A muddy garden is everyone's worst nightmare, ALAN TITCHMARSH tells us how to prevent it

In summer they are less noticeable, for the grass grows rapidly even when you walk over it with increasing regularity (non-league football matches apart), but in winter with grass growth at a standstill it is not long before the greensward turns to mud on regularly traversed routes.

Now it is no earthly good telling yourself that you will not walk that way for a while, since it is human nature to take the shortest route from A to B.

No; what you need to do over the next few weeks is to make sure that the most frequently used pathways through your garden are as all-weather friendly as they can be.

If you always walk across the lawn in the same place, sink stepping-stones into the grass. It’s an easy thing to do.

On a day when the lawn is not squelchy, lay your slabs out in a pleasing but practical pattern from the place where you will set off to the place where you will arrive.

Arrange them so that they suit the length of your natural stride – you do not want to be doing an impersonation of a regimental sergeant major legging it across the parade ground on a daily basis, so position them where they hit your footfall in a relaxed and easy walk.

Square or rectangular slabs can be laid in a symmetrical arc if the path is to be curved, or else staggered and evenly spaced so that their edges are parallel to each other.

Crazy paving should be laid so that your foot lands on the centre of each slab where your weight will be evenly distributed.

When you are happy with the positioning of the slabs you can set about cutting them into the turf.

Go around each with a half-moon iron or a spade, or else use an old kitchen knife to cut down into the turf to the depth of the slab.

Dig out each patch of turf and slot each slab into position so that it sits fractionally below the level of the lawn.

This will allow the mower to pass over the top without the blades hiting the stone.

Have a bucket of sharp sand handy to bed the slabs into position and stop them wobbling.

Once the job is done you will have an instant all-weather pathway that will replace that nasty muddy trench that you thought was going to be there forever, and your temper will be far more even as a result.