Splendour in the grass or a weed-infested mess?

I finally got the chance to take a lawn mower to my garden over the Bank Holiday and was a bit alarmed by all the weeds that have taken root in the grass. All the usual suspects were there – dandelion, docks, thistles and creeping buttercup.

The lawn itself wasn't in the best state either, with moss and compacted soil ruining the overall effect.

Recently, and to my shame, my namesake Joanna Lumley has been encouraging us to make our lawns absolutely fabulous as part of the first ever National Love Your Lawn Week.

She said: "For many of us, our fondest childhood memories involve a lawn; long summer afternoons, the hum of a lawn mower, the aroma of freshly cut grass.

"If we want future generations to share our memories of long summer afternoons in the garden, we need to act now to ensure the survival of one of our greatest assets - the great British lawn."

Apparently, a well-looked after lawn can add value to your property, protect your home from flooding, as well as giving your little ones a place to play. It's food for thought perhaps to the half-a-million people who have dug up their lawns over the past 25 years and replaced them with off-street parking and decking.

I love my lawn too much to ever replace it with paving, but it was in serious need of some TLC, so I headed out to see what the garden centres in the area could do to bring it back up to scratch.

Fonthill Garden Centre in Bath Road, Bitton (0117 932 3110) had a pretty comprehensive selection of products to help improve the quality of your lawn including Miracle grow Lawn Food at £4.99; Evergreen Mosskil at £5.29; Westland Lawn Feed, Weed and Moss Killer at £7.99.

Keynsham Garden Centre, Hicks Gate (0117 977 8945) also offers a good choice. Evergreen Weed and Feed costs £7.29; Aftercut Lawn Feed and Conditioner costs £11.99. And if dandelions and thistles are a problem, they're offering two packs of Resolva Lawn Weedkillers for £7.50 – they're usually £4.99 each.

Well, my lawn has now been mowed, and fertilisers and weed killers applied. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that in a few weeks' time it will be green, lush and lovely.