Never had a garden before!

@LizT , it seems that your watering has only wetted the turf and not the soil underneath, so the grass has not rooted.

Grass is resilient so don't worry

@Allotment Boy 's advise is very good, just deep water the grass regularly so that the roots start to grow into the soil under the turf layer.

I hate watering and am very impatient, so to give a good soak I have to lay the hosepipe down and distract myself for 5 minutes, then move the hose a bit and repeat. A chair and a book work well

 

You need around an hour's worth of water on that area, then repeat a few days later if there's no proper rain. How you water it depends on what facilities you have - ie a sprinkler or just a hose. If it's the latter, you can push a garden fork into the ground and attach the hose that way, moving it around every so often, depending on the coverage you then get.
If you keep cutting it when it isn't properly established, you'll just make it worse. Turf doesn't instantly establish, and needs correct watering so that the roots get down well. That's why it can be hit and miss if you have turf laid, or seed sown, through summer. You can do it in cooler, damper areas no problem, but in those areas where rain is sparse, it means hand watering, which is never as good as proper rainfall. The prep done for laying turf, or sowing seed, is the most important part too, so if that wasn't done well enough, problems will be ongoing.
The only 'little and often' process regarding grass, is for cutting it, not watering. You should never take too much off the height at one time if you want it to look decent. It's done gradually, by altering the height of the cut, if the grass is long, and then that little and often method means the grass will gradually strengthen up and thicken.

Scarifying it will just wreck it, as @Allotment Boy has said.

 

A big raking, it turned out! I did the feed and seed last Saturday and on Monday (as per my gardener's instructions - he is excellent, any issues are my fault bc I am just learning all this stuff). Things are looking better but I wonder if it's just the grass growing over the brown bits? I think I should mow later today, as well. I am annoyed that weeds are coming thru the lawn but what can I do, they will outlive me.

 

Sprinkler is poor, so I abandoned it for the hose. I've been watering daily but I can't do an hour, that would waterlog it surely?! The gardener came round and said the watering I am doing is fine. I just cut it badly. I've got feed and seed and the grass is mostly growing well, apart from some bald patches. He did the prep perfectly.

The issue is that, of course, I am receiving conflicting information. Several people have told me, in this long thread and other places, that little and often is the right way to water. You're saying it's not. My error was taking way too much off the height when I last cut it. I'm borrowing my neighbour's Flymo as my mower was very cheap and is clearly a sledgehammer to crack a nut! I need to mow carefully, I know that now. That was my mistake. I'm hoping to cut it later today, it's too hot to go out there now. The grass that is there, as you can see from my pic above, is growing really well. It's just got some patches, and that will take time. I'm annoyed that weeds are coming thru it on the bottom right part tho!

 

I really am watering it every day, letting it pool in the balding spots. But I will try to water more. Your method sounds like a very good idea

 

It's pretty well bedded, it was raked properly and no turf came up. The gardener said to feed it, so I did. Conflicting advice is normal ofc (little and often for lawn, I was told, now ppl are saying waterlog the thing!!) but I trust him, he's a great guy and has a thriving business. What formula lawn feed would you recommend tho? There are so many brands for all this stuff and I just bought some feed/seed off Amazon without having much to go on.\

 

Keep going you will never get your lawn to look like a bowling green as the root systems are completely different.

 

Little and often is for grass cutting, and I'm not sure people here are telling you anything else. Watering is different, and again - I think most people have said so.
If the water's pooling and not draining, it means the drainage isn't right, so I'd question just how good that prep supposedly was. If you're constantly walking on it [it's a small area] then you're also compacting it. The other reason for pooling/flooding is that you're watering too close to the grass itself, and at too high a rate. I'm not sure why you feel the sprinkler wasn't doing a good job. Not something I've ever used, but any that I've seen, seem to be ok, and cover a decent area, and at a steady rate.
If you have to use a hose to water, it has to be in a suitable way too. A garden fork pushed into the grass, and the hose attached to the handle is an ideal way of doing it. You'd then see the size of area being covered, and move it after an appropriate time. You're basically trying to mimic nature - and how rain falls. That depends on how large/small that area is. The whole area you have would need approx. an hour each time to do a good job, ie -if you covered that whole space at one go, and assuming the water is coming out at a steady rate, and from a reasonable height. If you consider rain falling steadily for an hour, that's the kind of watering that's ideal.
I've done that in the past with new lawns [seeded, not turfed] although we don't generally need to water new grass here, unless it's dry for longer than 5 or 6 days, which isn't often, even nowadays with the climate changing.
Those weeds were probably present in the turf to start with, but it's not possible to see what they are from the photos. Weeds will also seed in from surrounding areas.

 

The little shrub you asked about is Choisya "Aztec Pearl".

