It's the time of year when mowers are dusted off, blades checked and gardeners take to their lawns to get them ready for the summer. Mowing at the right time of year and the correct height really help keep a lawn healthy and full of grass.

Before starting, you should make sure the grass is dry so your mower's blades cut easily and cleanly. It's a good idea to set your mower to the highest setting for the first cut. Guy Barter, Chief Horticulturalist at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), recommends gradually lowering the level of your grass from spring onwards, taking it lower with each mowing. He told the Express: "Try not to take off more than a third at a time. If your grass is 50mm, you might just take off 15mm. Then mow it a bit lower next time." Mr Barter said gardeners who want to produce the kind of lawn you see at bowling greens should be careful because cutting too short can damage grass.

For anyone who wants to create a new lawn, now is also the ideal time of year to sew lawn seed, according to the expert.

Lots of professional gardeners will be sewing grass seeds across an established lawn at this time of year to help thicken it up.

Mr Barter said to add seed to an existing lawn you would usually spread about half the rate you would normally use for a new lawn.

He said: "Garden keepers tend to do this quite a lot, in preference to using chemicals, to boost the growth of their grass and to kill weeds.

"Some weeds are good in lawns, but you don't want them to impinge on grass quality too much."

One such weed that can help a lawn in dry spells is clover, which Mr Barter said can capture nitrogen from the air and enrich soil.

Some gardeners will no doubt want to observe "no mow May", which is a campaign encouraging people not to cut their lawns until May to allow wildflowers to grow to help pollinators such as bees and butterflies.

Mr Barter suggested that if leaving your entire lawn uncut till May doesn't appeal, then you could try leaving a patch unmown as a nature-friendly compromise.

After sowing grass seed, you should start seeing shoots after about 10 days, depending on where you are in the country. For parts of the country that haven't seen any rain, then it would be best to wait and sew after seeing some rainfall - making sure the grass itself is dry before cutting it.

On whether to water a lawn or not, Mr Barter said: "Ideally, you don't water lawns. They can cope without it. For the average garden, it's better to let them take what comes.

"If it's hot and dry in June, then allow the grass to grow taller to let roots grow and find more water."

Other tips recommended by the RHS include mowing up and down in straight lines, overlapping each row slightly so as not to miss any bits.

For an irregular shaped lawn, the RHS suggests starting with a line across the middle then mowing one side at a time.

Another tip is to change the direction you mow in at least every month to catch stray blades of grass and help keep a smooth surface.

For a neat finish, trimming the edges of your lawn can be done with long handled edging shears, while all the grass trimmings can be composted.