Hi,@Ant.etc : I'd hang on to the Butler's sink & offer to position it for your daughter's own 'mini-garden' [sunny spot would be best, adjacent to the o/g 'pathway?]...Filled with clean topsoil (shops sell it) & sow **quickie veg/ flower seeds this autumn still has a bit of 'Go' in it. **Radish, spring onion, even nasturtiums can grow quite quickly & be an 'offering' to the salad bowl. Best of luck as you all grow into your 'New Realm'!!
One garden I inherited had a large bump in the "lawn". I used a spade to cut a cross in the ground and peeled back the grass to discover a bike! I just rolled back the lawn after digging out the bike and levelling the soil. Hey presto, a level lawn.
One garden I inherited had a large bump in the "lawn". I used a spade to cut a cross in the ground and peeled back the grass to discover a bike! I just rolled back the lawn after digging out the bike and levelling the soil. Hey presto, a level lawn.
Funny you said that, my little one was messing around with the rake and discovered one bump to be full of burnt particle board and rusted metal parts (bars and braces). Going to give it a good go this weekend weather permitting! 🙃
If you have a lot of rubbish that you're going to need to dispose of, and you go to the trouble of hiring a skip, it seems worth making a clean sweep and digging out the top 20 cm of soil/weeds/roots at the same time, then putting a layer of new topsoil down and turfing or grass-seeding it over.
The other method is indeed to mow, and keep mowing. You can gradually get rid of the large-leaved plants using hormone-based weedkiller or a weed trowel, depending on the size of the area. It is the slow method but it will work.
May I ask you to consider sowing an area with Wild Flower seeds to encourage bees and butterflies and moths and bugs into your area.
Your 8 year old hopefully will be interested as she may be getting information from her school about climate change and the decline of British insects.
Good luck with your wonderful Blank Canvas
Everyone is just trying to be Happy.....So lets help Them.
I would do nothing more than keeping the 'lawn' cut through this Autumn, and then use a lawn weed and feed in the Spring. That will kill off many of the weeds (and probably leave the lawn looking terrible initially) but will give a better idea of whether you can simply reseed areas or if a complete fresh start is required.
@KT53 - Yes I will be going down this route given the time of year and budget. Main issue is the levelling of the lawn, it's pretty bad. I purchased a used Mountford rotary mower last night and tested it out today on a patch. I immediately heard the blade crashing into something, turns out there are a lot of buried broken bricks with corners sticking out. I'll have to pull those among other rubbish, level out and then mow like mad lol
@NewBoy2 - Yes 100%, my kid is very into 'minibeasts' at school as they have a wildlife area etc. She has already picked out a bunch of seed packets and we will have fun with this when the conditions are right. Also planning bird feeders/water and other attractions to wildlife. On the bright side, the soil seems to be packed with worms everywhere I test and there is already a very healthy creature count all over the garden. My wife is currently adjusting to her new critter hell, but my kid and I love it
Even a few days after the strimming, the grass is quite healthily fighting out new shoots everywhere. Seems I'm lucky apart from the buried *ahem* 'treasures' thanks to previous untidy builder work.
Bonus note: just pulled out a thick heavy root system (bramble?) that almost wound around the whole garden in one piece... wow.
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The other method is indeed to mow, and keep mowing. You can gradually get rid of the large-leaved plants using hormone-based weedkiller or a weed trowel, depending on the size of the area. It is the slow method but it will work.
Your 8 year old hopefully will be interested as she may be getting information from her school about climate change and the decline of British insects.
Good luck with your wonderful Blank Canvas
@NewBoy2 - Yes 100%, my kid is very into 'minibeasts' at school as they have a wildlife area etc. She has already picked out a bunch of seed packets and we will have fun with this when the conditions are right. Also planning bird feeders/water and other attractions to wildlife. On the bright side, the soil seems to be packed with worms everywhere I test and there is already a very healthy creature count all over the garden. My wife is currently adjusting to her new critter hell, but my kid and I love it
Even a few days after the strimming, the grass is quite healthily fighting out new shoots everywhere. Seems I'm lucky apart from the buried *ahem* 'treasures' thanks to previous untidy builder work.
Bonus note: just pulled out a thick heavy root system (bramble?) that almost wound around the whole garden in one piece... wow.
Take care all