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Disintegrated shingle underlay

Jack WallaceJack Wallace Posts: 2
in Problem solving

Hi,

I've recently decided to fix up my mums garden as it has fallen into disarray since she is no longer able to maintain it. I plan on returning it to a nice environment where she can sit and relax (A long road ahead considering my current gardening experience is limited to using a lawn mower). Here is the offending garden.

image

My first intended task was to put new underlay down under the shingle area. My plan was to move all of the shingle from one side of the path onto the other side, put new underlay down and move the shingle back then do the same for the other side. However, when I tried to move the single over after removing the majority of the weeds and grass, I found that the underlay had disintegrated to a point that a lot of the shingles had mixed in with the soil beneath.

My plan now is to salvage what shingle I can, dig over what is left and put new underlay on top. Is this viable? will the underlay be effective if I put it over stony soil? bearing in mind it will hardly be walked over. Also would turf take to this kind of soil? As I am also considering removing the shingle completely and turfing the lot.

Any alternative suggestions with what to do / how to manage this area would also be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading image

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117

    You can double up the fabric if it's lightweight stuff Jack, but it might be worth investing in some of the heavy duty stuff so that it lasts longer. You can then plant some shrubs into that (if you want some greenery) and they will be low maintenance. 

    As for turfing - you'd need a fair bit of prep before laying it as the ground won't be brilliant after being under the gravel, so it really depends whether you feel it's worth it. Grass can be quite high maintenance if you want it looking good, so again, it depends on the amount of time you have to spend on it. A nice piece of lawn is lovely so you may want to do half and half. You'll get plenty of advice re prep if you decide to do that  image

    If you want your mum to have a nice place to sit, you might want to consider a simple screen of trellis or posts and wires which you can grow some climbers on to give privacy -enough for a seating or ding area. You could have permanent planting like roses or clematis, or annuals like sweet peas (nicely scented)  and you'll get plenty of help with that kind of thing on the forum too image

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Jack WallaceJack Wallace Posts: 2

    Thanks Fairygirl image 

    In that case, I think I'll stick to redoing the underlay with some good quality stuff. Also, the trellis sounds like a great idea. Thank you very much for your advice.

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117

    Step at a time Jack - that's the best way forward. Get your shingle area sorted so that  your mum can make use of it if there's some nice sunny days. Other projects can be tackled as you go along, and you can decide on planting once you get a feel for the area and what will work in different spots.

    There'll be plenty of advice on the forum when you get to that stage  image

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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