Starting from scratch

Hi. I'm new to gardening and need some advice!

Moved into a house with rotting fences and decking so ripped it all out and built a covered patio. Then rotavated the garden after digging it up and flattening it. Put a couple of inches of topsoil on then seeded and this is how it looks like now. The grass is patchy and I hope it will spread and become even? As you can see it is completely in shade as there is a massive oak tree, with conservation order :-(, next door that blocks out the light. There is some early morning and mid afternoon. Now that I have this I want something beautiful to look at from the patio. I've left the washing in the pic as I want a garden that includes it. I really like cottage gardens with their explosion of colour and different heights. I also like the idea of interplanting edible stuff but I have no idea if anything will grow. I have no idea what shape to cut borders, whether I need a path, but need some grass for the kids to play on. If anyone could help with some ideas/links/bedding design plans I would be grateful. I know nothing about plants, soil and lots of what I read just baffles me. There seems to be millions of different plants and soil types and even types of shade!! I want to do it all myself like the rest of myself rather than hiring a garden designer as I think it will develop more organically and I'll be prouder if I do it myself.

Anyway, I'm prattling on. I better get in with the weeding! I wish I'd weed killer end the soil after rotavating. It's taken several days of weeding by hand to have a weed free lawn! I know for next time...

 

Hello and welcome to GC.

When you turned the garden over, did you take the opportunity to improve the soil? There are grass seed mixes that claim to be suited to shady areas. Maybe you could use such a mix? It is likely that you might want to add more seed anyway. I did when I did my lawn from scratch, as unless you are lucky enough to get a perfect distribution and keep the birds off, then you do get patches that grow thicker than others. It will all thicken up though. It just takes a bit of time.

 

I have just made a new patch and want to grow onions can any one tell me where I can get swift onion sets?

 

Thanks for the response. I put twice as much seed down as it said and put several boxes of pre lawn treatment on before seeding as I think it needed to leech into the soil. The grass has grown wonderfully but is very delicate. It has been growing for 7 weeks and I waited 5 weeks before walking on it. It says to mow it but I don't know if it can take it. Did you mow yours?

 

If you have a mower with good sharp blades and adjustable cutting height, then I'd say mow on the highest setting.

If your mower is something like a flymo, then I'd say don't, as they scalp the ground and are more likely to pull your new grass out than to give it a clean cut.

I cut mine at about 8 weeks, but only the patches that were growing tall, and even then, only on a high setting.

 

Thanks. That's very useful. I have my dads Honda petrol mower on wheels which I think is adjustable so will use that.

 

To add to what Clueless has said.....grass isn't as delicate as we might think. Mowing the lawn will help to thicken it up as the grass will put up new shoots from what's already there. If you think of it like pruning a shrub, when branches are cut back then the new growth will be thicker having produced new shoots. It's also okay to walk on it as this has the same effect as mowing, it breaks the grass blades and the individual seedlings will put out new growth in response.

 

What Sheal says is true. I was walking on the new lawn within about 8 weeks of seeding it, and I allowed the lad (2 year old at the time) to play on it by the time the grass was 3 months old. It hasn't suffered at all. I think the usual advice about keeping off is more about the risk of uprooting it or severely compacting the soil before the roots have got established. As long as nobody is kicking the soil about or playing rugby on it, it will probably be fine.

 

Thanks guys. You've helped put my mind at rest. Having spent the day weeding it I'll mow it tomorrow. I imagine it won't be perfect till next year. I guess a lot of gardening is a waiting game!

Also, do you know a good website that has planting plans, recommendations? I also like to design things on computer and was wondering if there was something like that for gardens? Thanks.

 

Its funny you should mention that. I have a front border that is now packed full of dianthus and marigolds in full bloom, plus several other plants. In the back garden there's quite a lot going on too. Yet this year I've hardly done anything. Normally I 'interfere' quite a lot, moving stuff about, messing with the soil etc, but this year I've been too busy and have neglected quite a lot. I guess in doing so I've allowed the plants that I planted a year or two ago to establish better and do their own thing. Until a few nights ago I even had some stunning pale yellow flowers in abundance, from last year's broccoli.

I can't remember who it is, but someone on here has a signature at the bottom of their posts that says: "Live as though you'll die tomorrow, garden as though you'll live forever".

 

That's a great axiom.

 

No suggestions on the PC Garden Design software, (although the BBC has a very basic thing ... didn't get along with it myself) but, for inspiration when it comes to planting 'plans' an American site "BHG" has some interesting planting schemes Link also, Country Living have a slideshow of 16 plans.

To work out which plants are best suited to your situation/aspect/soil/needs, you may like to play with RHS Plant Selector

 

Wife and I spent ages planning our back garden. We even consulted a couple of very artistic people we know. I spent many hours just sitting with cups of tea in different points in the garden trying to visualise it and generally getting a feel for the place.

We ended up with a good plan, drawn out on graph paper, with everything to scale. It featured everything we wanted from the garden.

Then I completely ignored it and did my own thing. I think the only feature that bares any resemblance at all to the plan is that part of the garden is lawn.

To be honest I think its better than it would have been if we'd stuck to the plan, and wife and lad seem to like it out there too. A few times when I've been in one of my moodies and talked about making major changes, wife has nipped that idea in the bud so I can't have gone far wrong.

You can plan what to do with a piece of land, but in my experience, it works out a lot nicer if you just go out there and go with your gut feeling.

 

That sounds like good advice. That's why I want somewhere to start but I know if I do it myself it will end up better and different.

Thanks "M" for the links. I had come across them already from my googling and will use them as a starting point :-). Thanks.

 

With clueless here, starting with good soil is important, lyming it is good. Also your grass seed was it grass for "shade".
As far as choosing plants for a garden area (shade) It will save you money if you first find out what is native to your area that works in shade. And then realize that not all shade plants give off a wonderful huge colorful flower, so you focus on the leaves as your visual also. Most of my garden (s) are in shade please look me up on google at Estherredstar channel. Or I have a thread here. My oldest garden is about 20 years old, the others near that age. It takes time, to estabiblish a garden.
Short hydranges can be a good filler to save money surrounded by other shade loving plants.
There are good shade books out there. Go with the brain when selecting not always the heart.