Idea's on converting lawn into something else

MatthewWC

Looking idea's on converting my lawn garden, it gets flooded and very wet quite easily.

dont know weather to deck it, gravel it, pave it but defo not tarmac it

any advice or other idea;s would be greatly appreicated:):)

paddy147

MatthewWC wrote: »

Looking idea's on converting my lawn garden, it gets flooded and very wet quite easily.

dont know weather to deck it, gravel it, pave it but defo not tarmac it

any advice or other idea;s would be greatly appreicated:):)

How about a raised garden bed with lots of wildlife,insect and bee friendly plants and flowers throughout the year.

Thats what my girlfriend did with our old dull garden lawn.....(I hate grass)

She designed it,built it and planted it all from scratch.

Turned out very well indeed.

ponddigger

hi m any photos of your garden, jack

Sonnenblumen

paddy147 wrote: »

How about a raised garden bed with lots of wildlife,insect and bee friendly plants and flowers throughout the year.

Thats what my girlfriend did with our old dull garden lawn.....(I hate grass)

She designed it,built it and planted it all from scratch.

Turned out very well indeed.

Ah yes, its hard to beat a few specials in a sleeper bed to create an outstanding display of wildlife? Mainly bugs, a few mice perhaps? Meanwhile the busy boyfriend can't stop playing the broken record, oh me girlfriend, oh me ................Stop. FFS:eek:

jprboy

This will certainly not end well.......

I've no popcorn either..... darn

paddy147

@ MatthewWC...any pics of the garden you are talking about?

What sort of size is the lawn area that you thinking about converting?

Thanks.

lionela

MatthewWC wrote: »

Looking idea's on converting my lawn garden, it gets flooded and very wet quite easily.

dont know weather to deck it, gravel it, pave it but defo not tarmac it

any advice or other idea;s would be greatly appreicated:):)

Dig a large hole 4ft square by 6 ft deep...fill with hard core to 18" then very coarse gravel or chippings followed by sand ...compact same ..then top up with some of the earth/clay you removed and level....this should give you a drainage in heavy rain etc.
You can make a few of these depending on the size of your garden.

I done similiar to create a soakway for garage roof ...rain drainage.

pwurple

I don't think deck is a great option in Ireland. Very high maintenance with our wet climate.

Gravel I also find gets filled with weeds and seedlings very quickly unless you are driving over it. Best for the crunchy driveway option, but not a former lawn maybe.

Paving would be what I would go with, if you didn't want to plant it up.

redser7

Pave it and leave a few planting pockets for interest. Plonk down picnic bench. Job done.
You're not going to let him away with that paddy are you?

Oldtree

it may be too wet to drain if floods. u could let it go wild augmenting it with appropiate wild seed and enjoy the ebb and flow of it.

Coll1e

You should have a think about what you want to use the garden for when thinking about what to do with it. If you just want to have a nice outdoor space then you could lay a simple gravel path, place a seat/rock in an area that gets good sunlight and plant the rest. Alternatively, If you want to grow veg you'd need raised beds.
When considering planting a site with poor drainage it is advisable to start with plants that are tolerant of those conditions. A garden centre will be able to advise you of suitable plants.
If you have an idea of what type of garden you want e.g formal or naturalistic and what styles appeal to you (e.g Japanese garden/celtic garden) then you can refine your plant choice further to achieve this.
For inspiration you could google moss gardens, fern gardens, japanese gardens, bog gardens, willow structures.
In short there is no reason that a damp site should stop you having a fantastic garden.

Sonnenblumen

jprboy wrote: »

This will certainly not end well.......

I've no popcorn either..... darn

Do spare a thought for the hapless 'gardening girlfriend' shiller and offers of nixers.

delly

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

Do spare a thought for the hapless 'gardening girlfriend' shiller and offers of nixers.

One month ban from the gardening forum

muckyhands

You could add wildflowers as mentioned above, maybe a wildlife pond too and go with the conditions you have.

Purple loosestrife is a lovely native plant. There are named varietys but I came across an unnamed one in a garden centre growing by their wildlife pond, the owner very kindly offered/ allowed me to take some cuttings of it. Its leaves are food for hawkmoth caterpillars and flowers attract bees and butterflies.

