Preparation
The basis for any good lawn is preparation of the underlying soil. 

Remember, once a lawn is established it will be required to provide a beautiful verdant sward for years to come without any major soil improvement being possible, or indeed desirable, so now is the time to put in the extra effort that will reap dividends in the future. There are no shortcuts to achieving the perfect lawn.

Seed or Turf
There are essentially 2 main routes to producing the perfect lawn: Sowing Seed or Laying Turf. 

Sowing seed is the cheapest method and allows for seed mixtures to be chosen, which will produce a lawn meeting the requirements to be placed upon it. (A shady places mixture for under trees and in the shadow of buildings, hard wearing mixtures for where the children play or people walk, and fine mixtures for that bowling green effect). However it will take a quite a few weeks for the grasses to establish.

Laying turf whilst much more expensive, can be laid relatively quickly and produces almost instant results. 

Whichever method is used, the site will need to be thoroughly prepared beforehand. Any existing plants should be removed either by hand-weeding or by applying a systemic weedkiller containing Glyphosate.

The Traditional Method of Preparation

Spring is a good time to start a new lawn as it will quickly establish in the warm, moist soil, aided by April showers, alternatively choose Autumn for starting a lawn, the soil will be still retain the warmth it absorbed during the summer, but because it will be much drier, will require watering.

The traditional method of preparing the soil is to dig the area well, adding some organic matter if necessary, and remove buried debris such as bricks and perennial weeds, followed by forking the surface to a rough level before raking the soil with a landscaping rake.

The seedbed itself should be created on a day when the soil is moist and crumbly. Do this by walking over the soil's surface on your heels and then again at right angles to the original direction. This will help firm the surface and break up clods. Rake the soil, first in one direction and then at right angles until the area is level. After three to four weeks, pick off stones that have worked their way to the surface and hoe off any weed seedlings.

The traditional method of preparing the area to be seeded or turfed, has proven itself over many years in the UK, and will continue to be the preferred method employed by many gardeners. However, we would invite you to consider the following in the light of changing climatic conditions, where one year there may be rainfall almost every day, and the next, an almost total absence of rainfall throughout late Spring, Summer and early Autumn, where lawns are either drowning or dying through lack of water: -

The objectives of the alternative approaches to preparing a lawn area for grassing, being to create a reservoir and wick that will draw available water from the reducing water table during periods of drought, whilst also reducing compaction and allowing grass roots to penetrate to a greater depth. Plus to also allow for the soil to be very freely draining during periods of high rainfall so that the lawn does not become waterlogged.

All that is required is to dig deep and add as much organic material as possible, whether it be well rotted compost or manure, decomposing timber, sawdust (avoiding sawdust from treated timber, or woods such as Iroko or Teak, which contain natural preservatives), or recycled garden and household waste as composted by local councils. Even processed sewage can be deployed. But whatever material is used, with the exception of woody material, it must have finished its decomposition process.

The aim is to incorporate as much organic material into the soil as possible, to a depth of at least 3ft (1m), such that initially the soil level will be at least 30in (75cm) higher than it was before. In preparing the top 6in (15cm) always try to achieve a balance of roughly 50% soil to 50% added organic material.  The soil will eventually settle to a lower level as the organic material is used up and the soil consolidates once again. 

With the exception of Mushroom Compost which already has Lime added to it, such a large volume of organic material will tend to make the soil acidic thus encouraging the conditions that give rise to moss invasions. To reduce this acidity, apply lime - in the form of ground chalk or ground limestone - at no more than 1.5oz per sq yd (50g per sq m).

The finished area should contain so much organic material that it is spongy to walk on. Parents will find that this is of great benefit when they have young children. The traditional lawn area is usually an unyielding and painful surface for toddlers or their older siblings should they fall, especially during the Summer when the ground is baked hard.

In effect what will have been created is a giant sponge that will rise in height as it absorbs water, and shrinks in height as water is used up, where the additional height will aid the drainage process during periods of high rainfall.

To make the prepared area drain more freely and aid much needed rainfall to get down to where it is wanted, narrow slit trenches can be formed by inserting a spade into the newly prepared area and working it back and forth, then filling the channels thus created with sand.

The biggest problems with producing a low maintenance lawn that will remain green all year round, arise through compaction, lack of moisture & nutrients at the root zone during Summer and water-logging during Winter.

No matter what your soil type, Vermiculite and Perlite mixed in the proportions of 50% Soil to 50% Vermiculite and/or Perlite, to a minimum depth of 10in (25cm) will improve drainage, water retention and help to reduce the compaction of any lawn, thus improving aeration and encouraging your grasses to produce a healthy root system.

