general daft garden-related query

[JandLandG]

hello there...i'm a bit rubbish in the garden but wanted to get some advice...all tips much appreciated.

first up: next to our patio is an area of rubbish grass which is thin because there's a large conifer growing either side of it...i'd like to turn this bit into a shale/gravel type area...how do i do that from it's current state? dig it up, flatten it out and plonk the gravel on top?

secondly, the other side is a bumpy section of old lawn, very overgrown flowers beds now just covered in grass (the previous owner didn't bother with the garden at all), and a few old stone slabs constituting a path.

i'd like to flatten this out and lay it to lawn...a nice, flat, grassy bit for lying on and playing games etc.

how best to do this?

any thoughts most welcome

many, many thanks in advance

What is your budget? You can go crazy and hire stuff, like a roller to flatten out both areas and ready made turf means your lawn will be immediate. But there are more budget ways of doing this too, which means hard graft mostly with a shovel...

hey, thanks for this...sadly, i think i'm looking at the hard graft option.

i'm thinking digging it all up, flattening in out a bit in terms of levelness (there's a couple of slopes and bumps i need to iron out). then turf plonked on top?

the smaller bit is thinly grassed at the mo....should i just flatten this, then cover it with one of those membrane thingies and spread the gravel over it?

need to research i think, but any tips/experiences much appreciated.

ta!

The area you want to gravel:

Yes, dig it out, flatten, stomp up and down on it, then get weed mat off ebay, remembering to anchor the edges down well- I cut 4" grooves with a spade along the edge of where I want the weed mat to end and ease a flap of mat down into the groove, possibly then further anchored with a small bit of wood wedged in. It's a real fag sorting it out when eventually, the corners have lifted.

As for the lawn, I am in exactly the same position; bumpy, grassed over garden beds. You could turn an ankle in some places AND the 2 grass varieties are different.

I am wondering whther you should do the maths re the cost of doing it yourself and getting someone in.

To do a proper DIY job, you need a turf cutter to take up the existing turf cleanly (otherwise you just end up with a whole new set of divots!), you need a rotavator to dig up and turn the soil, you then need the ability to level it (several long planks to use as a level and to kneel on), a wide but fine rake to fine tune the levelling, a roller to flatten it, plus the turf to redo it.

We are thinking about getting someone in!!

Hey thanks so much for this...sounds like hard work , but doable...anyone else any thoughts?

i might be in the market for an arch type thing to separate the two parts of the garden...wicker/wood rasther than metal...any recommendations?

again, thanks for your thoughts

Wicker/wood does not last nearly as long as metal unless you can afford to spend ££. If you get a plant that will cover the arch fairly quickly (I had honeysuckle up one side of mine and clematis montana up the other) then it will have virtually disappeared within a few years anyway. You could put up willow fencing with something more sturdy behind it if you need it.

ps laying a lawn isn't quick but it is a lot cheaper than getting it done professionally. Depends how much time you have on your hands really!

hey thanks....i'm not sure i'm up to actually growing things up the arch yet...i can just about work a lawnmower, but advanced gardening's some way off!

well i'm freelance workwise and have a pretty quiet period coming up, so i have the time...i guess i'll just have to get stuck in and get on with it!