Pet owners have been urged to protect their gardens and do one thing for a healthier lawn. Gardening expert Lucie Bradley has shared her top tips in David Wilson Homes’s seasonal garden guide, hoping to help gardens across the UK look their best this summer.

Lucy gave a warning for pet owners sharing that their furry friends could be damaging their garden. She said: "Cat and dog urine can kill grass due to the high nitrogen content, which can act as a fertiliser in small amounts, but can 'burn' when concentrated. This can create dead patches on the lawn. As soon as your pet urinates, flush the spot with a generous amount of water using a watering can or hose. This helps to lower and dilute the nitrogen concentration in that spot. You can also try training your pet to urinate in a designated area, like a mulch pile or gravel spot away from the lawn."

Lucy also recommended consistent watering. She said that throughout the summer months, it’s important to keep on top of watering, usually twice a week. This avoids the soil from drying out and becoming hydrophobic.

The best time of day to water a lawn is during the early morning between 6am and 10am as this is typically the coolest time of day, so the water will not evaporate. Another way to help keep a lawn hydrated is to leave grass clippings on the lawn after mowing.

The gardening expert also said that, from June, you should increase mowing frequency to once a week as this is the peak period of grass growth.

During a drought or heatwave, however, you should never cut grass as grass plants are under a lot of stress and may not recover from mowing. Instead, wait until the temperatures cool down and at least 24 hours after rainfall or watering.

Lucy added that spending a lot of time in the garden walking over the lawn can compact the soil. Soil compaction can also cause strain on grass, starving it of essential nutrients, water, and oxygen.

Aerating helps your lawn to be healthier, less compact, and more able to combat weeds, lawn disease, and extremes in temperature.

It involves spiking the lawn surface either using a garden fork or an aeration tool to create holes in the soil surface. The holes should be no more than six inches deep.