Lighter mornings and bulbs blooming are all adding up to make me feel like spring is here.

It certainly has a way of lifting spirits and giving hope of long hot summer days ahead in the garden.

Well I can dream!

Let’s get the lawn in shape ready with a bit of spring maintenance in the hope that we will be using it as our summer living room if the weather gods allow us.

Start mowing once a week. Set the cutting height to the highest setting to start with but don’t mow when wet or frosty as this can damage the turf and compact the soil.

Bare patches and worn areas from excessive use can be repaired by reseeding or turfing. Grass can repair itself in the right conditions with its phenomenal recuperative powers but it’s best to give it a helping hand to stop weeds from germinating there first.

Score the surface area with a rake, sprinkle with your chosen seed type, see pack for amount, tread to firm and keep moist to prevent drying out.

To repair patches, cut out a square area of turf around the damaged area using a half moon edging iron and use a spade to lift it out.

Fork the soil under the square, cut out an identical-sized square of healthy turf from another area of the garden where it will not be missed or buy some new turf if this is not possible and place it into the square. Apply a sandy top-dressing using a brush to get into the crevices.

Press into place with the back of a rake, water in well. Or seed the area and cover to stop birds from eating the seed.

If you suffer from moss on your lawn it may be that you have poor drainage.

You need to improve the growing conditions for the grass.

You can do this by scarification, vigorous raking to remove the loose moss.

If this seems like too much hard work you can buy a lawn fertiliser that keeps moss under control as well as feeding the lawn but can cause unsightly black patches until new grass grows.

Apply a spring/summer lawn fertiliser this will keep weeds at bay and will increase the vigour of the lawn. You can repeat this in late summer if you think the lawn needs a pick me up.

Ideally apply when cool and moist and water in lightly.