Grass Identification
Understanding what grasses make up your lawn is the first step in knowing how to care for it. Each species has its own strengths – from fine texture and shade tolerance to durability and quick recovery. Being able to identify these differences helps you choose the right lawn seed, manage your lawn effectively and diagnose issues such as thinning, coarse patches or disease. To make grass identification simple, our parent company, DLF Seeds has created a clear, easy-to-use guide covering the most common lawn species, how to recognise them, and what to expect from each.
Brief Overview of the guide:
Our downloadable booklet helps you recognise the main species found in UK lawns:
Perennial Ryegrass: Tough, fast-establishing, great for family lawns and high-traffic areas.
Strong Creeping Red Fescue:
Slender Creeping Red Fescue:
Chewings Fescue: Fine-leaved, shade tolerant and ideal for ornamental or low-maintenance lawns.
Tall Fescue:
Sheep's/Hard Fescue:
Strong & Smooth Stalked Meadowgrass: Dense, durable, great for recovery and creating long-lasting turf structure.
Browntop Bent Grass: Ultra-fine texture and dense, close-mown lawns and golf greens.
Download the DLF Grass Booklet (PDF)
A detailed reference featuring photos, descriptions and practical insights.
Our Grass Cultivars - Independently Tested & Ranked
All Johnsons Lawn Seed (DLF) cultivars are independently tested, registered and ranked within the BSPB Turfgrass Seed Booklet.
The BSPB (British Society of Plant Breeders) Turfgrass Seed Booklet is the UK’s authoritative reference for turfgrass performance. Every year, cultivars are rigorously assessed through the STRI (Sports Turf Research Institute) trials and rated on key characteristics, including:
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Fineness of leaf
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Colour and overall visual merit
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Wear tolerance
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Recovery and growth rates
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Disease resistance
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Speed of establishment
Only cultivars that meet strict standards are listed, ensuring the seed you buy is backed by scientific performance data—not marketing claims.
This means when you choose Johnsons Lawn Seed, you’re choosing proven, high-ranking cultivars used by professionals, from sports venues to ornamental lawns.