Lawns will grow thicker and greener if you do Monty Don's 1 simple task in September

Lawns and other garden areas can often appear a bit shabby in September as the hot weather subsides. To rejuvenate your garden and restore its former splendour, gardening expert Monty Don has outlined crucial garden tasks to undertake this month.

The horticultural expert regularly informs his followers about the key jobs for the month, and this time, he's encouraging gardeners to busy themselves with pruning roses and raspberries, as well as ensuring those green tomatoes ripen perfectly. But it's not just about the plants, as Monty emphasises that September is the ideal time for some serious lawn care. Regardless of the condition of your grass, the 70-year-old insists that it is "always" vital to aerate it at this time of year.

Aeration involves creating small, long holes in the ground to provide the soil with good air circulation. Air circulation is crucial as it allows stale carbon dioxide to escape, thereby making room for fresh oxygen to enter.

This task also ensures that essential nutrients and water reach the root zone more effectively, which can lead to a greener, thicker and more resilient lawn.

Lawn aeration also helps break down accumulated thatch in high-maintenance lawns and reduces lawn compaction, which is the primary cause of moss.

To perform this task, Monty advised: "You can use a fork by working the tines into the ground at 12-inch intervals or, for a larger lawn, hire a rolling hollow tine or slitter. Ideally, this is followed by working sand into the holes they create with a stiff brush."

After, "give the grass a tough scratch" with a wire rake, to remove all the thatch and moss and whilst it will look a little threadbare this autumn, next spring, "your lawn will be rejuvenated" and even appear "thicker".

For those simply seeking to fix patches of deteriorated turf, Monty recommends raking away all thatch and moss, eliminating all weeds, lightly sprinkling grass seed, watering thoroughly and maintaining moisture.

He said: "The seed should germinate and grow in days. Do not mow it for at least a month, and if it looks unsightly going into winter, clip the new growth with shears."

For more extensive areas, Monty suggests providing the borders with a clean cut using a sharp spade before forking over to reduce compaction and then either spreading seeds or positioning a piece of turf precisely into place.

When installing fresh turf, he emphasised the significance of preventing foot traffic or mowing until the grass displays signs of vigorous growth, which signals well-established roots.

If the weather deteriorates, you might need to postpone the grass cutting until next spring.