Green Velvet Shady Seed is a grass seed mix made for the parts of the garden that never get much sun, under tree canopies, along fences and behind sheds, where ordinary lawn seed comes through thin and patchy.
Our Green Velvet Shady Seed is a premium grass seed product that helps turf which is struggling to thrive in shady spots in your garden or outdoor space. These seeds have been specifically formulated to help grass in sun-restricted areas grow to their full potential within these conditions.
Shady Seed is easy to use and perfect for lawn patch repairs, reviving brown patches, thickening thinning lawns, and producing healthier-looking grass. If your lawn looks a little tired in shady areas, try Shady Seed and watch it come back to life within a couple of weeks.
Green Velvet’s Shady Seed has been produced to grow fresh, strong, thick, and healthy grass in shady areas of your garden. These are often found under tree canopies, fences or under obstacles (like benches or trampolines). Shady Seed helps grass survive in sun-restricted conditions by developing stronger grass roots, which can source essential water and nutrients. It also helps grass blades build a solid resistance to common lawn diseases and a higher tolerance to drought. For the parts of your lawn that get plenty of sun, our Green Velvet Lawn Seed is the better choice.
Are there parts of your lawn hidden in the shade of trees, bushes, sheds, or buildings? Grass that is permanently in the shade won’t absorb enough sunlight to generate food, nutrients, and energy to grow thick, strong grass. It’s these areas that need a little help.
This seed has been formulated for precisely this purpose. It is designed to provide a boost of nutrients to struggling areas and grow a type of grass that can withstand and survive in these sun-limited conditions. If an area is so heavily shaded that seed struggles to take, our shade tolerant turf will give you a faster result.
Start by removing any weeds from the shaded area. Rake the soil to create an even surface and scatter your Shady Seed onto the soil. Tap them in slightly to ensure they’re in contact with the earth, and water them. For the best results, we recommend sowing this seed from March to November. Not sure how much you need? Our grass seed calculator works it out for you in seconds.
Take a look at the rest of our grass seed and lawn fertiliser range, or contact us for more information.
High-quality products are only half the story at George Davies; expert delivery and after-care are just as important. From your very first enquiry to the moment your Shady Seed arrives, every single customer is looked after by our friendly team.
We proudly service Olney, Bedford, St. Albans and the surrounding areas. Operating from our depots in Olney and St. Albans, we can offer a prompt and efficient delivery service for homeowners and professional landscapers alike.
Each delivery of our Shady Seed is safely stacked onto rigid trucks equipped with forklifts. With the use of What3Words, we can place your Shady Seed exactly where you need it (within reason). Long, narrow tracks and gravel driveways are not a problem! Where possible, we can place stone products, turf pallets, and product bulk bags around the back of your property. All we ask is for 9 ft x 9 ft clear access so the forklifts can get through safely.
Our skilled drivers are highly trained, calm under pressure, and expert problem-solvers when it comes to difficult deliveries. If you have restricted areas, tight entrances, or specific requirements, please tell us when ordering and add notes to your online order. Trust us when we say: our drivers truly make difficult deliveries easy! Delivery Policy Delivery FAQs
Yes, with the right seed. Ordinary lawn seed struggles in shade because it needs more sunlight than it gets, so it comes through thin and patchy. Shady Seed is a mix chosen for varieties that cope with low light, so it establishes where standard seed gives up. Very deep shade under dense evergreens is still a tough ask, and for those spots our shade tolerant turf is the quicker answer.
Look for a mix built around fescues rather than one heavy on ryegrass, which wants full sun. Shady Seed is formulated for exactly this, under tree canopies, along fence lines, beside sheds and behind north facing walls. If part of your lawn gets good sun and part sits in shade, most people use Shady Seed on the shaded sections and our Green Velvet Lawn Seed everywhere else.
Usually 7 to 21 days, though shaded ground is cooler so it often sits at the slower end of that. Keep it damp and be patient. There is more detail in our guide on how long grass seed takes to grow.
You can, and it will grow perfectly well. It is simply not what the mix is optimised for, so if the whole lawn is in full sun you will get a better result from Green Velvet Lawn Seed. Using Shady Seed across a mixed lawn to keep things consistent is absolutely fine.
A 525g box covers 15m² on bare ground or 30m² if you are overseeding an existing lawn. That scales up through the range, with the 20kg bag covering 500m² fresh or 1,000m² overseeding. Our grass seed calculator will work out the exact amount for your area.
March to November. Soil temperature matters more than the date on the calendar, so aim for warm, moist ground. Spring and early autumn are the sweet spots. Sowing into cold or waterlogged soil in midwinter tends to waste seed.
Rake the seed lightly into the surface so it is in contact with soil rather than sitting on top, and keep the area watered, damp seed is less appealing. Netting or fleece over the area works well for the first fortnight. We have put together a full guide on keeping birds off your grass seed, because it is easily the question we get asked most.
Tools required:
Follow these six steps to sow your Shady Seed:
Step 1: Clear the area
Pull out weeds, moss and any dead grass. Shaded ground often carries more moss than you would expect, and seed will not establish through it. If there is a lot, scarify the area first.
Step 2: Prepare the soil
Break up compacted ground with a fork and rake it to a fine, level tilth. Shaded soil under trees is often dry and root filled, so working in a little topdressing gives the seed something to root into.
Step 3: Work out how much you need
Sow at roughly 35g to 40g per m² on bare soil, or about half that when overseeding an existing lawn. Our grass seed calculator does the maths for you.
Step 4: Sow the seed
Scatter it evenly by hand or with a spreader. Go over the area twice, walking in one direction and then at right angles to it, which gives far more even coverage than one pass.
Step 5: Rake in and firm down
Lightly rake so the seed makes contact with the soil, then firm the surface gently. Seed sitting on top of the ground will dry out or feed the local bird population.
Step 6: Water and protect
Water thoroughly with a fine spray and keep the ground damp until the grass is established, usually 7 to 21 days. Cover with netting if birds are a problem, and stay off the new grass until its first cut.
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