Making my garden more presentable?

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29 Jul 2010
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Birmingham
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United Kingdom
Hi All

I have for a long time been trying to fix my back garden and the front of my house, both of which are in terrible states. I laid a lawn in the back garden last summer, but it went very dry and the weeds were shooting up the grass in a few months.

The front is very patchy and uneven, and I've tried my best to maintain it but I'm just skilled enough yet.

I've attached some pictures below and I would really appreciate your advice on how to make it look better. I'd like to spend as little as possible, and I've been thinking of using lawn seeds or something. However I just need some ideas from a creative, gardening person who knows what they're talking about.


Any help would be Much appreciated,

Thanks,





 
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When you say that you laid this lawn, was this turf?

Anyway, bottom line is that the back bit has had it, and the front needs cutting regularly.

What sort of budget are you looking at?
 
Hi thanks for your reply,

Budget I'm looking at is around £100 for both front and back - of course I understand this is very low.

It was turf that I initially laid and unfortunately I just didn't do it properly. What I would like is some advice on what steps to take in order to make it presentable and nice. Over time I can think about adding decking or a feature etc. But for now I just want to spend as little as possible and just have a nice lawn (or cheap alternative).

I also understand it requires regular maintenance so as long as I know when to do it and what to do I am prepared to sort it out - because quite frankly as you say they are both in very bad shape,

Your help would be appreciated,
 
Dunno about £100 the lot but I did my front for that.I wanted something different and low maintenance...

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Looks quite nice Raebhoop, good work.

I'm hoping someone can give me some step by step advise to fix the soil and consequently the lawn in both the front and back.

Thanks,
 
If it was mine, and I really wanted grass, I would get out the spade and dig all that ground over to one spade depth, turning the ground over and removing as much of the perennial weeds and other rubbish like large stones or whatever came up, as I could, putting it all in bin bags for the dump site.

Once the ground was clear of all the old green stuff or rubble, I would then sprinkle over some multi purpose compost [1 bag should be enough for the lot], and then rake it in to the soil all over to leave the ground in what's called ''a fine tilth'' state, but just raked as well as I could manage.
Then I would stamp the ground down with my two feet all over it to firm it up again, it needs to be quite firm and not to miss out any gaps, and then a quick rake over once again just to loosen the top half inch or so only.

Having bought a large pack of grass seed, medium mix type, I would then sprinkle the grass very liberally all over the areas. It needs to be applied quite thickly. If weather is dry I would get hose out and water it in. Within 2 weeks new grass shoots should start appearing and by next Spring when it will really take off, you will have a reasonable lawn area, ready for first cut.

So, a spade, a rake, grass seed, bag of multi purpose, water and plenty of hard work initially.

p.s. I'm a home gardener, not a professional, but that's what I would do and have done before successfully, and you can sow grass seed right up till early October in southern England.

It won't look like Lords Cricket Ground but probably good enough for most people.
 
The best time to grow grass from seeds is spring (April) and autumn (September). Spring is preferable. If it is too hot or too cold most of the seeds wouldn't germinate.

Do you really want a lawn? It is one of the most expensive (the maintenance) and time-consuming element of the garden, if you do everything by the book.

I would lay stone chippings (if you buy bulk it is about £89 for 800 kg) and would plant some low maintenance plants in strategic places. If later on you decide to get rid of the stone chippings, post a message on freecycle that you are giving them away for free, people would come and bag the chippings themselves and you would have clear ground to do whatever you want.
 
Thanks for your tips everyone - I don't want to go for stone chippings in the back garden although it has been suggested for the front. I want a lawn in the back so we have an comfortable area to sit in or lie down in. Not a big deal, but a nice simple pleasure I think.

You're right of course - that a lawn is high maintenance so that's why I was looking for other ideas on here. However, I think once I have done the hard work of turning over the soil and clearing it, getting the lawn in place, then I can maintain it properly.

If I did all that hard work - is now a good time to plan the seeds? Within the next few weeks? It's been quite wet so I'm glad about that.

Thanks for your suggestions,
 

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