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Maintenance

• Rake any remaining fallen leaves from lawns so they don’t smother the grass, blocking out light and moisture. Add them to a leafmould pile or compost heap. There’s no need to remove them from beds and borders.
• Mow your lawn if the weather stays mild, as grass continues to grow in temperatures above 7°C. Raise the cutting height to about 5mm (¼in) higher than in summer. 
• Repair bare patches, especially around lawn edges, using turf cut from other areas of the garden if available. Alternatively, wait until spring to sow lawn seed.
• Re-cut lawn edges with a half-moon edging iron or flat-bladed spade, to neaten up the appearance of the garden and save work next season. Maintain an 8cm (3in) gutter around the lawn edges to discourage grass from spreading into your borders.

Problem-solving

• Look out for waterlogging  after winter rain. To improve drainage, spike the lawn with a garden fork or mechanical aerator, then once the surface is fairly dry, brush a mix of sharp sand and loam into the holes. See our guide to autumn  lawn care.
• If your lawn gets damaged and muddy from being walked over regularly in wet weather, consider laying stepping stones across it. Set them level with the soil surface so they don’t disrupt mowing.
• Avoid walking on a frosty lawn as this can damage the blades of grass, which go brittle in the cold. It may also leave brown footprints that can take many weeks to disappear. 

• ​I´Ú moss is a problem (usually only in damp, poorly drained lawns) and you want to get rid of it, try removing with a spring-tined rake first. See our guide to moss in lawns.

• Algae can appear on lawns with poor drainage or excessive shade, or under the drip-line of trees. Prune back any overhanging trees or shrubs to improve airflow and light. Or consider replacing the lawn with shade-tolerant groundcover plants instead.

• Yellow or brown patches at this time of year may be caused by the fungal disease fusarium patch, especially in wet weather and in overfed, lush lawns that have been left a bit too long. Small patches should recover; larger areas may need re-seeding.
• See all our lawn care advice.