To think I can do this myself?

[SoWhyDontYouKillMe]

Large area of ground to the side of our house. It runs the length of our back garden and house and it’s a mess. It is covered with small grey stones but it’s untidy and in some areas the black tarpaulin underneath is coming though. There are also sporadic plants but they see overgrown and untidy.

We have a 4 year old and a toddler so naturally we get fuck all done around here other than basic survival but the side garden is a source of major embarrassment (because all the retired neighbours have show home gardens). I don’t want to spend much on it though eg getting grass laid because we want to move house in a year or two.

So in August my eldest daughter starts school and I have taken the first two weeks as a holiday (I work three days per week and toddler can be in nursery on those days). DD1 will be in school until lunchtime for the first two weeks so this gives me six mornings to myself.

My plan is to dig up the stones and put them into rubble bags. Lay down some lovely new stones. Pull up the plants and generally tidy the area.

Is this possible to do alone or is this going to be one of those tasks I start and ditch halfway through because it’s too hard?

Can you not just chuck new stones on top of the old ones? They need a good thick layer to hide the weed mulch anyway. Or rake the old stones up to the end the neighbours cant see and put the new ones down on the front half. Bung in a few pots of zebra grass or some creeping thyme.

It is harder than you think and will take a few days more than you might imagine.

I broke it up into sections, gravel off, ground broken up, weeded, fertlised etc, repeat for the next section...

But there's no reason not to think you can succeed. Gave fun with it

Who knows? Depends on how big the area is and how determined you are. You'll need a wheelbarrow. Turf would probably look better than stones - I know you say you're hoping to sell but you do need to look at the garden from a buyer's pov. Stones get kicked around, go green with algae and get weedy.

I know turf would look better. It’s a big area and I don’t have a grand to spend on that

I'm a single mum with 3 small kids. If I had a job like that to do I'd start by doing ten minutes a day as many days as I could. Even go out and do 10 tiny jobs. Ten handfuls of gravel in the bin. Or 10 weeds. I think your approach, assuming your trade isn't landscape gardening, will ruin your holiday.

That's pretty much how I did ours. Once I had everything lined up, ready to go, I'd do it during Popmaster or a half hour radio4 play.

That made sure I couldn't overdo it, almost!!

Go on freegle offer the stones for free bring your own bag and shovel?

I think I'd just add new stones.

If you are moving why not buy ornamental bark and cover it quite deeply.

See I don’t think we will struggle to sell because it’s a nice little house in a very sought after area. I’ll be gutted to leave it but we need more space.

Yes. I've really learned this. I plan jobs thoroughly, really mentally walk through the task, then break it into tiny tasks and add them into my normal day. That way I find out the difficult and challenging aspects whilst using up tiny parts of my day, rather than using up a whole precious holiday being pissed off.

Honestly go now and lift ten weeds, bet you do 10 more too. And it will take you hardly any time but by thd time you've landed in your bed tonight you will have already started.

It's achievable, but you'll be surprised how quickly what seems like a small amount of gravel/rubble on the ground will fill up lots of rubble sacks. How many litres of rubble does your local council permit you to take to the tip each month?

I agree with breaking the tasks down into smaller chunks and planning it out. I'd start with the organic stuff and generally tidying first and then evaluate what you've got left.

Once you've cleared the organic stuff you could rake out the existing gravel and see how deep it is, how much replenishment it needs, etc. If it looks manky because of algae, boiling water poured over it would kill the algae.

I'm not sure I'd add bark chippings. Firstly because it's organic, will decompose and then give something for weeds to grow in, and secondly if you put it on top of stones it can become slippy and dangerous. The latter depends on the state of the ground you're starting with.

If you're moving soon, I'd opt for maintenance, topping up gravel and tidying up rather than replacing it all or anything more involved.

I can't work out if you mean gravel or paving slabs by "stones" though, so that might affect what I've just posted! I was leaning towards gravel.

If you post a photo maybe people will be able to help more.

Yes gravel.

Have you thought about grass seed? That would be more affordable.

Have you worked out how much gravel would cost? Even just a rough calculation. How many feet is the space length/width ways?

I’d cover it in stuff to kill the weeds this week, pull them out when they’ve died, use a good stone cleaner on the and add some pots and more stones. No matter what you do it’ll look a mess again in 18 months/2 years and you’ll need to do it again before you put it on the market.

If any of your retired neighbours turn their noses up, tell them to feel free to sort it out if it’s bothering them 🤷🏻‍♀️

I’d just buy some weed killer and get it sprayed now and then have as many jumbo bags of gravel as you need delivered and spread the new on top of the old . Then keep up with the weed killer regularly .

Buy some weedkiller, "round-up" type, spray all the weeds when the forecast says no rain, theyll die back in a couple of days then crack on, you can do it! I tiled my own bathroom using YouTube vids, fixed a joke in the ceiling, YouTube again. Get some ideas on line, maybe some plants in planters to break up the stones, keep spraying any weeds that come through

*fixed a hole in the ceiling

This all sounds really promising. Thank you all.

I hadn’t really thought about just putting more stones on top but that might be the best idea actually

Also who is it that you contact about laying a new path? Is that a landscape gardener?

Oh lord yes don't take out the gravel that's there already. You'll be at it forever.

See I wouldn’t be against grass seed but I know sweet fa about growing —anything— grass. Like would I need to lift up all the tarpaulin because I cannot even imagine what is underneath that. And then what do I put down

Just add more stones and take out the weeds when you see them.

It's a big job, and if you have never prepared a lawn space and seeded it, it is bloody hard work and not just a day's job.