Dry and brown in the middle, wet at the edge

[d000hg]

My lawn that is. 5x5m in a south-facing garden in a town development.

The soil is thin on top of hard-packed stuff. Most of the lawn is in direct sun so dries out very easily in the summer. Fertiliser doesn't help so I assume it's thin soil rather than lack of nutrient.
The south end of the lawn is up against a wall which means it gets hard any sun and as a result is damp and shady. In the summer it grows profusely as the soil never dries out. But it becomes a bog outside summer and the grass just disappears into moss.

I have a aerator which makes holes about 1/2" wide and 6" deep. I bought this to use on the wet parts, filling the holes with lawn sand to help it breath.

But I wondered, can I do something similar on the dry bits... make holes and fill them with something to hold onto moisture? Does something for this purpose exist?

[Scarlet]

My garden is pretty similar. It gets sun all day and is dry and brown with cracks in it during a hot dry summer. We've had little rain over the last few months but as soon as we get a downpour it recovers. The years I've fed it, got rid of the weeds and giving it a good raking over its done much better.
The shady parts with the moss growing is a godsend for me! I take it all out, pop it in a plastic bag with a drop of water and use it for lining my hanging baskets, floral arrangements etc. its in great demand some months I Sometimes don't get a look in as one of my flower arranging pals always coming over to rake my lawn as it really does cost a fortune if you have to buy it in!

Sorry, not much help really! Hopefully someone better informed will be along to help soon

[bario1]

Couldn't you just put a sprinkler on for half an hour in the evenings during dry spells?

[d000hg]

Couldn't you just put a sprinkler on for half an hour in the evenings during dry spells?

No access to the tap without running a hose through the whole house, which is a hassle really.

And we haven't had a dry spell... it's rained probably every 3rd or 4th day at least (I struggle finding a day to mow the lawn dry) but the moment the sun comes out the combination of thin soil and being in the direct sun from 9am-5pm it just dries out right away.

[Scarlet]

If the soil is that "thin" perhaps you could "top dress" it?Top-Dressing to Improve the Soil in Your Lawn | Today's Homeowner

[d000hg]

Top-dressing might work, I guess I could top-dress with compost/rich soil on the dry parts and sand on the wet areas. However I'd like to use the lawn while it's good weather!

I was wondering about a compromise - aerate the lawn leaving these 1cm wide holes, which I then fill with either sand and compost and maybe even put the little plugs of turf back on top so it looks as good as new.

I did wonder if I could use something like these: Miracle-Gro 250g Moisture Control Gel: Amazon.co.uk: Garden & Outdoors
They're designed for pots and containers, but I wondered if I could bury them under the lawn (maybe while aerating as above)?