Garden covered in weeds

[avata]

My garden is absolutely covered in these huge weeds, they are growing, well, like weeds!

My DF is coming over tomorrow to strim the whole garden - but I need a long term solution.

The garden is average sized and the weeds take up at least 80% of it.

What can I do?! I just want a nice, normal, grassy lawn that DS can play on without his feet getting spiked!

I’m afraid it will need hard work, we’ve all got lots of weeds thanks to the incessant rain, and now the weather is improving (at least in the south east where I am), it means getting out in the garden and tackling the weeds!

Strimming the weeds will only remove the top growth, and they will just grow back, so they really need to be pulled up, or dug out. It’s not a quick job, best tackled bit by bit, depending on how much time you can spend on it, but gradually, you can make a big improvement over time.

At 77, I can’t do as much as I used to, but try to spend several half hours a day on weeding. It might take me the rest of the summer!

Lots of ground cover plants if you’re not into gardening,

This is a lawn so you can’t use ground cover plants. Lawn is hard work I’m afraid. You need to weed and remove the moss too. And reseed any parts that have died. If you have soggy heavy soil, you will need to spike it too.

Ah, thanks, I missed that.

You can get weedkiller you spray on that doesn't kill grass, just the weeds.

You are going to need to strim them back then dig it all out. Then cover with weed suppressant cloth for the best part of a year before putting down turf. It’s a lot of work.

I meant to upload this

Thank you everyone

Wow, that is a lot OP!

I don't see the problem with moss in a lawn. Mind you, I like a bit of biodiversity all round. My lawn has loads of weeds in it - dandelions and daisies and so on. But if you're talking of strimming rather than mowing, how much grass is there?

If you've got lawn with lots of weeds, concentrate on digging up the spiky ones and then let the lawnmower control the rest.

If it's more weeds than lawn, then probably dig it over and buy turf to put on top?

They look like docks so will have a good root. I would get glyphosate (Round Up) and spray them, leave for two weeks and that kills the root. It's systemic and doesn't stay in the soil. Clear the dead plants and do what you like with the ground. Follow the instructions and don't spray in wind or if it's going to rain.

Wow, that's not a lawn you have got. I think you'll need to returf.

It looks like someone rotavated in the past and just chopped all the dock roots up.