Complete novice

[icelollycraving]

I have decidedly got a bit of whatever the opposite of green fingers is. My garden is looking terrible. Dh made it really beautiful a few years ago but then got bored of it (he has these fads).
We live on a hill so the garden slopes down with the left side being lower. The grass rarely looks nice and walking on it today felt somewhere between boggy and very hard/Rocky. It is clay I think. Dh thinks we need it levelled and Astro turfed but we don’t have the money for it.
I realise how people feel about artificial grass but the garden is unusable for so much of the time.
I’m wondering if I can give it a bit of love but have no clue where to start. Are there any plants that like such boggy conditions if I planted a border?
We have two palms and bamboo. It looks a mess and I’m really embarrassed about the state of it.

I’ve also just noticed one of the fence posts is rotting. The fence has only been up 7 years, so gives an indication of how boggy that side is.

Are you comfortable adding photos?

How much does it slope? It might be possible to do the work yourself, or at least improve it, for less money than a landscaper.

I’m a bit nervous about adding pics of the whole garden as I imagine several of the neighbours are also mners.
I was thinking maybe I could try a bit whilst I’m still on furlough. It makes me cross that it was so pretty 4 years ago and he’s not bothered since.
Not sure the pic helps?! It shows the state of the grass though.

Not a big garden, typical new build.

The slope doesn't look too bad but it is very difficult to tell from the photo. It might be possible to level it yourselves. It would be best to deal with things like levelling/drainage/soil improvement before you spend money on planting that might be destroyed or damaged when you do the work in the future. Pots might be a temporary solution, if your garden is small.

I am guessing you like tropical looking gardens from the palms? Gunnera should be okay in your soil, as would Fatsia japonica (although it doesn't like full sun).

You can search for plants by soil type, aspect, waterlogging etc on most online nurseries or the RHS.

www.rhs.org.uk/plants/search-form

If you don't want to post photos, it's helpful to draw a plan with measurements, aspect/shade etc if you would like people to suggest a design. It's also helpful to know what you want from your garden and how you use it eg a lawn for DC, a seating area in sun or shade etc

You could also replace the bamboo screen with a non invasive living bamboo or willow "fedge". You can weave willow whips (sticks) into arches, fences, trellises, even playhouses, then they take root and put out shoots. You are still in season to do that now (just).

www.thewillowbank.com/living-willow-structure-products/buy-living-willow-hedge-fence/

Thanks! I’ll have a look at those links
I’d like Alan Titchmarsh to come in and give it a makeover but we aren’t remarkable. I think it’ll look better if I can at the very least give it a bit of a weed and tidy.

The grass looks about on par with mine at the moment! Except I have a new big hole in the middle after digging out an apple tree this weekend... 😬

Years ago when I was backpacking, I worked at a fancy golf course and drove around filling divets with a mix of soil, grass seed, fish, blood and bone fertiliser and a bit of sand. It worked really quickly and grass was sprouting up after a few days of sunshine. You can buy seed mixes to suit land that is boggy in winter and dry in summer. It's a bit early for fixing up the lawn but in a few weeks, you could fill in the patches. Be careful if you have a dog as grass seeds in the paw can cause real problems.

I can't see how bad the slope is. If it's really bad it might be worth digging it up and starting again with plenty of sand and soil improver for better surface drainage. If it's liveable and not causing any flooding problems, I'd work with what you've got and focus on prettying it up with plants to suit the situation. New build gardens tend to have all sorts of rubble in the soil and it's a real pain to fix it.

My grass looks a bit like that now! Try raking it to get rid of dead stuff then it aerating it with a fork as many times as you can bear, making holes across all the lawn to get some air in then brush a mixture of compost and sand into the holes. Leave that 2 weeks, mow it on highest setting then mid April put a weed and feed on it and then begin of may put some new seed down and top with a bit of compost. It will likely be gone by end of may

Fine not gone!

Thank you being so kind, I haven’t ventured to this part of mn before
We can’t afford a big landscaping job right now.
We don’t have a dog but do have a football mad Ds and a pampered indoor pussycat.
I think perhaps some pots. Also wondered about digging a border and planting on the left hand side for plants that like shade and clay boggy conditions.

A border would be lovely. You could try to stick with the tropical theme and add some damp and shade loving ferns (I'm a bit obsessed with ferns after living in New Zealand). Hostas are good for colour and pretty bombproof if it's wet enough. You could also look at plants that like to be around ponds but only if it's also wet in summer.

Another idea is to add in some compost and sharp sand when you're digging to improve the soil in the border only. I did that in a small part of my garden a couple of weeks ago. My soil is clay and goes rock solid as soon as it warms up. I'm hoping this year it will be soft enough for flowers next month.