
During winter, several things can go wrong with your lawn, from grass thinning a little to a complete loss of grass in some areas to an invasion of moss and strange-coloured patches.

This is a place where trees or other plants out-compete the grass for ground water and may also prevent showers from reaching the lawn.

Areas of lawn where little light gets to the grass for long periods, usually from autumn through to spring.

Sandy or poor soils and the drier east of the country are presented with a challenge when it comes to lawn care. This is where choosing drought-tolerant grasses will help.

When dealing with clay soil, it's important to choose grass seed varieties that are well-suited to these conditions. Here are a few grass seed options that tend to perform well in clay soils.

Lawn seed will already be a mixture of a variety of grass species. Mixing two together before sowing just halves the benefits and doesn't increase them.

Grass seed is easy to germinate and grow into a lawn if you get the planting, moisture and temperature right. Here are some very common grass seed sowing mistakes.

For convenience, you can fertilise the seeded lawn area on the day of sowing. However, this may not always be best due to changing weather patterns.

Care must be taken when cutting a new lawn for the first time, as the grass is tender and the roots are shallow. Sharp mower blades and dry grass are essential.

The best way to decide is not by time but by the condition of the grass. Grass seed, or turf laid in perfect conditions in April in Cornwall, will establish twice as quickly as that sown in Aberdeen.

Temperature and moisture are the two main factors when it comes to planting and germinating grass seed, whether that's for a new lawn or when over seeding.

Choosing grass seed for wet shade, building and fence shade, dry shade from trees and partial shade from objects distant from the lawn.