Look what I'm faced with lol

Hi all, I'm new here but I "think" this is the right place for this post.

Well basically, these pictures depict what I'm faced with and have no idea where to start.

I'll post the pics first then I'll explain all if that's ok.



















So my garden faces south with the sun rising (if I were looking towards the bottom fence from my backdoor) on the right with it setting to the left.

The first half of the garden is a very scruffy lawn (which I have attempted to feed and weed and even seeded with gras seed) which seems to be made up mostly of waste ground type grass and very little lawn material.
You can see from the pics what I mean and it even killed off my mower today lol.

So firstly, I'd like to tend to that. what would anyone recomend?
I can't really afford to returf or anything like that. What you see is pretty much what I've got to work with.

Next we move on to the second half of the garden.
I plan to put a fence up at the end of the "lawn" with either a gate or a nice arch for some climbers (depending what I do with the bottom end) and maybe a soft hedge to grow along the fence.

But as you can all see from the shots, the bottom half is a no mans land dominated by the forces of darkness namely bindweed and thorn bushes lol :hehe:

Believe it or not, some time back when I first moved in, I managed to turn the top right corner into some growing land, but as you can see, the weeds won in the end.
I've recently tried to claim it back but my efforts were thwarted as you can see from the battered state of my ground artillery (spade and fork).

I've thought about poisoning the lot, but I'm not big on poisions plus theres a large tree and two smaller ones that I'd like to keep around.
I brought the bigger one back from the brink of death so I'm kinda fond of it now :luv:

I know for sure I need some soil to fill that drop you can see at the end of the "lawn" to level the bottom end, but I need to stop a decent percentage of these weeds from re-invading the ground when I do.
That pesky bind weed is so cocky, it doesn't even bother burrying it's roots anymore. Under some slabs will do it nicely aparently.
Of course I am now aware that chopping the root doesn't stop the blighter, infact it spreads worse as I have discovered heheeh. :yho:

Anyone have any ideas how to claim back my land once and for all and keep it managable???

Also I thought I'd just point out some of my additions to my borders on the left and right hand fences.
I've got 3 strawberry plants, a nice blackcurrant ben sarek and either side some californian poppies, lupins, marigolds, some wild flower mixes and heaps more

I also have some clematis montana's & some lucky dip clamatis plants on the go that I really wanted to put down at the bottom end of the garden to climb that wire fence, which the bind weed has also invaded.

Ideas, suggestions, tips and hints greatly received please :ntwrth:

Thank Yoooou :flag:

 

Hi NotSoGreen. I actually think you're quite lucky What you have there is a blank canvas, an opportunity to create something that YOU like. If it were me, I'd look at different styles of garden/s and work from there, using plants/layouts/hard landscaping that I like. I won't go into specifics because everyone has their own ideas, but to say that the first thing I'd do is to clear the ground by using something like Roundup (there's a cheap and effective equivalent at Wilkos....'Systemic Weedkiller').
Cheers...freddy.

 

Welcome to GC. As Freddy says, you have a great blank canvas which you can adapt to how you want it. A long, narrow garden is great and your idea of dividing it up is a great idea. Depending how long it is, maybe even divide it up more than once - one area leading into another. But have fun and don't try to do all at once.

 

Hello, and welcome to GC.


I agree with the above comments-you may not think it-who could blame you, but you are indeed fortunate.


Instead of worrying about the drop, why not ignore it and go for a decked area back there? It is south facing so plenty of sun for those long summer evenings, I made a mistake with mine and patio'd right outside the kitchen doors, when the shade hits that spot it is around mealtimes, and we often spend the late evenings shivering a little in the shade instead of at the back in the last remaining rays of sun. I have made up for it since and now have two seating areas-I spend most of my sitting time lazing in the one in the sun.

 

Best way will be to spray off the bindweed with roundup as Freddy suggests, you'll need to make a couple of applications 2 weeks apart.

spray a small area first and fork this over as a 'quarantine' area for the plants your keeping whilst you tackle the main area

 

Hi and welcome.

I had a bindweed infestation in my garden until last year. I've got rid of it now though (touch wood), although the odd shoot does still appear from time to time, but I promptly deal with it.

Here's what I would do.

Firstly, tackle the bindweed. I'm afraid the only effective way is through the use of a systemic weedkiller. I know you said you don't like the idea, but hear me out

Glyphosate, the active ingredient in many off the shelf systemic weedkillers, has been through rigorous tests, and has been found to be harmless to animal life, with the exception of aquatic creatures. As long as you don't have a pond or natural watercourse, you can use it without feeling guilty. It has the added bonus that it quickly becomes inert on contact with the soil, so no residue to upset future planting.

So, get yourself a bottle of Round-Up, the concentrated variety to keep your costs down, and a cheap watering can, and a spray bottle. Mix up the Round-Up as it says on the directions, and spray all the bindweed.

