Please help my garden

tara1999

Hi guys,

I'm wondering if there is someone out there that can help me. I'm recently after rotivating my back garden, and want to grow a nice lawn but dont know exactly how to do it. There was a lot of weeds on it and if I just throw grass seeds on it wont i still have all the weeds?? Can I just spray weedol all over the garden? I also got sleepers put in at the right hand side of the garden for bedding plants and want to create a nice all year round effect but again I'm clueless what to put into it All I know is that I want to put a nice water feature at the back corner of it so basically any idea's would be more than welcome !!

Cheers guys

Sonnenblumen

Hi Tara,

First wait for a dry day to spray the area with Roundup (noticed doc leaves in Raised Bed). After 7-10 days remove dead weed etc.

The ground looks pretty rough so you'll need to rake it or roll it to get an even level for seeding. You'd probably better to rotovate the area again and mix in some compost and after rolling sprinkle the area with some lawn sand/compost.

An alternative to seed is to use roll turf, for a few dollars more and yet an instant look. Well it is useable after 10-14 days.

Plan your work carefully, so for example plant the Raised Bed before finishing the lawn area, that way you'll not be interfering with good groundworks.

Check your biceps before and after!!:D

tara1999

Thanks Sonnenblumen,

I'd say today is as dry as were gonna get looking at the weather forecast for the next week! The ground actually isn't that rough and I'm getting topsoil anyway to level the garden. I'd love to get the roll out lawn but it's pretty expensive and I could think of other things to do with that much money like going on a holiday ( which I will be doing in 2 weeks !! ). Any idea's what I could put in my raised bed??

bbam

It may sound cheesy but you need to get a few good books and visit some garden centres to get ideas on what plants you like and dislike... What someone else recommends will never be your pride and joy..

If you dont want to spend money on books, join your local library... there'll be shelves of them there...

We have a large lawn and for starters we got a cheap local contractor to do the whole leveling/raking and sow a lawn from one corner to the other... This gives you a blank canvass to start with and keeps weeds under control..

Best of luck... starting a new garden is exciting..:D

Sonnenblumen

tara1999 wrote: »

Thanks Sonnenblumen,

I'd say today is as dry as were gonna get looking at the weather forecast for the next week! The ground actually isn't that rough and I'm getting topsoil anyway to level the garden. I'd love to get the roll out lawn but it's pretty expensive and I could think of other things to do with that much money like going on a holiday ( which I will be doing in 2 weeks !! ). Any idea's what I could put in my raised bed??

Be very careful where you buy topsoil, most sources are IMO poor and weed infested. Your garden shouldn't require much perhaps 6 25L packs plus 3 75l compost and ideally a little lawn sand. That shouldn't cost you more than € 60.0 +/-. Also roll turf is readily available and from approx € 4.00 or less/sq m. Again to do your area maybe available and I'd say your lawn area is < 20 sqm, € 80.00 for turf to do finished lawn.

Its probably a good idea to visit a graden centre to look at some plants, but note the names and check out the details on the web (crocus is a good source). But some worth looking at/considering:

Rear Corner: Choisya Ternata Mexican Sundance/Goldfinger or Mahonia Charity

Along RHS : Lavender Little Bee or L.Snowman or Lavender 'Blueberry Ruffles', Santolina V. Nana, Hebe Heartbreaker, Abelia Kaleidoscope (These are all evergree compact shrubs heioght+spread < 600mm).

Ornamental Grasses: Carex Evergold, Acorus Ogon, Festuca Glauca Elijah Blue.

Some Herbaceous: Scabiosa Columbria 'Pink Mist', Aster/Michaelmas Daises, Rock Roses, Genitsa Hispanica

Climbers: Hardenbergia Violacea But also available in white etc. A fabulous summer flowering evergreen climber growing up to only 2 m, ideal for your fence.

Hope this helps but come back for more.;)

tara1999

I heard that about topsoil alright. But my garden isn't really level so I thought I could level it with topsoil and also fill up the bedding area with that ( which is already half full with soil that came from another part of the back garden where i got cobblelock put down ). Is that completely wrong?

And you think the roll out lawn will only cost €80??? Is there anything I need to do to the soil already there to prepare it for the roll out lawn?

Am I doing it at completely the wrong time of year? A lot of questions !!!!!!!!

I do really appreciate your help, you sound like you know what your talking about!!

Sonnenblumen

tara1999 wrote: »

I heard that about topsoil alright. But my garden isn't really level so I thought I could level it with topsoil and also fill up the bedding area with that ( which is already half full with soil that came from another part of the back garden where i got cobblelock put down ). Is that completely wrong?

And you think the roll out lawn will only cost €80??? Is there anything I need to do to the soil already there to prepare it for the roll out lawn?

Am I doing it at completely the wrong time of year? A lot of questions !!!!!!!!

I do really appreciate your help, you sound like you know what your talking about!!

As I said, given its such a modest sized garden, you'd be wiser to buy some prepacked sterilised topsoil. The bedding area buils up with any surplus rough soil mixed well with compost, to produce a loose well drained growing medium. If your soil is particularly lumpy and dense add some fine grit (you get a bag of pavers sand (3mm grit) and mix in to improve drainage. Don't forget to add some fertiliser, fish bone and blood is excellent.

The roll turf is really inexpensive, and providing to do good ground prep work, ie rake, level and roll (you can hire a roller c € 20.00, but hire on Sat to get a one day rate for weekend. You'll need to fill with water, but it's as simple as that). Alternatively if you have a helper, you could tamper the ground with a 4" x 2" board. Measure the area, allow 10% for cutting and away you go. Roll Turf can be got from a variety of places/sources, with most you must order in advance.