The tree over the fence is Rhus Typhina or, common name, Stag Horn Sumach. They can send out suckers so pull them up or mow over them if you see any - unless you want that tree in your garden!

Your lawn has recovered well from the drought. A good watering, ten minutes isn't nearly enough, every few days is better than little and often for new lawns. Ten minutes of water won't last long once the sun comes out! Once it is well established it won't matter so much if it goes beige as lawns usually recover after a good soaking of rain.

 

You're making a good start! This year's weather conditions have been difficult for gardens so you're doing well.

When it comes to watering new lawns you want to mimic an hour's good steady rainfall each time. That's why a sprinkler is a better option than a hose (if you have a ban, neither is allowed unless you have an exemption). You'll get bored/tired long before the job is done with the hose, unless you're a lot more patient than I am. Once the autumn rain comes (if it comes) the lawn won't need watering. Established lawns turn brown in drought conditions but recover when it rains enough so lots of us don't waste time and water on them (especially with the hosepipe ban - it would be a full time job watering even a small lawn with cans!)

Mowing is best little and often, don't cut off loads at once or it will look like a hay meadow that's just been harvested (as you found out!). If it gets long set the mower blades high and just take off a little bit, then a little more a few days later and so on, lowering the blades gradually until you get to the height you want.

For individual plants (particularly shrubs and trees) with space in between it's more efficient to water at the roots, pouring a bucketful or so on slowly so that it soaks in and doesn't run off. There's no need to wet the leaves/stems, and watering bare soil will just encourage the weeds to grow.

 

The choisya, bought here, Choisya × dewitteana 'Aztec Pearl' - Mexican orange blossom doesn't flower, even tho the pix have flowers. Not sure why! Thank you so much for telling me about the tree over the fence, I have been dying to know what it is for months!!! I do love how it looks, but what do you mean by suckers? One or two of those red things have fallen on my grass ofc, I just pick them up.

The lawn is recovering really well, tho there are a couple of balding patches still. And one bit on the right that looks like it's been scorched somehow, quite weird. I am def watering for longer, 20-30 mins a day. Have def also nailed how to water the plants (tho I am hoping to plant more between the spaces in autumn).

This is the state of things today (what is that streak?! Just like a burned line!) Loving the rain also, but that means my mowing plan this weekend is ruined bc it'll be too wet!

 

The thing about the sprinkler is this. I ordered this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000QY366A?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1 and my lawn is too small to catch the water. Its reach extends too far - so even if I put it in the middle of the lawn, the water goes on to the beds only. It barely puts any water on the lawn. Is there like a tiny one for small lawns I can buy? One that just doesn't have this big arc that misses? (No hose ban in London btw) My patience level is extending! Very happy about today's rain up here in N12.

As for mowing (which I can't do this weekend now bc it's so wet), I am borrowing my neighbour's flymo, which is excellent. It does not cut too much off. Once bitten, twice shy, I learned my lesson!

 

We often have to cut grass here when it's wet due to our climate. It isn't a problem unless the mower blades are blunt, which yours shouldn't be.
You're expecting too much from your shrub - which, yes is a Choisya as @Busy-Lizzie said. They don't flower all year round - nothing does that. You'll have to wait until next year - around late spring into summer for them. Any shrub spends 6 months to a year establishing. Flowers don't happen until the shrub is properly settled in.
As for the sprinkler - you'd have been better trying the method I suggested re the fork and attaching a hose to the handle. You can leave it for 15mins [approx] for around a quarter of the area, which is roughly what the hose spray would cover, but you'd have to play about with it to get the desired coverage and strength of the spray.
It's probably not worthwhile now though, as you'll get autumnal and then winter rain. If the prep was decent, there shouldn't be major waterlogging, but that's something you have to gauge with any lawn. In wet areas of the country, most lawns are soggy by the end of winter, so you have to either aerate them in spring [or more often] to aid drainage, or just stay off them to avoid more compaction.
It also dictates the start of cutting, but that all comes down to how warm it is, and how fussy you are about how it looks. It's a growing, living thing, and varies massively depending on location, climate and week to week conditions.

 

Try turning the water pressure down at the tap Liz. If its a sprinkler that spins it may not work though. I haven't got one at the moment but had an up and over kind below. This can be adjusted at the tap and there's an adjustment attached to it for how far you'd like it to aim.

Hoses, Pumps & Irrigation and Hose Pipes & Pumps at B&Q

 

I think maybe I thought it would flower immediately, then stop, but it never did. But yes, I realise that shrubs take their time to bed in, no pun intended. The sprinkler is fine - I have a hose. I've moved out of the initial phase of watering every day anyway, am doing twice a week deeply (rather than little and often). In any event, it's been nicely rainy here the last few weeks so I've not had to water much at all!

The lawn has come back gorgeously!! We seeded properly and it's fab.