumn, from September to October, when the soil is warm and the rain helps.
Process
soil preparation as for turf, sowing with a seed spreader for even coverage, a light top dressing, rolling, and frequent light watering until germination.
First mow
when the lawn reaches eight to ten centimetres, cut high with a sharp blade.
Which variety for a Messinian summer
The lawn that stays green in July on less water is a warm-season grass: Bermuda grass, kikuyu or zoysia, depending on use and how much shade there is. They go dormant in winter and wake up in spring. Cool-season varieties such as fescue stay green in winter and need more water in summer. We choose a variety, or a blend, based on the sun, the foot traffic and the water your space has.
Watering and maintenance
A lawn lives on a programme: watering early in the morning, mowing at a steady height, feeding in the right season, aerating when the soil compacts. As part of our garden maintenance we look after your lawn all year round, with the cutting height and watering changing season by season.
The other option: a garden with less lawn
For spaces that want greenery with less water and less care, we design Mediterranean gardens with ground cover, drought-tolerant plants and a small patch of lawn where it is actually used. See garden design and planning.
Frequently asked questions about lawns
Turf or seed?
Turf when you want results in days and the area is small or medium. Seed when you have two to three months ahead of you or the area is large. Either way, the soil and the irrigation make the difference.
When is lawn seed sown?
Spring, from March to May, or autumn, from September to October. In Messinia autumn seeding often gives the best result, because the lawn roots with the rains before summer.
How soon can ready-made turf be walked on?
In two to three weeks, once the rolls have rooted into the soil. Until then it is watered daily and kept off.
Does it need automatic irrigation?
For a lawn in Messinia, yes. Watering has to be even and early in the morning, every day in summer. That is hard to keep up by hand, and the lawn shows it.
My lawn turns yellow in August. What is wrong?
Usually the watering, the variety or the soil. We come, find out which of the three it is, and it can often be fixed with irrigation adjustments, aeration and overseeding, without redoing the lawn from scratch.
One phone call and we are on our way
You tell us how many square metres the space is and when you want it green. Ten minutes is enough for us to understand what is needed and arrange a visit.