Re-turf or re-seed problem

I am coming here for help please for my 86 year old neighbour. In the spring her "Gardener" put down moss killer on her front lawn and then left it unwatered in the dry weather that we had for a few weeks. It now has nasty black, dead patches. He has told her that she should have watered it in (an 85 year old disabled lady!!) and says that he can returf it for £160 + labour. I thought that it might be better to leave it over the winter and let the rain and snow soak away all the weed killer, then rake away all the dead grass and re-seed it in the spring. What do the experts think please?

 

tell him to take a hike!

water it now if you can, and in a few weeks the rain will come (then you can stop watering) ...

would also be good to add a slow release fertilizer like scotts autumn lawn feeder right now (costs approx £10 for 800grams which covers approx 100 sq meters, but water it once or twice a week till the rains come)

in spring, see if there are any patches, aerate, sacrify if needed (rake any moss) and re-seed with a thin layer of topsoil ontop

I'm not an expert, and am sure others will give their advice ... would be good to post some photos aswell, then we can see the damage

 

What a nasty 'gardener'. He should have known what to do, and surely if he was paid to do a job, he should have left the garden in a better condition than when he arrived. Surely that's why we pay people to do jobs that we can't do ourselves.

The old lady next door to me has a similar 'gardener'. He gardens look like they were once stunning, but have been neglected for at least a couple of years. My guess is that her husband used to do it, and he is no longer around.

I've offered several times to do bits and pieces for her, but she just cheerfully declines my offer, saying its ok because her gardener is coming this week. I saw him a couple of months ago with a big back pack sprayer, treating all the weeds down the far end. Now she has a jungle of dead weeds. The hedges he was supposed to trim haven't been touched at all this year, and generally the garden is awful. I'm busy enough with mine, but I'd be happy to round up a few lads and spend a couple of hours giving it a good tidy for her, but she's of the opinion that while she's paying her 'gardener', there's no need.

 

Many thanks *dim* for this information; I met my neighbours son today and showed him your reply which I had printed out. He is going to follow your advice for his Mum and tell the so called gardener where to go !! Thanks again.

 

pleasure and good luck! ... keep us updated

 

always 2 sides to a story .... I too work in a garden that belongs to an old lady in her 80's

this job is a refferal from her neighbour who I also work for, and who I have been working for more than 3yrs

it's a pretty neat garden, old style ... cottage effect and very well planned ... her husband was a very keen gardener, and sadly, he passed away a year ago ... she hired another gardener and then fired him because she was not happy with his work

she pays me a tenner and hires me every 2 weeks on a saturday morning

for a tenner, I weed the whole garden, mow the lawn, do the edges, strimm, sort the hedges, water all the pot plants and hanging baskets, pull weeds from the driveway, sweep the garage and driveway and I even remove her washing from the line and fold the clothes, and have even pressure washed the patio and cleaned all the windows on the outside (ground floor)

time spent .... not less than 3-3 1/2 hrs per time (for a tenner) as it's a fairly large garden ....

I don't mind, as on the day I work there, I don't have much other work on that day, as it's my 'off day', ... gives me something to do in the morning ...

but she is still living in 'Victorian times' and thinks £10 is more than enough for the work I do ... I just smile, as she is actually a very pleasant person