My lawn is patchy in places, how can I get it to re-grow properly?

Question

Soil is clay and gets a bit boggy after heavy rain.

Answer 1

The boggy places will continue to kill your grass from time to time, leaving your lawn patchy.  If you can't fix the drainage problem, resign yourself to re-seeding frequently.

Answer 2

the answer to your problem has 2 parts.

i also live in a very heavy clay area and had the same problems as you quote.

i must warn you the answer is very hard work and very boring.

where the grass is patchy use a grass rake and rake over the bare patches and with some seed and soil, sow in the area and water well.

to avoid the patches recurring is im afraid very difficult you need a garden fork, a stiff brush and several bags of sharp sand.

simply dig your fork into the lawn in an upright angle (90deg to the lawn) to a depth of about 10 inches. do this at about 2 feet spaces and cover the whole of the lawn. you may be better advised to do one area at  a time. then sprinkle the sand over the spiked areas at a rate of about say 2 handfuls to each set of fork holes. then with the stiff brush slowly brush the sand into the holes this will help break up the clay.

then again scatter a handful of seed and water in well.

this may take you up to 2 years for it to come to the lawn you want.