Everybody with an outdoor space will want their garden to be gorgeous and green by the time summer comes, and if you do this one job now during the spring, that could be your reality. It turns out, you only need to complete a simple task.

If you're planning on hosting people in your garden for a party or a BBQ, then you won't want patchy, dry, brown grass. You'll want it to look like it's fresh from a gardening magazine, so get on your gardening gloves now, and you can make it happen!

Michael Griffiths, a modern hero of horticulture, shared with those keen to improve their homes that it's time to aerate their gardens. People have been told spring is the best time to get the job done.

"All you need is a garden fork," he explained, saying that it's really simple to achieve. With your garden fork, "go in four to five inches deep, plunge it in, and then pull it back a little".

He continued: "Pull it out and repeat every six inches across your garden". You can leave the holes open, or pop in some horticultural sand for "drainage".

Michael explained: "This will help get air, water, and nutrients down to the root zone, which is great for lawn health and drainage".

Over winter, soil often becomes compacted by rain, foot traffic and mowing, which squeezes out the tiny air spaces grass roots need. Aerating opens the soil back up, letting oxygen reach the root zone and allowing carbon dioxide to escape.

That matters because grass roots respire just like the rest of the plant; with more oxygen in the soil, roots can grow more strongly, and the plant can use nutrients more efficiently.

It also improves how water moves through the lawn. In compacted ground, rain can sit on the surface or run off, while the root zone underneath stays poorly supplied.

Aeration creates channels that help water soak in more evenly and reduces the risk of waterlogging after spring showers, which in turn can lower stress-related problems like thinning patches and moss taking hold.

Spring is a good time because the grass is starting to grow actively again, so it can heal and fill in the small holes left by aeration more quickly than it would in winter.

Aeration also makes any spring feeding or topdressing more effective, because nutrients and organic matter can get down into the root zone rather than sitting on the surface.

The overall result is usually a lawn that thickens up faster, copes better with dry spells later in the year, and looks healthier and more even.

It's really easy when you get started, and you don't even need any specialist equipment to do it, and you'll be reaping the benefits of your actions before you know it!