TH eAutumn is a particularly good time to plant and set lawns, avoid working the soil during wet spells as you're more likely to damge soil structure and cause more problems for later. As I said previously plan your work, obviously the Water Feature should be sorted then the Raised Bed and finally the lawn.
That way you're not working against yourself or disrupting good work.

You can set lawns almost anytime of year, but now is a very good time.

Here's a very good site for browsing plants: http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/

tara1999

"fish bone and blood is excellent". ????? Are you serious!!! Where do I get this stuff.... On the black market !!!! I priced the lawn turf and it'll cost €120 but if it saves all the messing of sowing my own garden then it'll be well worth it. What purpose does rolling the garden do? The plants/shrubs that you mentioned above all look lovely. When is the best time to plant these? Should we wait until spring? What about a rose that would work well with the other plants you mentioned. Is there a particular type that would fit in?? Again I know it's a lot of questions and I really appreciate your input. You're helping me a lot

Sonnenblumen

tara1999 wrote: »

"fish bone and blood is excellent". ????? Are you serious!!! Where do I get this stuff.... On the black market !!!! I priced the lawn turf and it'll cost €120 but if it saves all the messing of sowing my own garden then it'll be well worth it. What purpose does rolling the garden do? The plants/shrubs that you mentioned above all look lovely. When is the best time to plant these? Should we wait until spring? What about a rose that would work well with the other plants you mentioned. Is there a particular type that would fit in?? Again I know it's a lot of questions and I really appreciate your input. You're helping me a lot

Glad you like the plants.

FB&B should be available from any decent garden centre/shop, mix well with soil before planting. Let me know if you have any problems finding it. Well prepared ground is the best way to ensure successful longterm thriving plants.

Rolling the ground before fitting the roll turf, is necessary to ensure a good evn level and no undulations post roll turf. Again it is part of all the prep work that yields very good results/finish.

Autumn is a very good time to plant, ground moist (certainly this year and plants settle in well ahead of the Jan/Feb local freeze) and very workable.

An excellent low growing and natural disease and pest resistant Rose is the 'Flower Carpet' range. Available in a range of colours. Water in well at planting and during dry spells, otherwise cut back to 150-200mm/6"-9" each January and enjoy superb flower display. Range of colours available including Red, White, Pink etc. Excellent grower and no spraying etc required.

€ 120 would seem a very modest price for a new lawn.

But the most expensive aspect of developing any garden new/old is poor ground preparation. A lot of work but the results really do reflect the inputs.

kincsem

You should plant grass seed in the first week of April, or the first week of September. If later than April the grass will sprout, then die off when the weather dries the ground (most years anyway). If planted later than early September the weather will be too cool for the grass to sprout.

I worked with someone who rotovated their garden and then immediately planted grass seed. Weeks later he asked me how do you get it level. The problem with rotovating ground is that the soil will settle back over the next month or two, and it will be very uneven.

That is a bit like when workers dig up a road, then do a “bad job” by covering the trench with tarmac that sinks in the first few weeks, and the tarmac breaks up. Then they redo the road surface “properly”. Why did they not do a “proper job” in the first place? The reason – the soil settles no matter how well they fixed the surface the first time.

To get a level lawn surface you have to “heel in” the soil. You must press in the soil with the flat heels of your shoes (an old pair obviously, and should be flat heeled). You walk over the surface on your heels only, and in straight lines. You must do this over the whole surface. You will often sink down about six inches in places. In other places you will not sink at all. Then you rake the hills into the hollows, and repeat the heeling in process over the whole surface again.

There is nothing you can do about weed seeds. The best action should have been to dig the lawn area a few months ago, and kept digging and weeding until now.

mossym

depends on climate, we got such a run of weather last autumn i planted my lawns late oct early november and they came on straight away, are in great nick now. most people i know would say it is no problem to plant them a lot later than first week in sept

tara1999

Thanks lads,

Getting my roll out turf on tues/wed and already have all the groundwork done for it. So it's just a matter of waiting after that! I think I'll leave the flowerbed in the sleepers for a few weeks cause I'm off on holidays for a couple of weeks and hopefully the grass will have settled by then and it shouldn't be any problem walking on it. I'll keep ye informed and maybe a few pics!!

tara1999

Well I put down the roll out turf and it looks fantastic! I just hope that it all knits together properly and there is no bad spots! I cant wait for the whole back to be finished. It'll be my little safe haven away from the big bad world!!

Sonnenblumen

Well done Tara, just remember best to stay off newly laid turf for 10-14 days. The weather is exected to improve over the coming week so you might need to water it every day!

Keep a close eye around the joints and edges, and water well if you notice any contraction of the sods.

tara1999

I came back from my holidays the other day and found the grass had grown quite a bit! There were one or two weeds after growing . Should I use a feed and weed now or wait a while? Also should I cut the grass now or leave it another few weeks?

Sonnenblumen

Hi Tara,

Thats unusual weed in new turf, wonder what it is? Was it an existing weed in the ground before you put the turf in? I fit's an invasive weed, I would contact the grass supplier who should replace the affected sods.

Not a good idea to use any weed and feed on new grass for at least first 6 months. Try pinching/pulling out by hand the weed, watering the area beforehand might help you to also remove root.
Did you apply fertiliser to the area before rolling turf? If not you should apply an Autumn Winter feed within the next few weeks.

Best to cut the grass in stages and gradually bring blade height down to mid point. If shorter grass is preferred, you can reduce height further next year. Pick a dry day to do mowing otherwise you'll risk damaging grass etc.