Please please tell me what to do with the front of my house!!

[lovelidl]

Didn't know this section of Mumsnet existing until just now!

Hoping someone can tell me what to do with my front garden! It has never been touched since the house was built.

There is very little soil and a real slope, very uneven, full of weeds and bricks :(

Could we just dump a load of top soil on it and slope it down to fence? How would we get it level? And then should we just plant grass seed?

Tried to remove the weeds last year but as soon as one bit was done it needed re-doing :(

Have e-mailed over 20 landscapers and had only one reply! He came out and quoted 3k to fix it - money we sadly don't have.

Any suggestions would be so so welcome!

[Pannacotta]

You would need to prep the soil by removing all the weeds and then bringing in top soil and sloping it gradually or perhaps creating a sort of terrace.
I would ask local gardeners to come and look as this is something a practical gardener could take on and they cost less than landscapers.
I'd be tempted to plant some of the slope rather than turf it, there are some plants which work well on slopes. Is that an option?

[Liara]

I would plant it up with shrubs and perennials.

There are some very, very tough plants out there which will cope with pretty much any conditions - and if weeds grow then you know there is something that can!

I would weed it all, dump some top soil and choose your plants with care. Plant several of a few types so they form nice big clumps, it tends to look better and need less maintenance that way. Give it a nice thick mulch around the plants to keep weeds down until they are well established.

[cherryrosh]

First... Prepare your soil by maintaining its texture, condition and quality to grow lots of plants... You can also test for your soil to know the pH level and other chemical composition that is enough to grow the plants....

[Ferguson]

Yes, as others have said, plants need a decent soil to live in!

But, after the thorough weeding, stone removal etc, then digging in good manure or compost, to KEEP it weed-free consider putting down a permeable membrane, then on that either chippings or bark.

It is a lovely area, and with good shrubs could look superb, and be a real asset to the house! Is there a local gardening club, or other people with good gardens, where you might get advice or help?

[sunbathe]

Ooh, what a lovely blank canvas!

Have a look at the book 'Front Gardens'.

[doziedoozie]

I would make a wall in a curve about 3 feet from the fence so that the ground in from the fence is flat. Then you don't get the soil washing down under the fence and onto the pavement. By make a wall it could be a nice brick wall or, as rather dear, a low wooden retaining fence a couple of feet high.
Weedkill the area before planting which will take a couple of weeks for the weedkill to work.
Then plant up some ground cover yew, junipers nearer the entrance. Then higher plants next , hebes, lonicera, small rhodedendrons, Then higher plants at the furthest away , photinia, larger rhodies. Maybe a token tree, amelanchier, flowering cherry.
Dig good holes for the plants and put in some compost and bonemeal to feed the shrubs. Also take note of their size after 10 years to plan the planting

Perhaps keep it simple in the flat area by the fence, some sort of ground cover. But if it is a flat plant the weeds will eventually grow up through it and be difficult to weed or weedkill. So it is easier to have a shrub or ground covering juniper as then you can reach under it to weed.

Then cover all space with 3 inches of bark to suppress the weeds and wait several years .

This is a low maintenance garden. Planting the whole plot with grass would also be low maintenance apart from weekly mowing.

It could make a nice sloping rock garden if you don't mind more work.

[doziedoozie]

Hypericum calcynum would be good for by the fence, it is used a lot in municipal beds (eg car park areas) but has bright yellow flowers for most of the summer and is tough as old boots.

[nonicknameseemsavailable]

we made a rockery in our front garden, might be worth considering. it was just a patch of grass and we did it all ourselves, we are quite pleased with it and a lot of people comment on it to us as they walk past.

[Pannacotta]

OP it is worth getting a soil testing kit and seeing what your soil ph is before you buy any plants.
Also do you know what the texture etc is like? Sandy/clay etc.