Planting grass seed and witnessing its journey to a lush, green lawn is immensely satisfying and surprisingly simple too. Whether you need grass seed for overseeding or to create a new lawn, all of our recommendations are perfect for use in the UK climate.
As well as the British weather, our recommended grass seeds also cater to all garden areas. For example, if you have shaded, high traffic or patchy areas, we recommend a selection of specific blends that are all able to thrive wherever they are sowed in your garden.
To assist you in selecting a suitable grass seed, our handpicked selection lists top-performing blends, chosen based on our first-hand experience overseeing and creating new lawns in a range of gardens that varied in sunlight, foot traffic and ground conditions. Our testing and up-to-date research further ensure the quality of our recommendations.
Our Top Picks At A Glance:
How The DIY Works Team Tests & Rates Grass Seeds
As we own a number of properties (Airbnb’s and rentals) as well as our personal home, we’ve had the chance to test out several grass seed blends.
From creating a new lawn to overseeding, we’ve experimented with a range of grass seeds to provide our first-hand experience for this article. During our ongoing testing, we analyse the blend’s mixture, speed of growth, ease of application, coverage and its ability to grow under certain scenarios (i.e. shaded areas or clay coil).
Below are some photos we took whilst testing various grass seed blends over the years.
The above example shows us testing grass seed on patches that we had around the garden. As rated as one of the best for patch repairs, the Miracle-Gro Patch Magic did a great job and we highly recommend it.
To give you an idea of how easy it is to sow grass seed, below is a video that we posted onto our YouTube channel that we took whilst testing the Pronto Speedy Seed.
From the above application (in the video), below are the results of our testing. The second photo shows germination after 4 days, which we were really happy with. The third photo was taken after 10 days, and by the two-week stage, we had grass (although slightly patchy) that was several centimetres tall (as shown in the 4th photo).
To keep up our commitment to reviewing and testing the latest grass seed blends (for this article), we are continually testing out the latest grass seeds from top brands in the UK. This means that when we notice a brand has released a new and improved blend of grass seed, we will attempt to buy it and put it to the test where applicable.
As well as our testing and experience using multiple grass seed blends, we also based our recommendations on the latest research and several factors. Some of the factors that we considered included the blend’s contents, coverage, growth rate/germination, durability, the inclusion of an applicator, box sizes and value.
