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How to deal with a lawn that so dried up that it has deep crevices…

sabeehasabeeha Posts: 344
in Problem solving
Hello

As the title says!

Here is a photo 


It is like this in a few places, some nearby a metre in length and very deep…

What can I do? 

Thank you 
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Posts

  • sabeehasabeeha Posts: 344
    We do have a lot of clay but I really am unsure how to deal with it on such a large scale ie lawn.


  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    There is very little you can do what it really needs is rain. Gaps like this can be a trip hazard I do know! There is some green which at present is good.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Just leave it. They'll close up when it rains.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I think this is a classic example of the problem with many lawns if they don't have the best conditions - ie regular moisture, and free draining, healthy soil. 
    We're seeing this -increasingly, in gardens further south. They're drying out due to long periods of drought, and high temperatures, so cracking and brown turf are the order of the day. I see there are several threads currently about lack of water etc, and this is only going to continue, and probably worsen in many areas.  

    At some point, gardeners will need to make decisions about their lawns. Either do away with them, or use something other than grass alone. The alternative is the problem @sabeeha has.
    It comes down to what people feel is most important in their garden, but realistically, we will all have to reconsider how, and what, we plant to sustain them, and keep them viable and appealing. 

    Sorry- that all sounds very negative, but I'm just being realistic. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    @Fairygirl I have plans to get rid of some more of my lawn. The plan is in it's early stages but it is going to be a dry river bed
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • sabeehasabeeha Posts: 344
    Thank you for your comments!

    If there is not much I can do in terms of improving the lawn I guess I will just have to leave it?

    Definitely a trip hazard for me (scary with my dodgy back) 

    @Fairygirl what other options do you suggest? The lawn runs centre to the garden and kids need it for playing and running around. But do you mean introducing something other than grass as well? I’m not sure whether that will help with the crevices which are quite deep?



  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I was thinking about it yesterday @GardenerSuze, and I reckon many people will have to look at their gardens in a very different way in the coming years. Perhaps do without certain plants, or experimenting with the site they're in. Creating a 'bog' garden type of site just for more standard garden plants to mitigate the lack of rainfall.
    We aren't immune to it here either. Historically, it's been easy to stick loads of shrubs and trees together in a bed, and cram plants in, because our rainfall is regular, and consistently heavy enough to stop them drying out. If we went two or three days without rain, that was unusual, and we don't have such high temps and loads of sun either, and cloudy days mean ground doesn't dry out rapidly. In the last five or six years though, we've experienced longer periods of dry weather, and they're more frequent. The last fifteen months have been very dry for this part of the world. That means reviewing how I would go about a new planting area. 
    All part of gardening - changing and experimenting. The big difference now is that it may be a much bigger struggle for many people. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    @Fairygirl I think your last sentence sums it up well. People need to be encouraged to enjoy their garden. It becomes a struggle when there is nothing to see for alot of hard work and this has been the case this year.
    I always try to find something good whatever the situation, there are a few plants in my garden that have never done so well including a huge Stipa gigantea and Santolina rosmarinfolia. My new border is filled with' a sea' of Cosmos Rubenza which makes me smile.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    @sabeeha, as others have said, there's not much you can do at present. If any areas are particularly bad and you're worried about jarring your back, it might be worth just marking them off, maybe with some canes and string. Just gives you a reminder that they're there if you're concerned. 
    As soon as we get any rain of note they should start to close up.

    As you have children who need somewhere to play at least for the next few years, the only thing that l can suggest is possibly reducing the size of your lawn if you can, and incorporating more flower beds, possibly thinking about fitting water butts to your drain pipes,  that sort of thing. 
    A lot depends on whereabouts you are in the UK, but it looks as though we may all have to think about different ways of planting, the term "flower bed" may come to mean something very different in the future. 
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    My garden cracks every year. Mostly in the ' lawn ' but elsewhere too. I accept it as part and parcel of gardening on clay. I agree that if any areas are hazardous to you, you should mark them off some way .
    In London. Keen but lazy.
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