Hi @jamesa
Sorry to hear you;re struggling with your lawn that's waterlogged and squishy. I can tell you've put lots of hard work into relaying/seeding your lawn and to find the results lacklustre is disappointing.
However, I think I know what the problem is and the solution.
Looking at your soil and the garden aspect, it looks like you're dealing with part shade and clay soil. Which are often the trickiest conditions to lay lawn with.
This means that the conditions the lawn seed have to contend with are:
https://youtu.be/SL8qCL_fGeM
This means that your bog standard off-the-shelf lawn seed or turf rolls simply won't cut it. You need a specialist shady seed mix like this one for shady soils. (This is an affiliate link so if you do choose to buy receive a small commission that helps keep this blog free to use!)

Shaded Clay Lawn Mix
If you're buying other seed I'd recommend opting for a mix like the one below.
- 20% Dwarf perennial rye grass
- 25% Strong creeping red fescue
- 20% Slender creeping red fescue
- 15% Sheeps or Hard fescue
- 10% Smooth stalked meadow grass
- 5% Rough Stalked or Wood meadow grass
- 5% Bent grass
You don't need to rip your lawn up and start again either. I'd simply rake the lawn both ways, horizontally and vertically and then overseed the above mix. Scatter some sieved compost over the top, and the mix should help fill in the gaps.
As for the wet ground in winter, I'm afraid having clay soil means you'll always have this. Consider adding a path along the middle of the garden to help navigate people around in all weathers.
Hope that helps.
Lee
Hi @jamesa
Sorry to hear you;re struggling with your lawn that's waterlogged and squishy. I can tell you've put lots of hard work into relaying/seeding your lawn and to find the results lacklustre is disappointing.
However, I think I know what the problem is and the solution.
Looking at your soil and the garden aspect, it looks like you're dealing with part shade and clay soil. Which are often the trickiest conditions to lay lawn with.
This means that the conditions the lawn seed have to contend with are:
This means that your bog standard off-the-shelf lawn seed or turf rolls simply won't cut it. You need a specialist shady seed mix like this one for shady soils. (This is an affiliate link so if you do choose to buy receive a small commission that helps keep this blog free to use!)

Shaded Clay Lawn Mix
If you're buying other seed I'd recommend opting for a mix like the one below.
- 20% Dwarf perennial rye grass
- 25% Strong creeping red fescue
- 20% Slender creeping red fescue
- 15% Sheeps or Hard fescue
- 10% Smooth stalked meadow grass
- 5% Rough Stalked or Wood meadow grass
- 5% Bent grass
You don't need to rip your lawn up and start again either. I'd simply rake the lawn both ways, horizontally and vertically and then overseed the above mix. Scatter some sieved compost over the top, and the mix should help fill in the gaps.
As for the wet ground in winter, I'm afraid having clay soil means you'll always have this. Consider adding a path along the middle of the garden to help navigate people around in all weathers.
Hope that helps.
Lee
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