Please help me with my garden (pic - embarrassing one!)

[GardenNightmare]

I have no idea about gardening. Moved in to a new place a while back and have no idea where to start. Weather is starting to get nice and the garden is unusable! The grass is dead in areas, has plastic mesh underneath it which is supposed to be awful for the environment. Hundreds of sycamore seedlings everywhere. How would you even start to fix this?

@chocatoo the wall is falling apart so we want to refurb it completely.

The shed is also falling apart and half rotten. It was there when we moved in. We will replace it eventually. Will definitely try Pinterest!

I feel so out of my depth...

geek we would really like grass for DC to play on. I know it's small but I don't like the idea of it being all patio.

we are getting one very soon and my mum who is here a lot has two!

Then they will kill any grass you put down.

I had the same we strimmer then mowed takes and then seed and weeded, of his an all in one thingie you sprinkle on your lawn. Then once you have managed to get rid of weeds reseed.

terf really? Mum's garden is fine? Our last garden was fine too and we had a dog and grass (maintenance thankfully wasn't down to us!). Had no idea dog = ruined garden as this hasn't been my experience.

Looks rather small for a dog and a baby/toddler to coexist happily.

Can I make it clear from early on that I'n not looking for advice on whether I should get a dog/a dog is appropriate. I really just need gardening advice! Thanks all, Pinterest is fab I've just downloaded it!

I'm thinking something simple like this but with block paving instead of wood! Feels like wishful thinking however.

What dogs have you previously that didn't destroy the grass!! Dog piss absolutely annihilates grass, especially a bitch. It's such a small area and will be destroyed very quickly. Not sure what the solution is to be honest.

That should be quite achievable. Dogs ruin lawns but so do kids.

It is bitches urine that kills the grass, a dog won't.
I would strim the grass down and then take the mesh up. Dig over and seed or turf it if you want a lawn. Maybe put a border in each side to brighten it up. Get rid of the shed if it's really rotten, or paint it a nice bright colour if it's salvageable for the time being.
It is very small and you could easily have it looking lovely in just a day.

That's really nice and achievable. I'd look at replacing the fences the work on the design you like.

We have always had male dogs not bitches and have never had a problem? They just peed around the perimeter. We would just shove a bucket of warm water over it if it was on the wall etc.

Not much to add on the actual gardening but just to mention that our dog hasn’t ruined our grass at all, it’s fine. We completely returfed at our last house and he didn’t ruin that either.

Female dog piss can bleach grass. However this is prevented if you add a tablespoon or so of tomato juice to her food each day.

So consensus is:

Strim(rake)/mow
Rip out grass/mesh
Dig soil
Flatten soil
Plant grass seed

No idea where to start re borders but will have a google...

Thanks all!

Lots of good advice on here. I’d also look at getting something on the fences, such as honeysuckle and clematis.
Once we get to August the garden centres start reducing their plants, that’s the time to pick up some bargains, if baby allows!
Good luck with both..

If you are near an Asda they have clematis for less than £2. I've bought a Montana and can't wait to get it on the trellis.

I think I’d start by painting the fence if your budget doesn’t allow you to replace it. For this, you need your husband to take the shed down.
Cut the grass for now, get some pots and some plants, see if you can grow some herbs too.
By this time next year it’ll be full of plastic toys and sand pit and paddling pool 🤗

I wouldn't paint the fence as the colour of faded wood is nicer than the fence paints.

Try not to worry about what the neighbour has said you. She's got a bit of a cheek really, it's none of her business at all.

Also be careful if you are working in the garden in the hot weather, leave the heavy work to someone else.

empressofdirt.net/
Lots of great ideas!!🌿🌱🌻

I've seen people use a painted pallet/half pallet with a cluster of medium and large statement-y pots on it to disguise a manhole cover. Means that it can be easily lifted if you need access.

I'd echo pp by adding a few more slabs to even the patio out. Maybe just one more row or a couple more slabs if you still want an irregular shape going into the lawn. Looks a bit odd with that square jutting out! Saying that I can't tell how far the patio extends back to the house or if there are more slabs lurking under the grass Feel free to ignore if you already have lots of patio. I like the look of the image you attached!

Do you know anyone with a pressure washer you could borrow to blast the slabs clean? Not urgent but it usually brings them up nicely.

If it was my garden I'd probably want some long/tall/narrow wooden raised beds (e.g. 40-60cm wide and high, 1m+ length) at the edge of the patio/lawn. The sunny side definitely but possibly both sides in due course.

They're an outlay initally (factoring in the compost) but it means you have a nice tidy area to plant in, not so much bending down, out of reach of the dog/baby, able to control soil quality etc.

The alternative would be to dig a border (effort, dog/baby destruction, need to keep lawn edge trimmed) or have pots on the patio. Pots are fine but you really need decent sized ones for root growth/prevent drying out/avoid tripping over them

Everything looks better with a tidy lawn, good luck!