...to think this woman is being unbelievably precious about her grass?

[Jaylabelle]

Bought my ds a rather expensive football for his birthday - it was his main present. On Friday he and his friends were kicking it about as they walked home from school. They walk along a winding road with lots of big houses with big gardens, and they accidentally kicked it someone’s garden.

He rang the doorbell, but no-one answered, so we went round this morning to ask for it back.

A woman answered the door, we asked her, and she said she had seen the football at the end of the garden, but she couldn’t get it back as they’ve just had their lawn relaid and can’t walk on it for 3 weeks!?!

Is it just me who thinks she’s being incredibly precious over some grass? I can’t believe we’re going to have to wait 3 weeks to get back Ds’s football - he’s so upset. Her walking quickly to get it wouldn’t do any harm. I offered to send ds as he’s very small and light but she refused to let him.

I think what you need to do is a Mission Impossible style stealth rescue. Commandeer a helicopter and lower DS down by rope until he can scoop up the football without impacting the lawn. Et Voila - problem solved.

Or you could just teach your DS not to lob his football into other peoples back gardens. You may think she's being precious, but it's her lawn, which she has paid for.

Waiting 3 weeks for his ball will teach DS an invaluable lesson, if you choose to make that lesson that some people are overly uptight rather than anything else, then that's on you.

Agree that she's in the right, however surely she wouldn't want the ball sitting on the grass for three weeks or there'll be a dead patch under where the ball has sat.

I doubt he kicked it into the garden on purpose. I was also thinking a Pink Panther-esque rescue in the dead of night would be good.

Although the ball shouldn’t have ended up in her garden, won’t it leave a ball shaped mark on her lovely new lawn if it’s laid there for three weeks? Surely the grass would die underneath the ball.

We laid a lawn in our first house, garden was on a corner. The soil was like velvet when seeded and we were told not to walk on it. We came home from work to find a car had driven right over the corner. Within a few weeks the tyre marks were the healthiest best looking grass, even when the rest of the grass came through we could still see the thicker tyre marked grass. Our theory was that the seeds were kept warmer sunk into the soil and grew better.

So by walking over the grass it is likely the grass will come through uneven like ours did but I'm no gardener so not sure what the rules are.

It's dead patch that can be reseeded or several deep compressions that even if reseeded would remain depressed.

I know which option I'd go for.

Walking across a new lawn can compress the soil, but most often it leaves a series of depressions in the lawn that may never fully recover.
This!
We have the aforementioned depressions at the side of our lawn from where a large adult idiot man ran along it, just after it had been laid. They're gradually disappearing but its going to take time. I was so disappointed and usually I don't give a toss about stuff like that, but we'd paid a lot of money and it spoilt it. So no, I wouldn't fetch the ball either.

She does sound a bit OTT but it’s her garden so you just need to suck it up really.

Seeding is different to laying to turf, Red. You should press seeds into topsoil, usually by rolling with a lawn roller them rather than driving over them, again to prevent random depressions.

I've spent the last two weeks researching ways to get a new lawn. Can you tell?

How can you 'let' them or not let them do something if you aren't there?

Well, she can certainly not let him now. By refusing to replace the ball.

Balls cost a lot less than newly-laid lawns.

You may think she is being precious but it's her garden

YABU

I did say that surely the ball would be blocking sunlight to the grass, but she said the ball was in a flower bed at the end of the garden, not on the actual grass.

Well there you go then, he’s got 3 weeks to wait for his ball back.

Well, she can certainly not let him now. By refusing to replace the ball.

I would think he knows now anyway. He could maybe buy himself a new ball.

How does she think the turf-layers exited her garden - via jetpack?

Ours used a plank of wood so they don't compress it in a given area. We were also told not to walk on it for three weeks. Where I did a couple of times as I needed to put the sprinkler down uou could immediately see thr depressed area. She's right not to walk on it. It's just your sons bad luck. He will need to wait the three weeks.

On a side note playing football on the street on the way home isn't a good idea. That could have been someone's window or car that got hit.

YABU

your son must’ve given it quite a wallop for it to land in the back garden. And the road is not a suitable place for a kick about anyway. So hopefully having to wait 3 weeks will teach him a lesson about being responsible for his things and mindful of other people.

He’s either old enough to take that responsibility and be trusted to walk home alone or too young to be walking home without your supervision

We have neighbours opposite who trim the grass in their front garden with scissors and a comb. I literally couldn't believe my eyes the first time I saw it.

Well lesson learned for your Ds I say . Wrong place to be playing ball. My Ds has always been given a carrier bag to carry his ball . Kicking the ball in hand is very tempting

Lol she has all the answers. Are you going back in 3 weeks? I would send ds with instructions to apologise.

Rockandroll, stop looking at me

This is very much a 'suck it up, buttercup' scenario . He shouldn't have been kicking a ball around whilst walking along the street, or at least if he decided to do that then this is one possible consequence. Another is it going into the road, into the path of a car or cyclist so...

Some people have beautiful lawns, spend hours mowing the stripes in, spiking it, doing the feed and weed etc.
But I am not sure what for. Just to look at I think.

@Sparklingbrook maybe they enjoy it? Our old neighbours had a beautiful garden, everything was inch perfect, beautiful colours, flowers, plants the whole shebang.
Gardening isn’t my thing, I’m shit at it for one, but I could appreciate the time, effort, money and commitment that had done into theirs if that makes sense? They had no idea anyone else was impressed, they were retired and it was their “thing”.

I'd say "no" as well. Like PPs I've made that expensive mistake once with new lawn, it never quite comes back.

The ball can wait and I would suggest he goes with an apology in three weeks.

Yes, they must do Smeddum. My Dad loves his beautiful lawns like pieces of art. My grandparents were the same. Each to their own.

We have lawns but they are just there. No TLC from me I am afraid.