Lawns take up a lot of time compared with most aspects of the garden. In spite of the time and care lavished upon lawns, many fail to live up to expectations. Maybe the expectations are too great to start with. Problem being, that next door and surrounding areas seem to have better lawns!
Throwing money at an established lawn or patch of straw is not always the best way forward - neither the most successful in terms of attaining the quality lawn that you want. It is always a good ide to take a step backward, to see what the problem really is with the lawn. More often than not it will be something to do with your lawn care regime.
It is so easy fall into the trap of thinking that more fertiliser feed or weed and kill will give you the desired lawn. Care with a capital C involves much more that feed and weed - yet it need not be complicated or extravagantly time-consuming. In fact, more time is expended upon poor lawns than on good lawns much of the time.
It is all down to the lawn care. Doing the right thing at the right time. No more - no less. It does not mean throwing hard earned cash at the lawn. It simply means caring for your lawn in the right way.