Lawn care could result in divorce or homicide whichever is the cheapest

avs0020

Of course I am only joking about killing my husband....well sort of joking. You see we have divided areas of responsibility. Husband dude is in charge of the lawn and I am in charge of the beds. As I have yet to perfect the art of levitation I have to cross the lawn on foot to get to the beds. To be fair he doesnt grump too much about that unless I stand in once place for too long, but you can imagine the levels of concern expressed when I work in the edge of a bed that lies against the lawn, and repeatedly crush the lawn in one area in the process.

Now to be fair our lawn is absolutely stunning and my husband has every right to be very proud of his efforts as I am of him. This impasse is a tad annoying on a day by day basis but isnt insurmaountable, until possibly now because here's the real problem:

I have this dream about tackling the edges of the beds and laying a line of bricks or sleepers as the edges have no definition, and my husband mows the lawn with the subtlety of a steam roller operator employed by the Roads Department. Again in fairness he doesnt have the time to get involved in this dream of mine, and I am seriously short of both time and strength, so I'd like to get in a garden contractor. Unfortunately that means several pairs of totally undiscerning feet treading repeatedly over my husband's hallowed grass. The Hub will blow a gasket!

How do I sell this to my husband? Is there a recovery program that isnt too hard core? Is there a better time of year to be squashing the grass flat? How long will it take to recover?

Any advice is gratefully appreciated but I'd be grateful if it was about lawn recovery and not different ways to silence the poor blighter ('cos I do love the sod). Thanks

CJhaughey

Could you cut a section of lawn out next to the beds and use weedmatting and decorative gravel? it would be easy to do and you could finish the edge with a hard border so it could be strimmed up to.

avs0020

Yeah I thought of that as one option but I still have to solve the probelm of when is the best time to get in some manual assistance. (The beds are huge and I dont have the time to do it myself unfortunately.) So whatever option of bed border I go for I have to work out what time of the year is best for reducing the impact on the lawn, then I have to sell the concept to his Lordship. Thanks for the help.

The Sweeper

My gut feeling (and please note the hemisphere I'm in) is that this would be a bad time of year. If it's cold, grass won't grow, so you won't get regrowth to fix any problems. If it's wet, the lawn will be boggy and materials and hob-nailed booties will sink into it and make a mess.

I'd say wait for warmer, dryer weather and put some protective sacking down - but as ever I'll bow to teh professionals on this one

minifan

why not try some of the plastic edging strips? you cant see them and they give really sharp edges. I dont think gravel would be a good idea as it will blunt the lawnmower blades if it gets too close and could be dangerous if it gets in there and flies around. or you could use some reclaimed natural slate set end on to give an edge?

TequilaMockingBird

You need a hovercraft. Failing that, try the Magic and Illusion Forum?



Sorry no advice, but I liked your post.