Sheena Patterson of Oxford Garden Design explains how to improve a neglected lawn

We have incredibly tolerant neighbours.

In our peaceful little Oxfordshire hamlet, an oasis of tranquility and calm, we are without doubt the property from which emanates the most noise.

To be more precise, the commotion is coming from our garden as we fight to transform two acres of overgrown field into the perfect English country garden.

We are starting with the lawn, and the job has demanded an army of men all tooled up with a vast array of boys’ toys – mowers, stump grinders, diggers, chain saws, strimmers etc. The louder they are, the more they love them! Slowly, we are making progress. The previous occupants of the field, a flock of sheep, did an excellent job of keeping the grass down, but had managed very little in the way of other general maintenance. Top of my wish list is for our new garden to have a green, weed free lawn and now the sheep have moved onto pastures new, we’ve taken over sole responsibility of grass care.

The secret to getting overgrown, neglected grass back to reasonable shape is to mow twice a week, particularly at this time of year while the grass is growing fast and strong. After the first mow, we raked all the dead ‘thatch’ out of the grass with a special lawn rake. Girls, please take note, this is certainly a man’s job, it’s back-breakingly hard and I confess to lasting a mere five minutes before realising I had a more pressing job to do in the house. In the end, because it’s such a big area, we hired yet another piece of machinery to noisily finish the work off.

A common problem with lawns, and certainly one that we faced, is that the soil under grass becomes very compacted, particularly in areas that get heavy use. When soil is compacted you can have problems with air circulation, water drainage, and nutrient absorption. Additionally, beneficial soil organisms such as earth worms can’t establish.

So, if you want to really green up your grass and make your turf healthier and more beautiful, you should regularly aerate your lawn. This simply means punching holes of about three inches deep in your lawn. For us, this required using yet another noisy machine, but it made the job a lot easier and the grass is already a lot healthier.

Regular aeration promotes a proper medium for your grass to grow in, with loose soil and better air circulation. Your grass will also make better use of water and nutrients. Micro-organisms will establish themselves and break down any thatch that builds up.

If you want to keep lawn care to a minimum but still want a reasonable-looking lawn, then feed occasionally. The fertiliser will keep the grass green, but also encourage the right types of grass to thrive to keep out the dreaded lawn weeds.

Persistence is the key to success. In three months or so, our overgrown sheep meadow has been transformed. Not quite smooth enough for croquet or bowls (yet) it’s already pitch perfect for football or cricket.