Lawns often have to perform a huge range of tasks in our gardens - from being used to set off ornamental planting to being used as a pathway or a playground - yet it's also the area most people overlook. Many of us will give it a weekly mow, then wonder why it's not looking perfect year after year. There are three main techniques that can help: scarifying, removing moss using a spring-tine rake; aerating, removing plugs of soil to allow air to reach the roots, using a hollow-tine aerator; top dress, sprinkling compost over the top. Gardening Which? asked its readers what problems they have with their lawn, and here are our answers to the most common conditions.

PROBLEM Moss SOLUTION Use a mosskiller and scarify. Longer term, aerate to improve drainage and reduce compaction PROBLEM Creeping Weeds SOLUTION Use a weed and feed as a one-off treatment if severe, or spot treat the worst patches with a weedkiller PROBLEM Uneven surfaces SOLUTION Top-dress with sieved garden compost regularly to help fill in hollows. Use a hollow-tine aerator on humps to help reduce them PROBLEM Prominent weeds SOLUTION Use a spot weeder, or dig out the most prominent weeds PROBLEM Patchy grass SOLUTION Re-sow the worst patches with grass seed or over-seed the whole lawn PROBLEM Wet and spongy SOLUTION Scarify, aerate and top dress to increase drainage PROBLEM Surface hard and compacted SOLUTION Aerate and top dress to open up the soil structure PROBLEM Thin, sparse grass SOLUTION Over-seed with grass seed. Longer term, aerate and top dress PROBLEM Grass starved and yellow SOLUTION Use a lawn feed or a feed and weed treatment. Longer term, aerate and top dress Jobs of the week Remove blanket weed and duckweed from ponds before it builds up, and plant new pond plants There's still time to sow hardy vegetables (brassicas, lettuce, beetroot, lettuce) and half-hardy bedding (alyssum, marigolds, nicotiana, phlox) that you haven't go round to yet.

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