As summer starts to gear up, many will no doubt be wanting to get outside and relax in their green spaces.
But after the cold weather and sporadic showers, some gardens may be looking worse for wear – and in need of love and attention.
Lawns in particular are a beautiful addition to gardens for a myriad of reasons: they offer a practical space to lie out in the sunshine, hang washing over, and encourage wildlife.
Yet one day pruning and weeding away will have you wishing the skies were overcast once again.
To make life easier, one expert has revealed five tricks to create a beautiful natural looking lawn without the hassle – so you can enjoy your shrubbery without a worry.
Emily Green, from Howarth Timber has shared her advice and hacks – including the best time of day to mow, and how often you should be doing it…
Ditch grass and opt for wildflowers
Emily suggests asking yourself what you use your lawn for most. If it’s a path or a place to sit, then it might be worth mowing it more regularly
Lawns are a beautiful addition to gardens and a practical space too to lie out in the sunshine, hang washing over, and encourage wildlife including bee and birds
But if it’s mainly aesthetic then pack away the strimmer and instead opt for wildflowers.
Long grass is perfect for encouraging wildlife and looks beautiful to boot so if you want something easy to plant (simply sprinkle wildflower mix over the lawn), with minimal upkeep, then wildflowers might be the perfect choice.
Some pretty varieties include yarrow and wild carrot, bluebells and borage and simple buttercups and daisies.
Reduce mowing
If mowing isn’t your thing but you’re not sure you want to re-wild your garden then opting for something in between may be the perfect answer.
Instead of keeping a manicured lawn or letting it go totally wild, designate areas for wildflowers and mow a path through.
But if constantly mowing the lawn feels like a step too far then reverting to a wild flower meadow may be more practical and just as pretty
If you don’t fancy a wildflower patch at all then you can simply leave the grass to grow.
Not cutting saves on time and effort and will also provide a better habitat for nature as well as allowing the lawn to withstand changes in weather – from drought to extreme periods of British rain.
Monty Don previously suggested it’s much better to focus on nurturing healthy lawns rather than worrying about perceived problems like weeds, mole hills and dandelions because the key to a healthy garden was a healthy spot of grass.
He said: ‘Nine times out of ten if the grass is healthy then everything else will look after itself.’
Mow right, mow once
Emily also revealed that there is in fact an optimal time of day to mow the lawn to make sure it’s trimmed to perfection – and doesn’t need to be re-done.
Getting the chore out the way in the early morning or later afternoon is ideal to allow it to recover from the trim before evening. This way, you also avoid the hottest part of the day, which can dry out the green carpet.
Emily said: ‘The best time to mow your lawn is between mid-morning, typically around 8-10 am or late afternoon between 4-6 pm, to avoid the warmest part of the day and to ensure the grass is dry of spring dew.
‘Avoid mowing too late in the evening as it doesn’t give your grass enough time to recover before the evening, making your lawn more susceptive to fungus and moss.’
By mowing at the right time of day, you can also ensure your lawn looks its best without having to add fertiliser or mow a second time.
Aerate 
Sometimes when lawns become too compacted or they start to die off but a quick and easy way to fix this is to aerate the lawn with a garden fork once a year
An easy task that only needs to be done once a year is aeration.
Sometimes when lawns become too compacted or they start to die off all they need is a little encouragement.
To bring your lawn back to life all that’s needed is one afternoon dedicated to poking holes in your green space with a garden fork.
Emily said: ‘Aerate for healthier roots. This helps relieve compaction and improves drainage after the wet season.
‘Use a garden fork or lawn aerator to create small holes, allowing air, water, and nutrients to penetrate deep into the soil.’
While it might sound like a time-consuming job at first, it’s a once in a blue moon task.
Don’t sweat it
During heatwaves the temptation to water the lawn may nag at you. But unless you can guarantee regular watering then your green carpet will struggle with summer drought anyway.
In which case it’s easiest to just accept some brown patches and let the garden flourish once more when the rainy spells return.
As Alan Titchmarsh explained: ‘Don’t worry if an established lawn goes brown, it’s not dead. It will simply green up again when the rains come.’