Thanks for all of the advice everyone, and for naming the weeds. I don't mind the idea of daisies and buttercups and even dandelions in the lawn etc but I think these couple of weeds sound pretty vigorous and that they'll compete with the lawn. The self-heal is pretty big as well. The speedwell does look nice but I don't think we'd want it in the whole lawn, and it sounds like once it settles in it's tough to get rid of. I don't really like the self-heal, although my partner does, but there is so much of it and it's already taken over quite a patch.
Having done the work of (attempting) to level the garden and sow grass seed I think we'd like to try to get the majority of the lawn weed free. Not necessarily perfect but it'd be nice for it to at least start the summer as a nice green area. So my job for the next couple of days will be to attempt to dig them all out and get ready for the top up levelling and seeding. I've learnt my lesson now to keep on top of those kinds of weeds.
Lucid - I think your purple one is a dead nettle - Lamium, but it's slightly irrelevant. I have some speedwell in my front garden but regular mowing keeps it under control quite well.
These plants can really take hold quite quickly if you don't keep on top of them, so it really depends how much time you have to spend removing them by hand. I use a weed and feed only a couple of times a year which keeps weeds at bay and allows me to have a decent area of grass as opposed to 'lawn'. Not a huge issue in the grand scheme of things. I grow lots of bee and insect friendly plants which offsets using some weedkiller sparingly. It's about having a balance - and one that suits your own requirements and time.
I'm not a slave to my grass either - I cut about every five or six days and it doesn't take long. Like Verdun says - a nice area of grass sets off a garden and the smell of a newly cut lawn is one of spring's earliest pleasures
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Thanks Fairygirl. It is the dead nettle, the image completely matches up with what we've got. I'm going to have a go at digging them up and see what I can do.
I'm definitely looking forward to being able to cut the grass for the first time, although have a feeling it's going to reveal the lawn area isn't as level as we hoped.
Dead nettle.. Thanks Fairy. I wasn't at all certain about my guess. (And I can't figure out which is self-heal in real life despite lots of looking at photos). I suppose I use the occasional chemical: I was driven to FungusClear for roses last year. The problem is that the bees don't know which plants you have treated and which you haven't. Or the birds eating worms out of the lawn. It's a good thing that at least we are all thinking about our options and the consequences and making informed decisions. Isn't it good that we don't have to all garden together? I'm sure any of you would despair at having me as a gardening partner!
The majority have been dug out - it took just over an hour, so not too bad. However I've now got several trips to take the weeds and attached clumps of soil to the rubbish dump as I don't imagine they'd be any good for the compost bin. They're pretty heavy so I don't suppose I'll manage too many clumps in each bulk bag.
There are now plenty of holes in the ground, but I've got excess soil in one of the flowerbeds so will use some of that to fill. And will then attempt to mow the lawn on a high cut. Fingers crossed once we reseed we can keep them away for now.
Thanks Verdun. Hopefully we can achieve the thick grass once we've over seeded. To be fair the lawn hadn't been cut since we seeded it in September as it was pretty wet weather around the time it probably should have been cut. I guess that's why so many of these weeds managed to get in so soon.
Posts
Thanks for all of the advice everyone, and for naming the weeds. I don't mind the idea of daisies and buttercups and even dandelions in the lawn etc but I think these couple of weeds sound pretty vigorous and that they'll compete with the lawn. The self-heal is pretty big as well. The speedwell does look nice but I don't think we'd want it in the whole lawn, and it sounds like once it settles in it's tough to get rid of. I don't really like the self-heal, although my partner does, but there is so much of it and it's already taken over quite a patch.
Having done the work of (attempting) to level the garden and sow grass seed I think we'd like to try to get the majority of the lawn weed free. Not necessarily perfect but it'd be nice for it to at least start the summer as a nice green area. So my job for the next couple of days will be to attempt to dig them all out and get ready for the top up levelling and seeding. I've learnt my lesson now to keep on top of those kinds of weeds.
Lucid
Lucid - I think your purple one is a dead nettle - Lamium, but it's slightly irrelevant. I have some speedwell in my front garden but regular mowing keeps it under control quite well.
These plants can really take hold quite quickly if you don't keep on top of them, so it really depends how much time you have to spend removing them by hand. I use a weed and feed only a couple of times a year which keeps weeds at bay and allows me to have a decent area of grass as opposed to 'lawn'. Not a huge issue in the grand scheme of things. I grow lots of bee and insect friendly plants which offsets using some weedkiller sparingly. It's about having a balance - and one that suits your own requirements and time.
I'm not a slave to my grass either - I cut about every five or six days and it doesn't take long. Like Verdun says - a nice area of grass sets off a garden and the smell of a newly cut lawn is one of spring's earliest pleasures
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Thanks Fairygirl. It is the dead nettle, the image completely matches up with what we've got. I'm going to have a go at digging them up and see what I can do.
I'm definitely looking forward to being able to cut the grass for the first time, although have a feeling it's going to reveal the lawn area isn't as level as we hoped.
Lucid
I'm with Fairy on this, I grow lots of wildlife friendly plants and only use chemical solutions occasionally.
Dead nettle.. Thanks Fairy. I wasn't at all certain about my guess. (And I can't figure out which is self-heal in real life despite lots of looking at photos). I suppose I use the occasional chemical: I was driven to FungusClear for roses last year. The problem is that the bees don't know which plants you have treated and which you haven't. Or the birds eating worms out of the lawn. It's a good thing that at least we are all thinking about our options and the consequences and making informed decisions. Isn't it good that we don't have to all garden together? I'm sure any of you would despair at having me as a gardening partner!
Thanks for the tip on the high cut Verdun.
I'm going to try to go weed killer free if I can, but appreciate this may be too much of a mass to tackle without it.
Lucid
The majority have been dug out - it took just over an hour, so not too bad. However I've now got several trips to take the weeds and attached clumps of soil to the rubbish dump as I don't imagine they'd be any good for the compost bin. They're pretty heavy so I don't suppose I'll manage too many clumps in each bulk bag.
There are now plenty of holes in the ground, but I've got excess soil in one of the flowerbeds so will use some of that to fill. And will then attempt to mow the lawn on a high cut. Fingers crossed once we reseed we can keep them away for now.
Lucid
Thanks Verdun. Hopefully we can achieve the thick grass once we've over seeded. To be fair the lawn hadn't been cut since we seeded it in September as it was pretty wet weather around the time it probably should have been cut. I guess that's why so many of these weeds managed to get in so soon.
Lucid