Want a lush, healthy lawn this year but don’t know where to start? Fallow these 8 simple lawn care tips and you’ll have a better lawn by the start of the summer.

1) Spring Clean up – Rake up all leaves and debris from your lawn. Old leaves and sticks left on your lawn will smother and kill grass below. These bare spots are a perfect place for new weeds to form and grow if left. If this does happen rough up the area slightly and apply some fresh soil and grass seed. Use a metal rake and apply pressure as you rake. Your goal is to not only remove leaves and debris but also remove thatch from your lawn surface. Thatch is a thin layer of inter-tangled dead and living organic material between the soil and green grass. Once your done raking, you might be surprised with the amount of thatch you have. Collect all this up and put it into your compost pile.