5 Best Grass Seeds of 2024

Gardeners Dream is a company that produces a wide range of gardening products, with one of these being the Gardeners Dream Hard-Wearing Lawn Grass Seed. I put its promise of a thick and lush lawn to the test by sowing it alongside four other grass seed mixes.

Let’s start by talking grass varieties. Unlike many other grass seed mixes, this one contains just two varieties of grass. The good news is that both are hardy perennials, with the fescue featuring finer leaves than the ryegrass, giving you a beautifully textured mix that’s both hard-wearing yet soft and comfortable enough to sunbathe on!

Both varieties are also known for their fast germination. Mine ended up taking 15 days to sprout, as opposed to the promised 5-10 days. However, to be fair, they were sown in mid-October in NE Scotland, meaning that the seeds definitely weren’t experiencing optimum conditions! Still, not only were they the second-fastest of the five mixes to germinate, but the growth of the grass after that outshone most of the rest, giving me a thick, green lawn.

If this is your first time sowing grass seed, you won’t appreciate the lack of instructions on the bag. Fortunately, the process is pretty similar no matter the type of grass seed you use, so find some instructions online to follow. Correctly storing leftover grass seed is important too, but that’s easy with this mix since it’s the only one that I tested that came in resealable packaging.

The mid-range price tag that this grass seed mix comes with makes it even more appealing. For the results that it provides, I would have been happy to pay more, making it great value for money.

Even though this grass seed didn’t end up being the fastest to germinate, it still ended up being my preferred mix out of the five that I tested. The dense and lush quality of the lawn coupled with its fast growth and undeniable hardiness in poor conditions makes the Gardeners Dream Hard-Wearing Lawn Grass Seed a mix that I would highly recommend!

GBW is a company that specializes in high-quality grass and wildflower seeds, so I had high hopes for the GBW Premium Quality Grass Seed. To put it to the test, I sowed this seed next to grass seed mixes from four other brands, enabling me to accurately compare performance.

The first thing that stood out to me about this mix was the fact that it contains four different grass varieties – more than what you’d find from most other companies. It’s a blend that combines hard-wearing grasses with finer-leaved varieties, giving you a more diverse lawn that will contribute to the overall biodiversity of your garden.

GBW promises that you’ll start to see signs of this lawn 7-10 days after sowing the seed. It took a little longer for me – 16 days, to be precise. However, this can be forgiven considering that the seed was sown in mid-October, which is later than usually recommended. Even though it had some very bitter winter weather to contend with, it grew pretty well, giving me a good covering of grass a few months later. 

The sowing process involved the same steps as the other grass seed mixes, with easy-to-follow instructions stapled to the bag. Keep in mind that, due to the ‘bent’ grass variety in this mix, it’s lighter than other grass seed mixes, so be careful if you’re sowing on a breezy day! 

The pricing for this product is fair. Although it took a little longer to get going than some of the other mixes that I tested, it costs a little less than most of its competition, yet it still contains a fantastic mix of grass varieties.

While this grass seed mix may not have given me the fastest or thickest lawn, I appreciated its steady growth, even in harsh conditions. Plus, with the extra diversity that it provides, the slightly longer wait for this one to establish is more than worthwhile!

A1 Lawn is known for its lawn care expertise, so I was looking forward to giving the A1 Lawn AM Pro 25 Hard Wearing Grass Seed a try. To test it out fairly, I sowed a mini lawn of this seed alongside four other mini lawns featuring grass seed mixes from other companies.

This is another grass seed mix that contains just two varieties of grass. Both are robust perennials that will withstand poor conditions while still providing an aesthetically pleasing lawn. While most of the other grass seed mixes on this page are DEFRA-approved, this one has undergone additional certifications that showcase its quality.

The promised germination period for this grass seed is a realistic 7-21 days, and mine sprouted in 16, even though it was sown later than recommended. After this, it grew steadily through the winter. The covering of grass isn’t quite as thick as some of the other grass seed mixes that I tested, but it has still resulted in a respectable lawn.

