Desperately seeking a perfect lawn
Flora.
Posts: 3
hello!
I am extremely new to gardening and probably need more help than I dare say but today id love help with my lawn!
Now I don't want to go pointing fingers but my husband is definitely to blame. We moved into our home about 18 months ago and the garden had been sadly neglected by the previous owners. It's a split level, the lower level being about a meter down from the top. When we originally moved in the weeds on the lower area were level with the top area. 18 months of work has got me a lovely (ish) top lawn and a tolerable lower lawn my problem is the split. And this is where my husband steps in. One day when I was at work my husbands new greenhouse was ordered, in preparation for its arrival my husband dug in a foundation of sorts and had the amazing idea of joining our split level by tipping all the dirt between the two and making a lumpy mound. He then topped it with all the grass and weeds from the 6x8 ft area he's dug out for the green house. He told me the grass would grow in if we just kept watering and seeding it.
I wont say I believed him but it was a battle I didn't want to face and the garden was his domain
Fast forward nine months and the greenhouse is his pride and joy along with the collection of cactus he has cultivated. The garden has been neglected by him and my lumpy mound has affectionately been renamed Weed Mountain.
i have worked hard over summer to get everything else in the garden looking how we want it but weed mountain cannot be conquered. ive just spent an hour strimming it all back and pulling the worst of the weeds out, borrowing the neighbours rolling thing to try and squash out the lumps now I need help moving forward with this project
My plan is to cover it with something over winter in the hopes that the weeds will die then in spring I can turf or seed the area and have a slopping lawn as my sweet husband originally (misguidedly) attempted.
Is this a realistic option? I originally planned on using tarp but have heard some bad reviews. hay has been suggested on an American forum, is this a viable option? What would give me the best results and, more importantly, best conditions for getting a lovely lawn?
thanks in advance ❤️
Posts
Hi Flora!
Any chance of a photo or two, so we can get a better idea of scale, slope etc?
Don't let Weed Mountain put you off. Gardening is ace!
Yes please Flora ... post a photo or three ... we'll help you sort it out ... some of us started off with ploughed fields, some with quagmires and yes, some of us have had Weed Mountains too ... and all our gardens look better now than they used to
To upload photos start with the camera icon ... if they don't upload try reducing the size ... that usually works.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Flora, don't be put off by Edd...
Hehe. Nice pic Edd :-)
Edd, I don't take offence. I've been on this forum for a number of years and feel I know you a bit, and know your sense of humour.
But if Flora is a new poster here, with a genuine query, she might wonder if it's worth persisting with the question if she only gets photos of "interesting" cacti when she's asked about lawn rescue...
I've not used a tarp to kill weeds on perpose but they do seem to work when forgotten about the place. What I use is black silage plastic, but it doesn't come in small quantities so it would depend on how large the area you want to cover is if that would be a good answer for you. (about 10m by 10m is the smallest I have seen)
Hahah! before I get sucked into a rabbits hole of bad puns and suggestive photos here is the lawn area in question...
The tufts are like wild grass (is that a thing?!) the sort youd find lining country roads with the thick blades. The dirt patches between are where I get an array of dandelions, stickweed and all kinds of fun strong weeds.
my mum has suggested a very strong weed killer being put down which kills the soil for six months apparently? Then following this with compost on the area and finally turfing or seeding, my concern with this is would this run off in a rainy spell and ruin other plants. Not to mention the affects on the worms and bugs and my outdoor cat...
The lawn below is also a little sad looking. This is due to it not being mowed in six weeks (a long holiday followed by consistent wet weather)
the dirt patch to the left edge was once maybe a boarder but too over come with weeds for me to continue trying to make work. This will shortly be tarped and pebbled and some container gardening attempted.
Thank you all for taking an interest. I have been reading your responses but replying through my iPhone wont allow me to quote you all individually to respond. Or if it will I can't figure out how!
Hi Flora!
That doesn't look too bad... I'd imagined a much steeper slope. You did well to try to flatten it, but it still looks a lot lumpier than the rest of your lawn. The easiest way to make it look good might be to kill off what's there now, and I'd do that by covering it with anything to exclude the light - you could use black plastic, though something the rain can penetrate would be better really. You can get weed control fabric, which you could use twice - once on your slope, then permanently under the pebbles in your ex-border, perhaps. Or old carpet, or cardboard weighed down with stones, would also kill the weeds. You could use weedkiller, but not this time of year (assuming you're in GB). Glyphosate would kill the weeds without harming the soil, providing you follow the instructions. You have to apply it when the weeds are growing strongly.
You can seed a new lawn in April, having firmed and raked the weed-free area. That would be the cheapest option.
Having said all that... providing the slope isn't so lumpy you can't mow it, I think if it were mine, I'd not bother with the weed killing. I'd over-seed whatever's there in Spring, and once it grows, mow it regularly. You can make a perfectly reasonable lawn from a field, given time and regular mowing, feeding etc.
Definitely put a black tarp over it and weigh it down well until spring. All the weeds will die Then dump a bag of freash compost on it and rake it smooth. Then reseed it and water lightly. Keep and dogs or cats off it for at least three weeks and watch the grass grow ;-)
OR why not make it a feature and plant it up.. ? Lavender looks great on a well drained site like that..