Tidying the garden/lawn...how?

Farls

I'm looking for how-tos on making the garden/lawn a big more neeter. My big job this week is sorting out around the trees/flowerbeds/fences. We have a tractor lawnmower which is excellent for cutting the lawn but no good around these other areas, theres always a big clump of grass left that has to be strimmed and i'm sick of doing this. I want to make nice little circles around the trees and edging around the rest so that theres no grass beside these areas.

My problem is how is this done that grass won't grow back, do i put plastic down and then put old bark or some nice gravel over it? or is it best to lift a full sod and turn it upside down?. The garden isnt my handiest place any advice would be helpful.

Also what else should or could I be doing now to tidy the place up? Is it this time of year that trees should be pruned?

KdjaCL

Dig a hole about 6 inches deep around the tree and about a foot in width, place down black bags or the super strong plastic you buy in Diy shops. Fill with bark €6 a bag


Probelm solved and it looks nice too. Few potted plants etc: Just make sure the edge of the hole is neat,put some wood under it out of sight to keep the high edge.


kdjac

Farls

We have a proper edging tool to keep things neet me finks...I was looking up doing this there and a really good way is to tie a rope to the edger and to the base of the tree about a foot or so long depending on how big you want your circle and mover around the tree...makes a perfect circle

prospect

An alternative is to dig around the tree, about 6" as KdjaC said and then put down newspaper, about 4 sheets thick, then cover with bark mulch, or pebbles or shale.
This is more enviornmentally friendly as it is biodegradable, and it allows water seep through it. This is particularly useful in large areas, like around flower beds. But it does need to be re-done every few years.

Farls

prospect wrote:

An alternative is to dig around the tree, about 6" as KdjaC said and then put down newspaper, about 4 sheets thick, then cover with bark mulch, or pebbles or shale.
This is more enviornmentally friendly as it is biodegradable, and it allows water seep through it. This is particularly useful in large areas, like around flower beds. But it does need to be re-done every few years.

I like that idea...and its good for the env. cheers

Rodney Trotter

Putting down plastic is a stupid idea. It won't allow water down and won't allow the soil to breath. The soil will deteriorate and die, and the tree will not get sufficient water. The newspaper might work but you could also use a product like MYPEX which will allow water through but blocks weeds and grasses.

You could also use a weedkiller, like ROUNDUP, around the base of the tree to kill all the grass required. It only kills the green growth so won't harm the tree, unless you spray the leaves. Kill the required grass then dig it up and cover it.

cybo

Hi, Mowing around trees and shrubs is always tricky. I tried all the above tips but in the end you get your mower into the bark chips and gravel, or the birds spread the bark chips over the grass, or the grass just spreads over the bark and gravel.

The only thing that has helped us is by putting down some sort of hard edging material, e.g., laying down bricks or slabs, or some sort of wood edging.

If you are on a tight budget, why not save and collect all the wine or beer bottles in your neighbourhood. Then clear an area around your trees and shrubs as suggested above, lay down some sort of garden matting (which lets the rain in but keeps the weeds out) and then upturn each bottle at the edge to a height of say 6-8 inches. Try to keep the height even by banging them in with a soft hammer. And hey presto, you have a wonderful edging, and your mower can mow right up to the edging.

GreeBo

cybo wrote:

If you are on a tight budget, why not save and collect all the wine or beer bottles in your neighbourhood. Then clear an area around your trees and shrubs as suggested above, lay down some sort of garden matting (which lets the rain in but keeps the weeds out) and then upturn each bottle at the edge to a height of say 6-8 inches. Try to keep the height even by banging them in with a soft hammer. And hey presto, you have a wonderful edging, and your mower can mow right up to the edging.

the bottles will hold water and you will have mossie troubles next yeah
also if anything goes awry height-wise you might only take out 1 eye...


:cool: