Over time moss and weeds invade most lawns. You can prevent this, and the time spent weeding, by keeping the lawn aerated and well fed  . A healthy lawn will grow well and be able to hold its own against weeds.

De-thatching the lawn At least once and ideally twice a year, run a de-thatcher over the lawn to remove old, congested grass and to encourage more luxuriant grass growth. You can also use a spring-tined rake to do this but it will take longer.

Weeding A daisy grubber gets right down to the roots of weeds.

Prevention is better than cure A modest sprinkling of daisies in a lawn looks attractive, but when they spread too freely along with plantain (Plantago), dandelions and other weeds, most gardeners will want to take action. Weeds are easy enough to remove with a hand fork for a 'daisy grubber', but it is a tedious time-consuming job that any gardener could do without. Fortunately lawn weeding is one task that can be kept to a minimum by taking a few preventative measures. Proper aeration of the soil is the main requirement, along with thorough watering when necessary and correct feeding. In a well-nourished lawn, both grasses and weeds shoot up and can easily be cut back with the lawnmower. Since weeds are far less tolerant of regular cutting than grass, over time the grass out competes the weeds, which diminish drastically, if not complete. The odd stalwart can be dealt with individually. Before mowing the lawn, go over it with a broom or rake to raise any low-lying shoots of creeping weeds such as speedwell (Veronica) so that they won't escape the mower blades.

You may need to start from scratch If part of the lawn are particularly overrun with weeds, to the extent that the grass has been taken over by them, it makes sense to clear the weeds, dig out all the roots and re-sow the patches with seed.

De-thatching and aerating the lawn should be de-thatched and aerated at least once a year to stimulate root and grass growth. De-thatching involves cutting and removing the thatch of dead matter using a sprint-tined rake or powered lawn rake. The tool blades must not penetrated the soil any deeper than 1-2mm, or they will damage the roots of the grass. Aerating involves punching vertical channels into the soil so that air can penetrate deep down. The simples way of doing this is by using a garden fork or a hollow-tined aerator specially designed for the job.

Spring or autumn is the best time for de-thatching and aerating – in damp weather conditions whenever possible, to allow the grass to recover more quickly from the stress – and you should always mow your lawn before de-thatching. Afterwards, apply a layer of lawn sand – on a dry day, if possible. This will improve drainage and help to break up the soil. If your lawn is small, just shovel some sand over it and spread it out with a rake or broom. You will need about 5 litres of sand per square metre. For larger lawns, a spreader does the job well.

Watch out! Never remove thatch from your lawn if the grass is longer than 3cm or is wet from rain – in both cases, you could easily rip the grass out of the soil, roots and all.

Time-Saving Tips

• A motorised lawn rake, which collects the grass and weeds in a basket, will save two or three hours of raking at the end of the job.
• Lawn seeds mixes for shady areas are available, but a more practical solution in dense shade would be to plant shade-tolerant shrubs and ground cover plants, rather than run the risk of having a lawn that grows poorly and soon succumbs to weeds.

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