Ragged Robin is another lovely native plant, I have the white and pink ones. It provides nectar for many butterflies and can be grown from seed easily.

Beautiful flowers with the added bonus of helping a rare wild plant in the case of Ragged robin and also wildlife, Im all for it. :):D

wildlifeboy

there are paths here in citywest all over the place that are filled with this beige/yellowy fine gravel that when compacted by walking doesnt let any weeds through whatsoever. they lay about an inch or two of hardcore and then about 2/3 inches of this yellowy gravel. it looks great but i dont know where you buy it. i was thinking of making paths in my garden with the same stuff. i have never seen one weed grow through it. can anybody tell me what this is? i reckon it is probably expensive. i would stay away from traditional gravel. all i ever see is either weeds or bits where the underlay can be seen an it looks awfull. it may work if you lay about 4 inchs depth but that would cost a bomb. i have two dogs and they made their own path around the perimeter so i am just going to follow their lead and put a path there.
c'mon paddy147 fight your corner!

Moll'll fix it

wildlifeboy wrote: »

there are paths here in citywest all over the place that are filled with this beige/yellowy fine gravel that when compacted by walking doesnt let any weeds through whatsoever. they lay about an inch or two of hardcore and then about 2/3 inches of this yellowy gravel. it looks great but i dont know where you buy it. i was thinking of making paths in my garden with the same stuff. i have never seen one weed grow through it. can anybody tell me what this is? i reckon it is probably expensive. i would stay away from traditional gravel. all i ever see is either weeds or bits where the underlay can be seen an it looks awfull. it may work if you lay about 4 inchs depth but that would cost a bomb. i have two dogs and they made their own path around the perimeter so i am just going to follow their lead and put a path there.
c'mon paddy147 fight your corner!

You can buy that gravel in most gardening centres or builders merchants. The stones come in different sizes, I think in 10mm, 14mm and 21mm and there are various colours. I put some down in my back garden one spring (goldcrest was the colour). I have a good few deciduous trees along the back wall and when they shed their leaves in the autumn it is a big job gathering them up from the gravel because it can't be raked the same way as a lawn and if I don't gather them up, the leaves will turn into muck. In hindsight I wouldn't have put down the gravel. Just bear this in mind if you are thinking of putting down gravel and if you have a lot of trees around that lose their leaves every year.

paddy147

Moll'll fix it wrote: »

You can buy that gravel in most gardening centres or builders merchants. The stones come in different sizes, I think in 10mm, 14mm and 21mm and there are various colours. I put some down in my back garden one spring (goldcrest was the colour). I have a good few deciduous trees along the back wall and when they shed their leaves in the autumn it is a big job gathering them up from the gravel because it can't be raked the same way as a lawn and if I don't gather them up, the leaves will turn into muck. In hindsight I wouldn't have put down the gravel. Just bear this in mind if you are thinking of putting down gravel and if you have a lot of trees around that lose their leaves every year.

LEAF MOLD....couldnt ask for much more than natures way.:D


Leaf blower/garden vac is ideal for scooping them up and mulching them.:)...(but not over gravel)

Moll'll fix it

Thanks Paddy. Have one of those vacs but they don't pick up the leaves when they are wet -and they are always wet in that part of the garden, which is why I got rid of the lawn!

paddy147

Moll'll fix it wrote: »

Thanks Paddy. Have one of those vacs but they don't pick up the leaves when they are wet -and they are always wet in that part of the garden, which is why I got rid of the lawn!

Rake them out.collect them up.Place them on the pathway and then use a lawnmower or a garden vac to shred them into smaller bits.

It makes for absolutely fantastic Leaf Mold and its fantastic for the garden/soil.:D

Moll'll fix it

Must be my garden vac but it just chokes if it takes up wet leaves! Anyway, am contemplating having some of the trees cut down altogether. Two of them in particular are downy birch and shed catkins and cotton-wool like stuff in May and June as well as the leaves in the autumn. I can't leave the windows open because the rooms get full of the stuff, can't hang out washing etc. You are right about the leaf mold though, I compost as many of the leaves as I can but there are just so many I have to put the most of them in the brown bin for collection by bin lorry.

glineli

I would love to astro turf my little garden. Grass without the hassel!!! Defo a gap in the market for it