Harrogate lawns, mowing and new turf
Lawn Mowing, Lawn Care and Turfing in Harrogate
Fixed-price lawn mowing rounds, edging, feeding and moss raked out by hand, plus new lawns laid with premium quality turf, across Harrogate and out to Knaresborough, Killinghall and Nidderdale. Every visit scheduled, so the lawn never gets away from you. 28 years, established 1998.
- 28 yearsGardening since 1998
- NPTCApproved and DBS checked
- BS 3998Tree work standard
- 4.5 from 19Rated on Google
What we do
A Harrogate lawn that gets cut on time, or a new one laid properly
Lawn care at Hocus Crocus is a fixed-price service for an agreed number of visits through the year, and Harrogate is the heart of the round. A town lawn here is rarely a big open sheet of grass. It is a shaped piece with a lot of edge to it, bed lines and a path or two cut into it, boundary walls and mature trees throwing shade across it for half the day, and a north-facing side that goes to moss first every autumn. That is a lawn that lives or dies on being cut at the right height, on time, with the edges done, rather than on one heroic afternoon in June.
Out to Killinghall, Knaresborough and up the Nidd valley the lawns open out and the problems change: bigger areas, new-build plots laid over compacted builder's ground under a skim of topsoil, and a wetter, later growing season that puts a fortnight of growth on before anyone can get a machine on it. Every visit is scheduled, so you can be sure the lawn is always maintained and looking good, and you can sit back and enjoy the garden instead. We also lay new lawns using premium quality turf at competitive rates, with bespoke edging available.
Two things tend to go wrong with lawns here. Either nobody can get to them often enough through a wet Yorkshire growing season, so every cut turns into a hay harvest and the sward thins out underneath. Or the lawn was never any good to begin with, laid on ground that was never prepared, yellow by July and green with moss by October. The first is a scheduling problem. The second is a soil problem, and fresh turf on its own will not fix it.
Hocus Crocus Gardens & Trees is rated 4.5 out of 5 from 19 Google reviews.
New build ground
New-build lawns and builder’s topsoil
Killinghall has taken a lot of new housing pressure along the A61 Ripon Road and B6161 Otley Road, and new-build gardens arrive with the same set of problems every time: subsoil compacted by machinery, a thin layer of imported topsoil over the top, turf laid in a hurry and boundaries left bare. Breaking up the compaction, improving and levelling the ground, then laying proper turf and planting the boundaries is a very different job to rolling new turf over the old, and it is the difference between a lawn that lasts and one you replace again in three years.
What keeps a lawn good in this climate
Mowing height, timing and feeding do most of the work. Cutting a little and often through the growing season keeps the sward dense, and dense grass is what keeps moss and weeds out without reaching for chemicals. Moss and thatch build up fast in a wet valley climate, so we rake them out by hand, feed to thicken the grass and overseed the thin patches. Edging and cutting in the beds is the bit that makes an ordinary lawn look properly kept, and it is all part of the regular round.
How it runs
How the lawn round works
- We measure and quote. A free visit, the lawn measured, and a fixed price for an agreed number of visits across the year.
- You get a schedule. Visits are planned rather than squeezed in, so the grass is cut before it needs rescuing.
- We cut, edge and cut in. Mowing, edges, beds and arisings taken away on every visit.
- We feed, rake out the moss and overseed at the right point. Timed to the season rather than to convenience, which is what actually thickens a lawn.
- New turf, if the lawn is past saving. Ground prepared and levelled first, then premium turf laid and edged.
What customers say
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Just had some more gardening work and trees done by Karen and her team. New lawn laid at back and borders altered to make life easier. Realistically priced for a full days work. Such a professional eye to detail. Asked them to maintain my garden monthly. Great.
Marilyn G., Google review
Google review
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Great team,really professional,fair prices and all the rubbish cleared up when they finish. Would not use anyone else.
Les Winterburn, Harrogate, North Yorkshire
Google review
Pricing and patch
What affects the price of mowing and turfing
Mowing is quoted as a fixed price for an agreed number of visits, so you know what the year costs before it starts, and a regular round is better value than calling us out once it has got away. The price follows the size of the lawn, access for machinery, how many edges and beds have to be cut in, and how often you want us. Access matters more in town than people expect: a Harrogate back lawn reached only through a side gate takes a smaller machine and more time than an open plot you can drive onto. New turf is priced on the area, how much ground preparation and levelling it needs first, whether an old lawn or hard surface is coming out, and the edging detail you want round it. We measure it and quote in writing.
Where we cut and lay lawns
Lawn rounds work best on a tight geography, and ours is built around Harrogate and the villages on its edge. New-build plots and village gardens in Killinghall are a particular speciality, we work the terraced and riverside plots of Knaresborough, and we cut and lay lawns through the Nidd valley villages of Hampsthwaite and Birstwith, where the lawns running down to the stream at Birstwith Hall show what this ground can grow. Everywhere we cover is listed on the areas we cover page.
Most lawn customers have us do the rest of the garden while we are there, which is covered under regular garden maintenance, and if the lawn is the wrong shape or in the wrong place entirely, that is a job for garden design and makeovers. Tell us the size of your lawn and we will price it.
On the tools
What our lawn care and turfing covers
Regular mowing round
A fixed price for an agreed number of cuts across the year, each visit scheduled so the lawn never gets away from you. Weekly or fortnightly through the growing season, lighter at either end.
Edging and cutting in
Border edging, reshaping and cutting in the beds. It is the detail that makes an ordinary lawn look properly kept, and it is part of the regular round rather than an extra.
Lawn feed, moss raking and overseeding
Moss and thatch raked out by hand, feed to thicken the sward and overseeding where the grass has thinned, against the moss that builds up in a wet valley climate. Dense grass is what keeps moss and weeds out in the first place.
Reshaping a tired lawn
Ragged edges squared up or curved properly, worn patches lifted and re-turfed, and the shape of the lawn changed to suit how the garden actually gets used.
New turf laid
New lawns laid using premium quality turf at competitive rates, with bespoke edging available. Laid onto ground that has been prepared for it, not rolled out over whatever was there before.
Ground preparation and levelling
Compaction broken up, old surfaces removed, soil improved and levels set before the turf arrives. This is the part that decides whether a new lawn is still good in three years.
Question not answered below? Call Karen on 07816 779 064.
Common questions
Lawn and turfing questions from Killinghall, Knaresborough and the Nidd valley
How often should a lawn be cut in this part of Yorkshire?
When is the best time to lay new turf in North Yorkshire?
Why is my new-build lawn in Killinghall struggling?
Can you get rid of moss in a lawn?
Do you charge a fixed price for the whole year?
Do you cut lawns on steep or riverside plots?
Where we work
Covering Harrogate, Knaresborough, Ripon and the whole of Nidderdale.
Karen is based near Knaresborough and works right across Harrogate and its villages, out to Knaresborough and Ripon, and up the whole of Nidderdale. Not on the list? Just ask.
- Harrogate
- Knaresborough
- Ripon
- Killinghall
- Hampsthwaite and Birstwith
- Boroughbridge
- Summerbridge and Dacre Banks
- Pateley Bridge
- Wetherby
Want the lawn taken off your hands?
Tell us the size of the lawn and how often you would like it cut, or ask us to price a new one. Free quote, no obligation, and a straight answer about what the ground needs first.
