Nothing looks better than a well-kept, healthy, vibrant lawn. Steve Gradley gives some simple steps to help you get the perfect lawn

In the garden, the lawn performs the same job as a fitted carpet does indoors. It flows through an area of your home linking the different parts together.

If a carpet is threadbare in patches, the whole effect will be spoilt. Exactly the same is true of the lawn, so keeping your lawn in good condition is important to the whole garden.

At some point, whether it is because you have moved to a new house and are making a garden from scratch or you have decided to give up on the existing grass and start again, you will find yourself facing the slightly daunting task of making a lawn. The first decision you will need to make is whether to start your lawn from seed or to lay turf. When it comes to how the lawn looks, the key is to use the right mixture of grasses for the conditions in your garden, because they will be quite specific.

Trees affect the drainage, so if they are too close to your lawn it may mean there will be patches which are dry or shady, or where you have difficulty getting any grass at all to grow. Poor drainage is very common on new housing developments, where top soil is put on top of existing soil that has been compacted by construction equipment - leading to patches that are either bone dry or soaking wet. Here, you may need to sort out the underlying problem before you lay any grass, because the poor drainage will affect the lawn. Dig down through the compacted layer and put plenty of free-draining gravel into the base of the hole before returning the soil.

A reputable turf supplier should be able to offer a range of grass for different conditions and you will have greater success with the lawn if you seek out an appropriate grass mixture rather than using turf that is simply all-purpose. If this is not the case, then you will need to consider using seed instead. The result is not as instant as turf, but if the mixture is the right one, the final lawn will be stronger and better looking. The grasses used in seed mixtures range from the very fine grasses needed to give a bowling-green finish to sturdy types able to withstand the rigours of children at play.

The finer the grass, the better the finish will be. But the fine grass can also mean it can be more easily damaged by wear or adverse conditions. Soil preparation is essential before seeding or turfing to make sure the plants get the best possible start. Cultivate the whole area and rake it roughly level, then walk all over it (taking tiny steps with all the weight on your heels) to press it firmly. Give it another raking with a fine rake to give a final level and create a seedbed of small soil particles that the roots of turf or young seedlings can quickly grow into.

When laying turf, work from a broad plank of wood so you do not need to walk directly onto the grass (the wood spreads your weight and helps firm the turf down so it establishes good contact with the soil). Then butt the pieces as closely as possible to each other to avoid shrinkage gaps. Water it well for the first few weeks to help the roots start to grow. If you are using seed, it needs to be spread at a given rate per square metre. Rather than marking out the whole plot, just mark out one square and apply the seed at the correct rate. This will show you how thickly it is supposed to be spread and you can do the rest by eye. Sow in two directions across each other to avoid the seed germinating in lines. You will need to keep birds off the seed until it germinates and keep the area moist (especially in dry weather).

Keeping the lawn looking good once it is growing means regular weeding, feeding and mowing. Weeds compete with the grasses for light, space and moisture, and they are usually better at getting all three. Big, deep-rooted weeds like dandelion need removing completely because the root will regrow if you leave any behind. Small surface weeds will usually respond to treatment with a weed-and-feed formulation, and the fertiliser will ensure that the grasses soon grow to cover the gap left as the weed dies out.

Moss can be difficult to get rid of and often takes several treatments before you make progress. The biggest mistake is trying to rake it out before it has died, because even fragments will regrow if they are live. Moss-killer makes it turn black initially then brown. Do not be tempted to rake it away until it has reached the brown stage and if any green moss remains, repeat the whole treatment.

There are few hard and fast rules in gardening, and lawn mowing is no exception - it will depend entirely on your lawn and the weather. In hot, dry weather, growth will slow down and, by cutting the lawn too often, you risk scalping it - exposing the delicate roots to the sun. It will be better cut just once a week or every 10 days on a higher setting so that you leave some top growth to shade the roots. In warm, wet weather the grass will grow quickly and you may find it could do with cutting twice a week (assuming you can get outside to do it without smearing the lawn as you cut). If the grass is very wet, leave mowing until it dries a little, even if it means the grass gets quite shaggy. The lawn will benefit in the long run. Knowing when not to go onto the grass is as important as knowing when to treat it, especially in the winter when one innocent trip across the grass after a frost can leave footprints that will not fade completely until the following July.

Cutting the lawn need not be a chore if you invest in one of the new robotic mowers. These can be battery or solar-powered and will trundle back and forth across the lawn, mowing as they go. The area they cover is controlled by wires that are laid into the grass around the edges and as soon as the sensor picks up the signal from the wire, the mower turns and goes off in another direction. This is the ideal solution for someone with a smaller lawn, but little time to maintain it.

You can reduce the work involved with the lawn by surrounding it with a firm edging, such as bricks or paviors. Set into the ground slightly below the level of the grass, these can be mown over without damaging the mower blades and save having to cut the edges each time. Wooden railway sleepers can be used instead, if you want a more natural effect, but be wary of using gravel anywhere near a lawn as it tends to stray.

Before you know where you are, the lawn will be covered with stones, so you can no longer walk on it without shoes or sit on it comfortably and it will play havoc with your mower. If you prefer a natural look in the garden, you could consider a wildflower area that only needs cutting once a year after the plants have flowered, set seed and the seed has fallen (about August). They are attractive for wildlife, but the plant populations within the area need constant monitoring to make sure that one type does not swamp the others to extinction. Whichever lawn you
choose, it will be worth all the effort when you sit back and relax outside on a warm summer evening - enjoy it!

Cost of a Lawn
Top quality turf price is £3 per square metre inc delivery
Good-quality grass seed works out at 55-60 pence per square metre