As the lawn is often the most prominent feature in the garden, you should spend a little more time thinking about its design than you do on other less dominant areas of your plot.

Garden designer Andy McIndoe, director of the Hillier Garden Centres, says: "The most pleasing gardens consist of two-thirds 'space' and one-third planting. This space can be made up of gravel, paving, water, ground-cover plants and, of course, grass."

In many gardens there is too much paving and lawn and not enough planting, which draws attention to the lawn. If this is so in your case, the best solution is to reduce the size of your lawn and add depth to your planting, which will integrate the grass into the overall garden design.

McIndoe has written Living Lawns, a guide covering all you need to know to achieve a lawn that suits your garden and lifestyle.

Shape can be all-important, especially in winter when it becomes the main patch of green in your garden.

"Often the shape of the lawn is determined by the shape of the plot: rectangular garden, rectangular lawn. This results in borders of even width and long, straight lines that do nothing for the interest and perspective of the garden," says McIndoe.

advertisementJust taking away the corners from a rectangular lawn will make the beds in the corners deeper, allowing greater planting and creating more interest. It will seem to taper in the distance, increasing the perspective and making the garden seem longer.

"A similar effect can be created by using a round lawn in a square garden," he continues.

Beware of fussy, frivolous designs such as giving your lawn border wavy edges, which can go wrong when the plants start to grow. Lawn curves should be soft and sweeping and lead the eye.

"Lawns with too many curves and difficult corners are hard to mow and, unless an undue amount of time is invested in maintenance, will look more and more untidy as the season progresses," he warns.

If you're after a formal lawn, remember that it will probably take more maintenance because it has to be in perfect condition to look right.

When designing your new lawn, consider how practical it's going to be. Are there any entrances to the lawn from paths, patios or gateways that are going to put undue wear and tear on the grass and become muddy in wet weather? If so, can you graduate the entrance with paving or gravel?

Don't plant too close to the edge of your lawn, or plants are likely to spill out over the grass and will need holding back every time you want to mow, which is a pain. Consider a gravel edge to a bed to make mowing and cutting edges easier, or a layer of bricks separating the lawn from the bed.

If you are going to incorporate a big pot, statue or other ornament within your lawn, lay a hard surface to accommodate it, otherwise you will have to move it every time you want to mow, which is again a nuisance.

Grass paths laid between flowerbeds or between beds and paved areas need to be wide enough to easily allow a lawnmower through, and the same applies to the spaces left between trees and shrubs planted in grass.

Careful planning can lead to a beautiful lawn that will stay that way with easy maintenance.

Living Lawns, by Andrew McIndoe, is published by David & Charles, priced £4.99.