There are few things more joyous than sitting down with a morning coffee and looking out on your garden with pride. The birds singing while your luscious green lawn glistens in the morning sun has a remarkable calming effect and really is one of life’s simple pleasures.

But, as many fans of the outdoors will be aware, keeping your grass in tip-top shape is no easy task – especially if it’s getting some wear and tear. Sadly, it’s a problem I’m all too familiar with. 

The wear of two dogs over a wet spring and winter had left the lawn looking more like Shrek’s swamp than Wimbledon. It’s tough because a patchy lawn can really make your garden look scruffy, despite your best efforts.

Believe me, I know. I fired through far too many boxes of grass seed before I finally started to see results and get the lawn of my dreams (well, not quite, but it’s probably as good as I can realistically hope for without banning anyone from walking on it ever). 

I’m no expert but I do enjoy a spot of gardening, and these are the key tips I’d give to anyone struggling with a patchy lawn, that helped me get mine back into decent shape. 

Preparation is key and garden forks are relatively inexpensive (this 2-piece spade and fork set is £23.95 on Amazon). I’ve found that turning over compacted soil before sowing the seed makes a huge difference. It’s also a good idea to have a good prod about on the grass to aerate the soil all over the garden to keep your lawn looking fresh. 

The other thing that made a big difference for my lawn was using compost or topsoil. During initial attempts at reseeding, I simply scattered it around and hoped for the best, but I later found that adding compost into the bare patches really helped to get it growing again. 

I’ve even noticed patches where the seed is growing really well with compost, while it’s super sparse next to it where there wasn’t enough. Compost can be picked up from the likes of Wickes for £7.50 or Amazon for £14.99.

Grass seed will grow when it’s warm but it’s important to keep the area damp. I’ve found that regularly watering the seed with a hosepipe (Hozelock Cart Plus is £69.90 on Amazon) really speeds up germination – and helps the grass to get established nice and quickly. 

When I first tried out grass seed I was only watering it sporadically, leading to virtually no results three weeks later. However, more recently trying it out while watering regularly has seen the seed shooting up within about a week. 

If you’re concerned about the amount of water that a hosepipe uses then a water butt could be the solution (this 210L one is £59.99 on Amazon). They work by connecting to a downpipe and collecting rainwater that can be used for your garden. 

There’s a patch behind a tree in my garden that still looks a bit worse for wear, but it just isn’t getting enough sunlight. I may have to try a shade-tolerant grass seed (product) there, but it’s worth keeping in mind that any shady areas of your lawn will likely struggle compared to spaces getting lots of sunlight. 

I’ve accepted that spot will probably never look fantastic. 

It’s generally recommended you shouldn’t mow new seed until it reaches around 6-7 cm long, and it’s important to pay attention to this – and don’t cut it too short, too soon. I learnt this the hard way. 

Once your lawn has recovered, if you find mowing it a bit of a chore then many gardeners are turning to robot mowers to do the hard work for them. They’re not cheap though, with well-known brand Flymo’s offering coming in at £542.83 on Amazon, though one shopper branded it “perfect”. 

Do be mindful though that some users aren’t fans of the app that’s used to control it. 

I haven’t used these myself but these items can help to promote a luscious lawn 

• Richard Jackson Flower Power Premium Lawn Magic – £34.99 on Amazon (shoppers praise the “immediate improvement” but some say it’s “hard to apply”.)

• Miracle-Gro Fast green Liquid Spray & feed 1L – £14.95 at B&Q (one buyer said their lawn is looking “healthier and greener after just one application”, but another said “the results were not very impressive”.)

• Aftercut Ultra Green + Lawn Feed – £11.49 on Amazon (one reviewer branded it “excellent and reasonably priced”, but another said: “It has been 3 weeks since I applied it. Weeds still there and they are alive.”)