How to choose the right grass for your lawn

The fundamental structure of a garden is based on a lush rolling lawn. Here's what you need to know about choosing the right grass for your outdoor space.

Most lawn grasses are known either as cool-season (for Canada and the northern and mountain regions of the U.S., Zones 3 through 6) or warm-season (for the southern half to third of the U.S., Zones 7 through 10).

• Talk to your local nursery or garden centre about the best grass or combination of grasses for your lawn.

With its attractive blue-green hue, Kentucky bluegrass is the most popular cool-season grass.

• It is a moderate-wearing grass that grows best in areas with mild summers and ample rainfall.
• It mixes well with other cool-season grasses, include rye and fescues, which improves bluegrass in areas where it falls short: its weakness in shade, drought tolerance and wearability.

• Most often mixed with Kentucky bluegrass.
• Deep green and glossy, it sprouts quickly, grows in clumps and has shallow root systems.
• Perennial rye, a tough customer, adds disease resistance and improves the wearability of other grasses.

• Red fescue starts as a fine-textured bunch grass that develops into a solid mat of narrow, deep-green leaves. It performs well in dry soils and in sun and shade; it has deep roots but recovers slowly from damage, such as high traffic. And it doesn't like clay. Hard fescue is slower-growing and does not root as deeply, but requires little maintenance. Both fescues are best used in mixtures with other grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass.
• A fine fescue such as 'Highlight Chewings' is medium green and fine-bladed. Moderately disease-resistant, it tolerates low mowing, which is fatal to most fescues.

With careful selection and regular maintenance, your grass will become a long-lived asset in your home's landscape. Consider these tips before selecting your grass and create a thriving lawn today.