Spring is the most important time of year for your lawn, and how it's treated now will shape how healthy it is for the rest of the year. After the cold and harsh winter the grass comes alive and gets ready to grow again. It begins to expend energy and this is when it needs the most help to get started.

Feeding Your Lawn

The first thing you should do is to give your lawn a good feed. A specialist spring lawn food will give the grass plants all the nutrients they need to grow at this important time of year, and after the winter the grass is beginning to take on nutrients quickly. You should apply the lawn food for the first time early on in Spring and then again six weeks later to get the maximum benefit. A good quality lawn feed will have all the right quantities of nutrients that your lawn needs. In the wrong proportions they can be damaging so it's important to buy from a reputable source.

Mowing Your Lawn

Spring is the time of year when you should start mowing your lawn, because this is when the grass starts to grow. Because the lawn is quite vulnerable at this time of year however, you shouldn't mow it too harshly. Never take more than a quarter of the length of the grass plant at any one time. It will be easier if you mow little and often rather than doing a big job all in one go - this is better for the plant and makes mowing easier for you too! If you want a short lawn you can take the mowing height down later in the year, but you shouldn't be too harsh in the Spring because the grass needs time to grow.

Overseeding Your Lawn

If your lawn has been through a particularly harsh Winter you may need to overseed it in Spring. Overseeding is adding seed to the lawn to fill in any gaps, so if your lawn is patchy now is the perfect time to solve the problem! Just buy a good quality lawn seed and sprinkle it onto the bare areas. It will germinate across the lawn and fill in the bare areas with brand new grass.

Topdressing Your Lawn

You can encourage the growth of your grass by topdressing it. This is adding a sand mix to your lawn to improve drainage and appearance. It can really help your lawn if you're overseeding at the same time as it encourages healthy grass and gives the best results for your new grass plants. All you need to do is brush it into your lawn - easy!

In the Summer your lawn is at its greenest and lushest, with the long days and (hopefully!) good weather giving it all the sun it needs. Don't be surprised if your lawn actually starts to grow more slowly at this time of year - if the temperatures are very hot it will try to conserve energy.

Feeding Your Lawn

You don't need to feed your lawn in Summer, as it should have taken on all the nutrients it needs during the Spring.

Mowing Your Lawn

If you notice that your grass is growing slower, just cut back on the mowing. The grass will have become more established now and isn't as weak as it was in the Spring, so you can take up to a third off the length, but be sure not to cut any more than this as it can damage the plant.

Watering Your Lawn

The most important aspect of Summer lawn care is making sure your lawn has enough water. With the good weather it can dry out more easily and scorch, and this is very damaging. If you notice your grass turning brown then it may be time to water it!

You should water your lawn when it shows the first signs of stress and not wait until it looks beyond repair. The important thing is to get the roots wet, as this is how the plant takes on moisture. Watering the leaves for example will have little effect as the water will simply evaporate. You can tell to what depth the soil should be damp, because as a general rule the roots of the grass are as long as the grass is high.

Be careful not to waterlog the grass - you want damp soil, not wet soil. If you water it too much the grass will suffocate and this can kill it.

The best time of day to water the lawn is in the evening, as the weather isn't so hot so the water won't just evaporate - it will have time to be absorbed by the grass. If all of your watering efforts are to no avail and your grass still becomes baked, you may want to stop mowing it for a little while to give it time to recover without any undue stress.

Pests on Your Lawn

You may find that you get pests like Leatherjackets and Chafer Grubs feeding on your lawn. Common signs of an infestation are patches of yellowing grass. If you think you have pests you can get rid of them easily by using a specialised pest killer.

Autumn is your final chance to prepare your lawn for Winter, and a strong and healthy lawn at this time of year has the best chance of surviving the bad weather. Like the Spring, your lawn needs to take on nutrients for the coming season.

Feeding Your Lawn

Because it has to survive the Winter, your lawn needs to take on a lot of nutrients in the Autumn. The best way to do this is to apply a specialist Autumn lawn food which contains everything the grass needs in the right quantities.

Mowing Your Lawn

You'll notice that the growth rate of your lawn in Autumn slows down, so mowing should be carried out less frequently. At this time of year you should be raising the height at which you cut the grass so that it remains strong throughout the Winter.

A Damp Lawn

The rainy weather during Autumn means that your lawn is particularly susceptible to damp. If this happens it can get a disease like Fusarium Patch. Keeping the grass healthy by using a good lawn food is a brilliant way to make it more resistant. You might have guessed - you don't need to water your lawn at this time of year!

Overseeding Your Lawn

If you got a lot of use out of your garden over the Summer months, it might have some bare patches, so now is another good time to overseed it. This gives the new grass time to grow in before winter. If you overseed now it gives a better chance of a thick lawn come Spring.

Worms in Your Lawn

The damp weather might bring out all the worms in your lawn. Remember that they aren't pests - they're helpful creatures that aerate the soil so you need to leave them alone!

Clearing Away Debris

As leaves start to fall off the trees, you'll need to sweep them up so that they don't clog your lawn. Some leaves will break down into the soil and provide nutrients, but if there are a lot and your lawn is covered, you should sweep them off so that the grass has access to sunlight.

In the Winter your lawn is taking a nap, conserving energy to get through the bad weather and waiting for the Spring to come. Remember that because your grass has stopped growing, it won't repair itself if injured. This is why bad weather can do so much damage - the lawn won't start to heal until Spring. You can minimise damage by keeping off the lawn yourself and not using it unnecessarily.

Feeding Your Lawn

You don't have to feed your lawn during the Winter. It's not growing so it's not taking on any nutrients. Any food you do put down simply won't be absorbed.

Mowing Your Lawn

Again the grass won't really be growing so mowing is unnecessary. If you do want to mow it, at least avoid times when the grass is wet, for example after a frost or rain. Now is probably the perfect time to give your mower a service!

Clearing Debris

You may need to clear debris from your lawn and this should be done gently with a rake so you don't damage it. You could hire a lawn vacuum from your local DIY centre.

Aerating Your Lawn

One thing that is important in Winter, especially if the weather is wet, is drainage. You can improve this by aerating your lawn, or more simply, pushing holes in it with a fork. This allows water to drain away and it also lets the grass roots breathe. If soil has become compacted through heavy use you should aerate it.