Tips for a perfect lawn:

Ah, your lawn. It's your welcome mat, your carpet outdoors. It can serve as a baseball field for the kids or even a quick vacation when you add a lawn chair, umbrella and tropical drink. A lush green lawn looks great and feels wonderful under your feet. Maybe your lawn has seen better days; maybe it's time to give that lawn a tune up or start over. Here are some tips to bring the green back.

Clear the area of all weeds, previous grass or other impediments like rocks. Use a herbicide to kill all signs of non-grass hanging around if needed. If you have the time, it is a good idea to let the cleared area sit for a week and water it. This will allow any dormant weed seeds to germinate allowing you the chance to get them before your grass goes in.

Till your soil to aerate and soften it. You can till using a tiller or your shovel, depending on area size.

Tilling brings a multitude of weed seeds to the surface that will sprout and compete with your new grass. Prior to seeding, water the area frequently for 1-2 weeks and reapply an indiscriminate herbicide to kill any weeds that sprout.

Put down the starter fertilizer. Apply the starter fertilizer according to the spreading rate on the bag. It is a good idea to use an actual Scotts spreader to ensure accuracy.

Make sure you tamp the soil as much as possible. Planting grass in soft soil is not a good idea. Use a hand tamper or rent a gas one depending on area size. If you are putting down a large amount of soil, it is best to lay it in layers and tamp in between. Tamping more than 5 or 6 inches of soil will not properly compact it. Take care in this area if you want your lawn to remain level years from now. Using a water roller is usually not good enough to compact your soil as needed a tamper is best.

Use your rake to slightly rough up the very top of the area. You want to create some areas for the seed to embed itself.

Spread the seed. Spread it again using a proper spreader at the rate recommended on the bag. Putting down too much seed is not a good idea. It will not help your lawn grow any faster and there will be more risk of the lawn being too crowded and choking itself to death.

Ensure good contact between the seed and the soil. You can use the back of your garden rake to very gently put some of the soil to cover the seeds. Don't worry if most of the seeds are exposed, that is fine.

Put down the peat moss. The peat moss will act both as a protective layer for the seeds and as a mulch. You want to spread the peat moss in a thin layer over the entire seeded area. It is only necessary to cover the soil and seeds so they are not visible. Putting down too much peat moss won't hurt your seeds, but it is a waste. As long as you can't see the soil, that's fine.

Water. It is important that you thoroughly water your area the first time. Do not put down so much water down as to flood your area, but cover it consistently and go over it many times. The peat moss will turn a dark brown when it is wet. Above all you don't want any standing water, give the peat moss and soil a chance to absorb the water but you need to get a lot of water in there to start.

Don't put off doing your first mowing. Delaying it will cause more damage to your lawn than if you cut it. You want to cut your new lawn for the first time once it has reached mowing height or a little above it. This is usually 6 to 8 inches. When it is time for your first mowing, the lawn will still seem extremely thin and fragile. Looks are deceiving. Go ahead and run your lawn mower over the lawn and don't worry if it looks like you crushed your beautiful new lawn, it is surprisingly resilient! If you let the new lawn get too long, you will stress it too much when you cut it for the first time by taking too much of the grass blade off at once. So don't be afraid, as soon as the grass is long enough, take the plunge and mow it.