What is this under here?

[Frontofgarden]

Hello mumsnet gardeners.
We have called someone over this weekend to sort out the front of our garden which is very neglected. On the sides there is moss growing over concrete. I can't understand this bit in the middle. I have given it a knock with a spade and some of it underneath seems like rock/cement (hard) and some small parts seem soft. Should I just try and dig it out?
Anyone else had similar?

By sort out I mean pull out the weeds and remove the moss and jet wash. However I have no idea what I can ask or expect for the highlighted bit above, as it isn't clear what exactly it is!

Maybe it is a dismantled rockery under there, or what used to be a water feature or something.

Only one way to find out... 😂

@landris I have been doing some digging.... seems like gravel
Will take a picture

This is how it looks, have I made it worse 🙃
Is this gravel? And how an earth do I make it look remotely presentable

Is it a soakaway?
Designed to channel excess rain water from gutters etc into the ground?

@OnlyWhenILaugh I don't know but it is infront of the gutter

This is a close up

Yeah, looks like you might need to keep going. You won't be able to plant grass seed or grow anything in there with it looking like it is now, and the only other alternative would be to pave it over or gravel it and you would need to dig down a bit more anyway to do that.

@landris in hindsight, maybe I should have just left it alone.
Oh well, I will see what the people who are coming to clean up the slabs and sides have to say.

@OnlyWhenILaugh any idea how I can find out if it is a soakaway?

A little bumb if anyone else might know what this bed of worms Is that I have just dug up.
My husband insists it is very old gravel that has just had moss and weeds growing over it but I'm not so sure

*bump even!

Google your address... Not a past abode of the West family?
Not being disrespectful but be careful how you dig op...

Yikes!
I really should have just left it alone.

Can you push a spade into that area? Is the gravel on top of soil or it it a deep hole filled with gravel or is it gravel on top of concrete? If its not concrete, maybe you could dig out the top few inches, put in new topsoil and re-sow grass. Same with where the paving slabs are (unless they serve a purpose).

I claim no knowledge of soakaways other than them being discussed vaguely by my dear old Dad at some point.

I'm assuming that you'd need to dig it out to find out. I think the gravel would be covering a stoney layer for drainage if its a soakaway.

The old owners have said there used to be a rockery and tree when they moved in and was mostly always covered with a thin layer of moss and grass

Is there anything else I can do to improve the look in any way? I don't want to take out the slabs on the side as the garden is huge and full of grass. In future we plan to put a few more slabs down to increase the patio/slab area which is quite small compared to the lawn.

Oh they also mentioned that they were told by the previous previous owners that there was once an outside toilet there.

If there was once an outside toilet, theyn under that gravel is probably on top of the foundations.

as a pp said, the key is to see if you can dig down. What is under there? If an outside toilet, probably rubble and/or concrete, depending on how much they removed when then took out the loo. It might be loose rubble or solid concrete.

If it is a base of concrete/gravel, the options I think are
put slabs on it (obviousl ask the experts what you would need to do that)
break it up a bit, and then pile some beautiful rosk on top and creat a rockery.
Stand a large planter on top or make a raised bed there.
try and remove the top few inches and then add some top soil and see if you can grass it over.
If the rubble is loose you could get a skip and dig it out, big job but it would get rid of it once and for all.

You are unlikely to get a decent lawn on it though unless you can take off enough to get a good layer of top soil. You are unlikely to be able to dig a flower bed out of it if it is foundations.

@steppemum thanks for the suggestions. As it's a very small part of the garden right infront of the entrance, I don't want to do too much now aa we have plans to create a bigger patio area there perhaps next year.
For now I might just look into creating a simple rockery as the previous owner said there was a rockery there when they moved In.
I want to add some plants in pots on the side so just wanted a presentable look

If there was once an outside toilet, theyn under that gravel is probably on top of the foundations.

It might also be on top of your drains so it would be prudent to know where they are before taking a pickaxe to the area 😁.