One of the main downsides of this grass seed is that the minimum you can purchase is 5kg. This would be far too much if you only need a few handfuls to over-seed a lawn, especially since grass seed quickly deteriorates in storage. However, if you have a larger area to cover, the large bag would be an advantage. It does make things a little trickier when sowing due to the weight of the bag but the sowing process is still easy enough, with good instructions to follow.

Based on its price per gram, this seed is one of the least expensive of the five that I tested, although only slightly so. You would expect bigger savings when purchasing a bigger bag, but this isn’t the case. Still, judging by the results, it’s a fair price that offers good value for money.

When it comes down to it, the end result is what matters most when sowing a lawn, and this grass seed provides a good covering. It’s slightly sparser than some of the other grass seed mixes that I tested but the fact that the seedlings remained resilient through the worst of the winter is a testament to its vigour. 

Pronto Seed is known for producing a vast selection of seeds, one of which is the Speedy Seed Grass Seed mix. I sowed this seed alongside four other brands to put it to the test.

While most grass seed mixes contain at least three different seed varieties, this one has just two. Both are hard-wearing but one of these is annual ryegrass – a grass that isn’t used in any of the other mixes that I tested. Why? Because its lifespan is only one year. Once the annual ryegrass dies off, it won’t return, leaving those patches of lawn bare until either the perennial ryegrass takes over or you decide to over-seed.

The advantage of using these two grass varieties lies in their fast germination. Even though conditions were poor and I was sowing the seed later than advised, the seeds sprouted in 14 days, making them the fastest to germinate of the five mixes that I tested. As the months went on, growth continued to be strong, resulting in this one being the thickest, greenest, and lushest of the five lawns. 

The actual sowing process was simple, thanks to the clear instructions provided on the box. However, the box can’t be resealed, so any extra seed will need to be stored elsewhere as keeping them airtight is crucial for their shelf life.

With this seed offering such impressive results, its price seems like a steal. With that said, take into account the fact that you may need to over-seed a year later once the annual ryegrass dies back – this will add to the overall cost of your lawn.

All in all, I can see why this seed mix is named as such – if you want a speedy lawn, Pronto Seed’s Speedy Seed is the grass seed to go for. It may not provide the same level of longevity as some of the other grass seed mixes but, so long as you’re aware of this from the start, you won’t be disappointed.

If you’re looking to establish a lawn as quickly as possible, the Miracle-Gro EverGreen Multi Purpose Lawn Seed, with its promises of a speedy 5-day germination period, will likely appeal to you. The fact that Miracle Gro is a household name is also a draw – it gives the seed a certain amount of credibility, something that I put to the test by sowing a mini lawn of this mix alongside four other grass seed mixes from other companies.

There are three varieties of grass seed in this mix, giving you a blend of coarse and fine that lends itself well to hardwearing usage. The only question mark lies in where the seeds are sourced – with Miracle Gro being based in the USA, the seeds could potentially be imported, immediately putting them at a disadvantage to native-grown seeds.

This could possibly be why the seeds seemed to struggle to germinate – it was 17 days before I saw any life. Conditions weren’t ideal but the other grass seed mixes that I tested had to deal with the same harsh weather, yet this one took the longest to sprout. Three months later and it still hasn’t caught up with the others – out of the five, it’s definitely the weakest and patchiest-looking lawn. 

With that said, sowing this seed is easy. They can be shaken directly out of the cardboard box that they come in, and the instructions for doing so are great. However, the box can’t be resealed, so any extra seed will need to be stored in a separate airtight container.

In terms of price, Miracle Gro is often costlier than other brands, and the same applies to this grass seed. Based purely on performance and results, I would consider this seed to be slightly over-priced.

However, all of that could very well change if you’re able to sow your seed in optimum conditions. With warmer temperatures and better wind protection, your results could be very different from my own. If you’re unable to provide this, then one of the other grass seed mixes on this page may be a better shout.