A More detailed explanation of Vermiculite and Perlite can be found at the following WebPage

Having made the decision to sow grass seed, you will have to consider what seed to sow, whether it be a general purpose mixture, or seed to suit specific purposes such as grasses that grow in shady areas such as those cast by trees, hedging or walls, perhaps you want a tough resilient grasses that will stand up to the abuse of a budding footballer in the family, or the daily wear and tear of regular use, perhaps you want to produce that sought after bowling green effect and will want your lawn to be comprised of fine grasses. If you live in an area where there are watering restrictions you may want to sow one of the new drought resistant varieties of lawn seed such as So-Green

Two to three days before the grass seed is to be sown, lightly rake in a granular general fertiliser over the whole area.

Mark out the area into square yards or metres. Shake the box to mix up the seeds. Weigh out the seed to cover each square metre or yard into a plastic cup or similar container and mark the level on the outside of the cup. You can add sharp sand to the seed to make spreading easier, but ensure you mix the seed well and mark the level on the container.

Broadly cast the seeds first one way and then the other. Sowing too thickly gives patchy germination and seeding too thinly will mean re-sowing. After sowing, lightly rake over the area. For larger areas use a mechanical seeder.

Once the seeds have been sown, they will need to be protected. Fencing off the site from people and dogs will afford some protection. An ultrasonic deterrent can be used to ward off cats. Buying treated seed, affixing a humming line or covering the area with brushwood or netting will also discourage birds.

During the early stages of growth, carefully weed the area by hand, removing any weeds before they flower. As the grass continues to grow, it will help to stifle further weed growth.

Seedlings are susceptible to drought. During dry spells, keep them watered, although take care not to over-water.

When the new lawn is 2in (5cm) high, cut with a rotary mower, down to 1ins (2.5cm). Carefully rake up the clippings. Follow this procedure for the first three to four cut.

It will also benefit the lawn area to either walk over the entire area, or roll it with a lightweight roller (The roller on a cylinder mower can be used) such that the individual grass stems are bent over at the base, this causes the grasses to break and produce more leaves.

Nothing could be easier or produce more instant results than laying turf. However, there are one or two points to remember when choosing your turf.

Always purchase turf directly from a recognised supplier.

Beware of the unscrupulous who will simply mow an area of meadow, cut the required amount of turf, and deliver it straight to your door along with all the perennial weeds that were present when it was lifted.

Make sure that your turf is fresh, some well known garden centres store turf in rolls on pallets, where the turf will begin to go yellow, and either dry out or become seriously infected with fungal diseases.

Laying turf

Two to three days before the turf is to be laid, lightly rake in a granular general fertiliser over the whole area.

Before laying turf the area to be lawned should be raked to break-up the surface of the soil and give the new turf something to key into; laying turf onto a flat compacted surface will seriously impede any possibility of the grass roots being able to grow into the soil beneath and establish itself.

Always have several planks available for walking on as the turf is laid. Walking on your new lawn should be avoided until it has begun to establish itself.

The starting point when laying turf is to lay turf all around the perimeter of the area to be lawned, the reason for this being that if one starts at one side and lays turf across the garden, when the other edge of the lawn is approached there may only be a narrow strip of turf required, making it difficult to lay the turf so that it will bond with the soil surface and the adjoining turves.

When first positioning turves always allow each turf to slightly overlap the adjoining piece of turf, so that when the edges of the turf are finally encouraged to sit alongside one another they will be gently squeezed together. There is nothing worse than having laid the lawn and then watching the turves shrink as they dry out leaving gaps between them, requiring repair and seeding.

The recommended pattern employed when laying turf, is the same as used when laying bricks. This helps to encourage the turf to knit together as the grass roots grow into the adjoining turf.

Trimming turf to fit can be accomplished with the use of an old  lino knife, or similar cutting instrument. Simply lay the turf where it is required to sit, and then cut through the turf with the knife following the edge of the underlying turf. Again slightly over-cutting to allow the turf to be squeezed by its neighbour. Avoid undercutting.

The final act is to lay the planks out over the new lawn and walk along the planks pressing the turf into contact with the soil underneath.

Now that the lawn has been laid it should be given a good watering, and not allowed to dry out over the next few weeks, but do avoid over-watering.

Until the lawn has established, where possible avoid walking on it.

When the grass has grown to around 3in (7.5cm) high it should be given its first cut, reducing its height to 1in (2.5cm). As a rule of thumb, grass roots grow down to roughly the same depth as the height of the leaves. So you can be fairly certain that your turf has bonded to the soil beneath it and is well established.