Best way to clear overgrown garden

loveisdivine

We've just purchased a house that has a half acre of garden/land. The front garden is well kept and just needs the grass cutting.

However the side and back garden are completely overgrown and we have no idea how to tackle it. There's piles of stones that look like shale and then smaller piles spread out beneath the over growth.

If we try to clear it ourselves, what's the best way of going about it? The end goal is to just have grass for now, like the front garden.

Would this be something a professional could do? Just clear the whole lot and put down either grass turf or seed? Would we need a landscaper or a gardener?

Any pointers would be great.

Thanks!

Car99

Unless your good with a mini digger and small dumper and have a way to remove and dispose of unwanTed material such as rouble it would be easier and quicker hire someone to clear it and then see where you're at ? As in do you need topsoil brought in before attempting to prep for a lawn.

loveisdivine

To be honest I've no idea what the soil underneath is like. If I were to guess I'd say it's probably poor. Here's some photos to give you a better idea of what we're dealing with.

I faced something similar OP.

I sprayed off the land with Roundup and allowed it to die off. Upon seeing how much of an area was involved I soon realised I was out of my depth. I got a local lad with a jcb to clear and level the site out for me and then to supply and spread topsoil.

If I could turn back the clock I would. The guy was a disaster. He did a good job clearing and levelling (at a huge cost I since found out). I should have done more research really but being new to the area I thought Id use the local lad.
The topsoil he brought was absolutely desperate. Very poor quality and full of stones. It was also full of weed seed. A price I am still paying for.

Nothing grew on it, except weeds and they even struggled.

With the help of a friend and a friend of his we rotavated the whole area and began the job of picking stones. You would not believe the stones that came of it. The area was never as bad with stones before as Id cleared a small area on it for a foundation for a shed. Picking stones took days. Awful job.

We seeded the area with grass and fertiliser and the grass began to grow. Its still poor quality soil as the grass looks unhealthy at times and needs plenty of feriliser to keep it green.

I have begun the process this year of top dressing the soil with a mix of good topsoil and compost. It will take time but should help the soil improve.


Long story short.....get someone that knows what they are doing not just the local digger man. Get good quality screened topsoil.
Even if its more expensive it will be worth it in the long run.

I'm still paying for my mistakes

macraignil

I am not sure from the photos but it looks like there is some area near the house that has more stones and less growth than the rest. The piles of stones you describe could have been collected by the previous owner with the view of having a driveway near the back of the house. There is some of the growth in the photos that looks healthy. I'd clear the weeds from near the house and around the obvious stones first and see if there is something to do with the material. If it is nice looking stone you could use it to make edging for flower beds, etc. I put up a video of one side of my garden where there was plenty of stones at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5layEXNwU_s
The path of stones in the video was not a great success when my creeping thyme seeds did not get established so I changed that since. Its a lot nicer picking stones if you can put them somewhere that fits in with the garden you want eventually. Some people used keep rockeries with suitable plants such as alpines in between the stones but I think weeding this type of feature was a bit too time consuming for modern tastes
If it is just rubble or hard core(broken up stone for foundations) then you could maybe use it for under a path or paved area near the house. You should ask a landscaper to call out and price a few different options once you get a better picture of whats under the weeds and broken pieces of fencing.

loveisdivine

Thanks for the tips! We hadn't thought of keeping the stones but we will definitely do that! We can put them in a couple of those big builders bags, I'm sure we will find use for them.

I think the plan for now is to clear as much as we can on our own, then get a professional in to dig it up and lay new top soil.

Hocus Focus

Hard to tell from the pictures, but the bits of fencing and other infrastructure give the impression that there was some sort of organised garden there formerly. What you describe as 'shale' makes me think that it is actually the kind of hardcore that is used as a foundation for paved areas, which might come in useful.
My advice would be to borrow/hire a strimmer and cut back the growth as much as possible, then spray with Roundup or similar. When it dies back you can see what you're dealing with and can make a decision whether or not to do it yourself or hire somebody. One caution; start the work soon after the 'die-back', the glyphosate weedkillers only kill what's growing, not the seeds that germinate after it has been sprayed.

pinch

Firstly, looking at the photos I see lots of Nettles and this is a sign of fertile soil.
Secondly. If you are about to do up a house cover areas of the garden with old carpets that you are going to throw out anyway and leave them for at least 6 months to kill everything underneath.
Lastly, I always think you should leave a garden for a year just to see what come up, i.e. there might be spring bulbs planted, most likely near the house, and you might like to keep them.

loveisdivine

Yeah good idea not to just rip everything out straight away.

Perhaps if we could just reduce the height of the overgrowth so we could at least navigate it a bit better. It's difficult to even walk through the at the minute because it's all uneven.

I think if we try and take up as much of he rock as possible and then just maybe cut down the weeds and stuff we might get a better idea of the ground underneath.

As you say, some of it might be reasonable but we just can't see it at the moment.