You said there are a couple of trees you want to keep. That's fine, just don't spray them. If you need to zap some bindweed that is in contact with the trees, carefully unwrap it and peel it away. Don't physically the damage the bindweed, as glyphosate needs the target plant to be actively growing, as it works by being absorbed into the foliage of the target, which then takes the glyphosate round down to the roots. It effectively reverses the flow of nutrients, so the plant dies of starvation.

You will need to spray several times, allowing a few days between each spraying.

Once the bindweed is well dead, ie when it looks like a farmer has bust up a bail of straw over your garden, rip it all out by hand. However don't lower your guard just yet, there will be loads of survivors that were sheltered from your spray gun by the weeds above it. This is where the watering can comes into play. Mix up a watering can full of Round-Up, and just soak the lot. Stay away from the trees you wanted to keep, and the lawn. Save your more precisely aimed spray gun for bindweed in such areas.

Repeat the cycle of spraying, and ripping out clearly dead stuff, until it has all gone. However it will still come back, though hopefully in a much more manageable quantity.

Once the bulk of it has gone, you should have big patches of barren ground where the bindweed had swamped out everything else. The bindweed will be hiding in there. Every few days, do a patrol of the whole garden, armed with your Round-Up sprayer. Zap it as you see it, but never physically damage it.

A couple of things to keep in mind: If it is in your neighbour's garden, ask them if you can spray theirs to, or ask them to do it, or if you have neighbours like one of mine, just spray it from your side, through the boundary. Also, Round-Up doesn't kill off any seeds in the soil. Thousands of those seeds will be bindweed seeds. They will germinate and start a new invasion, so you need to remain vigilant and keep the Round-Up bottle handy. You could take a burner to the soil to kill off the majority of the seeds, but I didn't bother.

Now is the ideal time to start your bindweed blitz. It will be growing like crazy now, so will take up that lovely glyphosate with gusto. It also means that many of the seeds in the soil will be happy to germinate, so you can get them too once they have some growth on them.

The only thing is though, don't expect to be planting anything in the bindweed site this year. If you are not patient, you will find yourself planting before the bindweed is under control.

One last thing on the bindweed blitz and kind of linked in to your lawn worries. Don't poison or dig up or otherwise destroy your lawn. Grass is about the only thing that puts up a fierce battle against bindweed, so if you leave it lawned over, it will help your campaign. Also, your lawn can be saved. Mine was dire up until just a couple of months ago, but now it looks pretty good (far from perfect, but I'm happy with it). It can be done, but patience and determination are the key.

 

Hello - I'm pretty new around here too, and I thnk you will find that this is your favourite place for a while to come, the people here are so unbelievably helpful. I would not have done half the things I have without their advice.

I would definitely go for killing off the weeds. Not only will you suddenly find yourself with a workable space which won't be as daunting, but you can always decide once you have taken control to be organic, the trouble will be getting to that stage without the help of a good spray!

I have been blessed in my new house to have had loads of perennials popping up. My trouble has been being brutal enough to reduce the size, or be selective, of the ones I want to keep. They have obviously been allowed to go wild, and it has pained me to chop, rip and dig some of them, but I'm learning it is all about being in control. Nothing survives if you let it all rampage, because one thing takes over and you get nothing else, in my case lady's mantle and hardy geraniums. I've also had LOADS of ground elder in the roots of my geraniums, so have had to clear whole beds of the stuff. Luckily now the geraniums are coming throu again and the odd bit of ground elder that pokes through its ugly head gets a zap!

I would go for perennials that will come up year after year with hardly any effort from you, and some good ground cover if you have a lot of ground to cover. My ladies mantle stops any weeds coming through, and look beautiful with water on the leaves, and with its little yellow flowers.

Good luck!!!!!!!!!!

 

I'm pretty new to gardening, but just wanted to say WOW that is a fantastic size, hop you have lots of fun with it

 

Hello and Welcome Not So Green.
I would second all of the above and say you can't do it all at once. You will become disheartened if you try. I would decide what I wanted to do in each area of the garden and work on them one by one. You will then soon see the garden taking shape as each area is completed and get a real sense of satisfaction from your efforts.
Good luck and enjoy.

 

Yuo have some marvelous advice there,you can't go wrong if you follow it.The BBC has a design site you could look at ,my son had one that was very good "Geofrey Smiths garden design,"that may be out of print now but I'm sure if you look there will be others,You type in where the borders will be and put all shaped beds ,Great fun ,Take it steady don't try to do it all at once .

 

I agree with the advice of not trying to do it all at once, but instead sort one section at a time. The only exception would be the bindweed issue. You need to spray it all, as mentioned above, at the same time. The reason is that if you clear the bindweed in one section but not another, all that will happen is the bindweed in the untreated patch will just migrate back into the bit you've already done, and you'll be fighting it forever.