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Can this grass be saved?

gilly37gilly37 Posts: 9
in Problem solving
Hi, First of all apologies as I'm new here and a complete novice but looking for some hope! We moved to a new house in October (in the eternally wet west of Scotland) and have inherited much more garden space than we've been used to in the past. The picture is of our back garden which is north facing, it gets a lot of shade (no sun at all in winter) and remained a mushy sodden mess all winter with huge puddles/ponds, although recently it has started drying out a bit with more sunlight hitting it. It's not very level, we have a big dip at the back next to the shed and right now it's just moss in that area. We have so far dug out a trench along the left hand side and along the front of the decking and placed drainage pipes in there covered with gravel and decorative chippings, and led the pipes into a manhole to try and improve the flooding problem, and we were planning on digging the mossy bit up completely, putting a bordered bark area for my daughter to have a trampoline on. We've also got rid of a fair amount of the grass on the right hand side already and put a patio down. The main issue I'm worried about is the mats of daisy foliage which have completely invaded the grass, and the fact that we have a lot of soil showing where the grass is bare. What grass remains doesn't look like decent grass, it's sparse and a funny muddy colour, and very short. I scarified the whole area a couple of weeks ago bringing up a lot of moss, and aerated all over with a fork last week, then I put down evergreen 4 in 1 weed/ feed/moss killer 3 days ago but so far I haven't noticed any change. I'm worried that it's beyond help and it just needs dug up and re-turfed. Or am I just being impatient and it'll take longer to notice a change? As much as I didn't want the grass to get mushy again, I had to water the stuff in because we've surprisingly had a very dry spell since putting that down. Any advice on what to do next appreciated, thanks!
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  • gilly37gilly37 Posts: 9
    Oops couldn't attach the pic, will try on laptop shortly
  • gilly37gilly37 Posts: 9
    Try this:



    https://flic.kr/p/FntFKA
  • Dave MorganDave Morgan Posts: 3,123

    Gilly just wait for the present. It's a bit early to apply anything and as you applied stuff a few days ago it wouldn't have had time to work. I'd leave well alone till mid to late April before doing anything else then see how it looks. 

  • BobFlannigonBobFlannigon Posts: 619

    Hi Gilly,

    Usually moss is a pretty good indicator that the area is not really suitable for grass (i.e shady and damp).  It doesn't mean you can't grow it there but it'll probably be patchy and weed infested rather than the nice lawn you have pictured in your head.

    I would worry that the lawn might recover over the summer months only to decline again when the sun vanishes leaving you in the same position next year. You could try to plant grass that is designed for shady areas and see how you get on. Perhaps fill in your gaps with the shady seed.

    N.B. Beside the environmental concerns regarding use of weed killer, it can also kill off new turf/seed.

     

     

  • gilly37gilly37 Posts: 9
    Ok thanks for the advice. I'll discount laying new turf then, wouldn't want to go to all that effort for it only to end up in a mess in winter again. It's not perfection I'm striving for, just really something that's a bit drier and pleasant enough to enjoy looking at and my daughter to be able to play on without her shoes squelching into mud. We'll see what the summer holds. I thought it was because it was north facing but actually we have quite a lot of grass at the front which is south facing and even that's covered in daisy weeds and a fair amount of moss too. It's slightly drier but damp even still. Was toying with the idea of cutting out most of the grass at the back and slabbing most of it, but it was going to be very expensive. I made a suggestion of artificial turf, which was met with a look of disdain from my husband!
  • BobFlannigonBobFlannigon Posts: 619

    I suppose if you're really keen you could attempt to improve the drainage, perhaps by mixing in some sand or gravel into your soil and then lay new turf/seed on top.  If your soil is clay it may be necessary to remove some of it first and replace it with topsoil (again, lots of work and not without cost).

    Good luck!

  • gilly37gilly37 Posts: 9
    Hmmm... I shall see what happens a bit further down the line. The grass had been cut right down very short by the previous owners when we moved in in October - I do wonder if that didn't help with the spread of the daisies. My mum says nothing wrong with daisies but I can't stand the look of the leaves, to me it looks like an infestation. If I could just get rid of those and have thicker grass I would be happier I think, it's quite unsightly and patchy looking. I spoke to the next door neighbours and they said they had theirs rotivated etc but theirs is now just moss, there's barely any grass at all, we definitely have more grass. They haven't done anything with theirs though, they just keep it mowed very short and they say at least the moss is soft to walk on.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117

    Hi gilly - for your front garden, an application of a weed and feed soon will sort out most of the weeds. Also, make sure you mow regularly - at least once a week, and don't take too much off. That allows the grass to get the upper hand. You'll probably need to apply a few times.  Scalping the grass weakens it - I see it round here all the time. 

    My front garden is north facing and currently very mossy. I follow the same procedure with it and it looks fine by May. It resembled a field when I moved here a few years ago. It won't win Bowling Green of the Year, but it looks well  image

    For little ones to play on, you'll need a hard wearing seed, but you may even want to rethink it because of the aspect and conditions. 

    PS - I'm in west Scotland too, so I know the issues. Keep mowing! image

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



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • gilly37gilly37 Posts: 9
    Thank you fairygirl that's good to know. I did apply weed and feed 4 days ago, had a look today and only a few very small patches of moss have turned black, the rest is unaffected so far but hopefully it'll start to work soon, hope I applied enough, I was quite cautious in case I put too much on.
  • gilly37gilly37 Posts: 9
    There's not enough grass there to mow at the moment, too short and sparse!
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