How often should you mow your lawn?

A starting point, not a fixed rule

For a conventional lawn, weekly or fortnightly mowing is a common growing-season starting point. The RHS mowing guide explains that frequency varies with growth, weather and lawn style. A meadow-style area needs a different plan from a short family lawn.

Before choosing a schedule, decide which parts of the garden should be kept short. You may want a regularly cut route to the shed but leave another section longer. Make those boundaries clear to anyone maintaining the garden: one mowing frequency does not have to apply everywhere.

Keep a simple record for a few visits

Note the date of each cut and take a photograph from the same place before the next one. Add a short observation: still tidy, beginning to look uneven, or too long for the finish you want. This gives you a better basis for adjusting visits than comparing your garden with a neighbour’s.

Separate appearance from use. A lawn can look acceptable from the kitchen window but be awkward for children to play on, or it may be intentionally longer in an area nobody walks across. Explain the outcome you want, rather than asking for the shortest possible cut.

What if the routine keeps slipping?

If you regularly miss the planned cut, review the arrangement instead of treating every visit as a catch-up. Check whether the barrier is time, mower storage, access or the amount of work. A small grass area with steps and no outside storage can be inconvenient to maintain even though it is not large.

If the grass has already become substantially longer, use our long-grass guide before trying to return to the usual finish. The first recovery visit and the ongoing routine may need to be agreed separately.

Agree the whole visit

A mowing arrangement should explain which lawn areas are included, what happens around obstacles, whether edges need attention and how cuttings will be handled. Decide what should happen if access is unavailable or conditions mean mowing needs to wait. These practical details are as important as the interval between visits.

Review the arrangement when your circumstances change. New planting, a play area or a decision to leave a wildlife corner can all change the work you want done. A recurring booking should reflect the current garden, not an old description.

PW Gardening Service offers regular and one-off lawn mowing around Lewisham and our coverage areas. Send the lawn size as an estimate, photographs and access details when you enquire. For seasonal changes, read when to start and stop mowing.