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Rotovate new build garden
Hi folks,
Have just bought a new build house and unfortunately the garden is not going to be in the budget. Builder has just put topsoil down and said slight run off for drainage but garden def looks level.
It is full of stones and topsoil prob not the best...
I don't have much of an idea on how to sort the garden out but handy enough so hoping to undertake it myself.
Not a huge garden by any means so gives me the ability to buy quality materals...
Hopefully somecan give me a outline of what I will be undertaking...
Kind regards
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Posts
I've done a couple of these and you will probably find all sorts of stuff that the builders 'forgot' to tidy away, so expect bricks and blocks, tiles and sheets of glass etc. You have the advantage of being able to plan your garden from scratch rather than taking on someone else's design and trying to make it fit (rarely works well). So to start with, decide what you want from your garden. Lawn, veg patch, patio, play area, pond, greenhouse, shed? Do a sketch or few to plan out what goes where. Before you get any plants, deal with the basics like the paving and the lawn, then you can go mad with the wallet at the garden centre and get the shrubs and herbaceous plants. See what grows well in your area as that is a good indication of what will succeed rather than turning brown as soon as you get it out of the car.
No we are not looking any features. There will be shed at some point but just looking.a nice green lawn for now.
I've seen some nice lawns in the area and a few bad ones. Some yellow patchy, uneven lawns. This is what I am trying to avoid...
September will be the next best time to lay a lawn as the summer heat is on the decline and this will allow any turfs to establish as long as they are kept watered. if seeding a lawn then it is more critical to maintain watering but this is a longer method to getting a lawn as you will have to wait until the new grass has established before walking on it.With turfs you can walk on it after a few days once it has settled .If you walk on it straight away then you could have the turfs moving under you a bit like a skin on a custard.
I have done both methods in the past but turfing has been the best outcome. which ever you choose to do use a garden rake to remove any old brick and stones from the area first.You could save these as they make could hard core for when you may need a shed base
Regards
Jolly Gary
Hi & welcome to the forum AJP
You have a few weeks before you put down your new lawn so may I suggest you use that time to dig over your garden - at least twice.
It is worth emphasising (as others have already said) that you will probably find all sorts of stuff under that topsoil. If you spend time digging now you can remove any lumps of concrete, wood, broken bricks etc etc. You can also see if you need to dig in any extra organic matter and work on getting the soil level and raked into a nice, fertile tilth - all this will help grass seed or turf romp away. You can also use the time to monitor whether there are any areas with potential drainage problems (ie does water puddle anywhere & take ages to drain away).
If you don't prepare the ground properly now you will forever have little uneven bits underfoot where stones and bricks work their way towards the surface. They may even start to snag and damage your lawn mower. The lawn will be patchy with discoloured or 'thin' areas where the grass gets uneven moisture & nutrients due to the stuff under the soil.
As Gary said you can use excavated stones and bricks as hard core under future paving etc. Once it's dug and raked you can come back to us and we'll remind you about raking and treading to compact the soil (so you don't get air pockets) and general last minute preparation before you go green.
So first purchases on my shopping list would be a decent garden fork and a general purpose garden rake. I would also start looking at lawn sprinklers in case we have a dry autumn and you need to buy one in a hurry - quicker to buy if you've already worked which one best meets your needs.
Good luck
hi and welcome.
You say the garden isn't big, my question is, " do you need a lawn?"
If you have a lawn, you need a lawnmower, and somewhere to store it.
In my last house I got rid off all the grass, laid paths and had some decked areas for seating.
Having run my own gardening business for over 25 years, I think I'd cut enough.
Now have 8 acres and it takes me at least 4 hours to cut the flippin stuff .
As my dear late Mother would have said " Act in haste , repent at leisure"
Good advice above about taking your time, deciding what you want, and don't want. there's no rush for any of it. Better to do your reseach, and invest wisely. No point in spending time, effort and money now, only to rip it out at a later date.
This is the back garden before soil was put down, will get it dug up this week and upload a progress photo, as you can see there is a slight slope, will i be putting grass on the gravel bit that slopes down the flagstones?
PS, grass is a must for our garden, my 2 year old son would have a fit if he couldn't cut the grass.
I want to turn this mess into green grass. I thought that was obvious...lol
Topbird is spot on - you need to get it all dug over and get all the rubbish out of it as most builders just fling the topsoil down over rubble and rubbish. Once that is done you can then start the prep for grass sowing or turfing.
Out of curiosity how much would it cost to have an expert take care of this?