Where to start

Poncherello

Moved into a house last year and as part of refurb had the garden landscaped. Small garden about 15 yards by 7/8 yards.
Have been too busy to even look at it since. Have noticed that it is starting to take shape again with summer approaching but parts have weeds and look worn(partly due to dog)
Would like to learn how to look after it but havnt the foggiest where to start.
Was going to hire a gardener to come in and clean it up but I should really do it myself I know.
Any thoughts - read gardening for Dummies or something ?!

r3nu4l

Do you have any flower beds or is it all lawn?

The first thing you should do is to give it a cut, if this is the first cut of the year, don't scalp it, leave it longer than you would normally like.

Weeding can be painful or simple. I usually go the painful route. I dig them out, sometimes you have to go deep to make sure you get the whole route. You can buy a weed killer if you like. This year I bought a "Weed and Feed" product for the lawn. So you cut the lawn and a couple of days later, if there has been no rain, you dissolve this stuff in water and water the lawn with it. It feeds the grass while killing weeds.

You should also think about raking your lawn to remove any moss. You could lay down moss-killer too but I'm a fan of using as few chemicals as possible

If you haven't already done so, now is the time to start aerating the sol under the grass by spiking the lawn with a garden fork. What you do is dig the fork into the grass about 6 inches deep, and lift the fork straight out, you're only stabbing the ground, not digging it. Go along the length of the lawn and do this in rows. Each row should be about 12 inches apart.

Now, the above tips are very amateur, I do know a guy who's father spends hours on his lawn each week, and it is perfect. He even uses specialised lawn brushes to brish the sward in different directions. It looks amazing but that would be too much work for me

EDIT: It's a good idea to 'edge' your lawn to give it some shape. BAsically, you just go around the edge of the lawn and use a spade to dig down about an inch into the soil near any borders, such as flower-beds, patio etc and remove about a half-inch of lawn, leaving that small gap between the patio and the lawn. It just looks a bit neater.

Poncherello

Thanks appreciate the reply.

I cut it on Sunday and scalped it !! Its not too bad but should have known that myself from cutting the grass as a youngfella at home.

Yes we have flower beds all around the garden. They looked great last year and are the real feature but apart from some of the larger bushes/palm trees everything has been trampled by the dog allthough some are starting to try and grow again.
I am thinking I need to plan the garden better around the dog and get some more sturdy shrubs/plants and maybe put woodscippings or something around the place to fill the gaps. any recommendations ??

TequilaMockingBird

Poncherello wrote: »

Thanks appreciate the reply.

I cut it on Sunday and scalped it !! Its not too bad but should have known that myself from cutting the grass as a youngfella at home.

Yes we have flower beds all around the garden. They looked great last year and are the real feature but apart from some of the larger bushes/palm trees everything has been trampled by the dog allthough some are starting to try and grow again.
I am thinking I need to plan the garden better around the dog and get some more sturdy shrubs/plants and maybe put woodscippings or something around the place to fill the gaps. any recommendations ??

I agree, throw on the Weed and Feed (I use the granules and just spread it by hand). If I was you I wouldn't put in anything new if the garden was done last year, just let what there grow on and see towards the end of summer how it looks, its easy to overload the beds when the plants are young. Tidy up anything the dog has damaged, cut back any dead branches etc. If something appears dead, just cut it back to the ground, it may be okay and grow during the summer.

Also keep a supply of grass seed in, get a tougher type grass seed, and repair as necessary after your dog.

I personally don't like bark as I seemed to need a never ending supply of it. If you plant anything new and add new bark to cover the soil, its darker as the old bark will have faded in the sun, making it look scruffy.

I mix in compost with the topsoil and as I'm weeding give it a bit of a mix, and it looks good.

Enjoy it, its very relaxing and satisfying! Nothing like a few hours work on the garden and then sitting enjoying it!