Garden guide
How Often Should You Mow the Lawn? A UK Season Guide
The short version
Mow whenever the grass is growing — typically weekly from April to September, fortnightly in March and October, and only for a tidy-up in winter. Never remove more than a third of the blade in one cut.
Cutting heights through the year
Spring: 3–4cm as growth starts. Summer: 4cm, rising to 5cm in dry spells — longer blades shade roots and survive drought. Autumn: back down to 3cm for the last cuts. Winter: one high tidy pass on a dry day if it needs it, 5cm, never on frosty or waterlogged ground.
The one-third rule
Cutting more than a third of the blade at once shocks the grass, weakens roots and opens the sward to moss and weeds. Coming back from holiday to a jungle? Take it down in two or three passes a few days apart, not one scalping.
Habits that double your lawn's looks
Keep blades sharp — blunt ones tear and leave brown tips. Vary your mowing direction to stop the grass leaning. Leave clippings on in summer (they return a season's worth of nitrogen), box them off in autumn. And edge after mowing — a crisp edge makes any lawn look twice as tended.
Lawn jobs month by month
Mowing is only one job on the lawn's calendar — feeding, scarifying, overseeding and top dressing all have their season. Our UK gardener's calendar lists every month's lawn tasks alongside the rest of the garden.