Light is the first thing we look at on a Cardiff lawn. Behind a Roath or Canton terrace, high brick walls and the house itself can keep half the yard in shadow for most of the day, while a semi in Llanishen or Whitchurch may get sun from morning to evening. The same roll of turf behaves very differently in those two gardens, so we plan the lawn around where the sun actually falls before anything else.
Tony and the team handle turf laying right across Cardiff, from stripping a mossy old lawn to shaping a brand new one on bare ground at the edge of the city. We come out, look at the soil and the light, and give you a free quote. You can see the wider garden work we do in the capital on our Cardiff landscaping page, or simply drop us a message with a couple of photos.
The six kinds of lawn work we do everywhere, and how each tends to play out in city gardens.
On the newer streets around Pontprennau and the other edges of Cardiff, a fresh lawn on properly prepared ground turns a builder's patch of subsoil into a garden the children can use within a few weeks.
Plenty of interwar semis in Cardiff have lawns that were sown decades ago and are now more moss than grass, so lifting the lot and starting again is often quicker than feeding it back to health.
Cardiff back gardens often hide old paths, bits of brick and ash from coal fires a few inches down, and we dig that out and bring in screened topsoil so the new lawn sits level.
Most of Cardiff is fairly gentle ground, but gardens rising up towards Rhiwbina and the northern suburbs can have a bank that is easier to use as two flat lawns with a step between.
Clay is common under Cardiff gardens, and where puddles sit through the winter we open the soil up with grit or fit a drain before any turf goes down.
In a narrow, shady Cardiff yard where grass would struggle, artificial grass laid on a compacted, free-draining base gives a green floor that copes with bikes, bins and dogs.
A lawn wants a good few hours of direct light a day. In many Cardiff terrace yards the strip nearest the house gets hardly any, the middle gets a little, and the far end catches the afternoon sun over the back wall. Laying turf wall to wall in that sort of space usually ends with a thin, mossy patch by the back door within a year or two.
So we often suggest keeping grass to the brightest part and paving the rest. A small square of turf at the sunny end, with a seat beside it, looks better and lasts longer than a struggling lawn over the whole yard. We also use turf grown with a shade-tolerant mix of grasses where it makes sense. Our Cardiff guide on getting a lawn growing in a shaded Cardiff garden goes through the options in more depth.
Turf arrives in heavy, damp rolls, and in a Cardiff terrace without a rear lane every one of them goes through the front door. We lay dust sheets and boards down the hall, bring the rolls in on the morning they are delivered and lay them straight away, because turf left stacked in a pile starts to yellow within a day.
The old grass and any spoil go out the same way, bagged so nothing drops on the carpet. Where a lane runs behind the houses, as it does on many streets, it makes life much easier, so tell us when you get in touch. For small yards it is worth reading making the most of a small Cardiff terrace garden before settling on a design.
City gardens bring shade, clay and tricky access. This is how we deal with them.
We look at where the sun falls before suggesting a lawn shape, so the grass goes where it can actually grow.
Floors and doorways are protected when rolls and spoil have to come through a terrace, and the old grass leaves with us rather than sitting in a pile.
Rubble, ash and compacted clay come out or are broken up before the turf arrives, which is what keeps a lawn level and dry.
Customers across South Wales rate us highly on Google and Checkatrade, and you can see their comments on our reviews page.
Out in Llanishen, Whitchurch, Rhiwbina and Llandaff, the typical request is a new lawn to replace one that has been worn bare by football and trampolines, or taken over by moss under a big tree. Before we quote, we check why it failed. Compacted soil, shade and poor drainage each need a different answer, and why lawns go patchy, mossy or bare explains the usual culprits.
Many of these gardens are also getting a new patio or fence at the same time. It makes sense to do the hard landscaping first, so machinery and deliveries do not flatten the new grass. We often combine a lawn with patio paving in Cardiff or fencing in Cardiff, finishing the turf last with a crisp edge against the new stone.
On the newer estates at the edge of the city, a common story is a thin skim of topsoil rolled over clay that was compacted by site machinery. The builder's turf greens up for a summer, then the first wet winter leaves it soggy and thin. We break up that hard layer, add grit and good topsoil, level it and lay new turf on ground that actually lets water through.
Once it is down, watering is down to you for the first few weeks. Our guide to caring for new turf in the first six weeks sets out what to do, and preparing the ground before laying turf shows why the groundwork takes most of the time.
Real reviews from homeowners across Cardiff — rated 4.8 out of 5 on Google from 69 reviews and 10/10 on Checkatrade.
“Had my patio done by the company and could not be happier. Top quality work done and quickly too.”
“I was pleased to find Tony and his lads were absolutely great! Tony responded quickly & was very polite.”
“We were delighted with the work and materials, which were of very high quality. Tony and team helped us.”
Local and practical guides to help you plan the work.
One team for the whole garden, so a single visit can price everything you have in mind.
We cover Cardiff and the towns around it. Choose another area below.
T J Landscapes South Wales
24 Conway Road, Pontypool
Torfaen, NP4 6HL
We cover homes right across South Wales, from Cardiff and the coast up to the valleys and the Brecon Beacons.
In the brighter parts, usually yes, especially with a shade-tolerant turf. In the darkest corners it tends to thin out, and we would rather tell you that now and suggest paving or planting there instead.
Yes. We bring everything through the house with the floors protected and lay the turf the same morning it arrives, so it is never stacked in your hall.
Spring and early autumn are the easiest, with warm soil and regular rain. Summer works with plenty of watering. See the best time to lay turf in South Wales for the full picture.
The size of the area, how much old turf and rubble has to come out, how much topsoil is needed, whether drainage is involved and how easy the access is. We price it all on a free visit, so get in touch.
Tell us which part of Cardiff you are in, roughly how big the lawn is and how much sun it gets. Photos taken at midday help.
