Garden Project 2024 Help and Advice

Happy New Year,

Over several years I've said I was going to sort out my garden. However, I still haven't got round to doing... Until now!

I'm in need of advice regarding my lawn. As you can see by the pictures it's very uneven. I aim to level it. My issue is if I top dress it, will it eventually slant again over time when water runs off it? Am I best off taking up the lawn where it is higher and digging out the soil to get it level?

Also I want to align up all these paving slabs too.. do they need to be on a slant to support the weight?

 

Yes you probably are better off removing the grass / soil from the higher side to level it up.

You probably could cheat and add some soil then turf on top on the low side but it maybe tricky , the turf will hold the soil in place when it grows. I go with the first suggestion personally.

The slabs are better on a slope to support the weight unless you concrete them in to sit them up straight .

 

Hi and Welcome to the Forum.

Well thats one difficult looking garden, not surprised you have left it for a while !

First need to ask if you took the pics from the bottom of the garden or its it longer ?
Also where the Ivy ends and the grey fence begins, is that the dividing line between you and the house below, and which way is South ?

What to do really depends on what you want to do with the garden, mainly a play area for kids or for flowers or grow your own ?

Re those flags, if they are set into the ground with some concete you should be able to keep a nice straight vertical row.

As for the grass you have, think we would forget it and turn it into an easier to manage path for access to the garden below, using flagstones or bark etc .

For the garden below, assuming its all weeds ? we would progressively dig /fork over the whole area removing all the deep roots of the brambles etc.
Then by Spring you will have a blank canvas that you can then turn that into a decent sized lawn or plant growing area as you like.

 

Ahhh thank you for your reply.
So firstly the over grown bit in the left on the picture with weeds and vegitation is actually a private derelict carpark.. I've had a word with residents and I'm going to put them pallets to good use and make a little vegetable patch.

The strip of grass is mine, as you can see it's slanted. So the strip is kind of south facing but it's constantly in the sun as it goes around. The sun sets on the opposite side of my house however. Hope that makes sense. So when we had that hosepipe ban it really killed my lawn.

To the right were the slanted flags are, the raised bit is my neighbours, but the bottom right bit which is squared off near the big green shed is my bit too. In there is a hydrangea, usually i put some bedding plants in and I have a geranium I'm ripping out this year.

I'm facing towards my house also, the decking area is mine. Hope this helps

 

Right we see .. its an unusual strip of ground !

Re the flags, if part of them are already say 150mm or more under into the ground then would say you could reposition them vertically, with or without some concrete to hold them firmer, but over the years they will move a bit.

What about the other side of the grass, can just see what looks like the thin edge of a retainer wall. Is it just flagstones or a more solid wall, and what is the depth of it ?

For the grass you could just add some soil and seed in the bare patches in Spring or dig it over and re-level it and then either re-seed or re-turf it, just depends on how much work you want to do ?

Would not worry too much about water run off, be it a slope or levelled flat, it will soak through or run off much the same.

For the car part area, you could use something like SBK weedkiller in Spring to knock back those Brambles etc so it looks a bit better, economical and easy to apply with a standard watering can, also grass safe.

 

Ahh yes I got some SBK. It's really good stuff!
I've attached some more pictures so you can see the strip of grass that's mine and the derelict car park. As you can see no vehicles have parked on it for some while.

I think I may dig out the grass and level it that way. May invest in some new turf. Another question. Could I get away with adding new turf rolls to existing lawn if I take up some good strips?

 

Difficult to see how access was ever gained to that carparking area, presumably its a hard base under all the old growth?

 

Think its doing you a favour being so overgrown rather than having cars below.

Looking at your new pics can see things better, though our ideas probably different to yours.

The car park wall looks like it may be concrete posts with concrete panels slotted between them ? so you may find in the future they may move a bit, being slotted in they may allow good drainage from your grass and sub soil.

Your levelling problem is really down to the height of that car park wall, if you took a level line from that wall to the flagstones, what is the depth difference, from your pics it could be as much as 300mm ?

That would suggest you would have to get 300mm bigger flagstones to cover the removed soil.
Also thats a lot of soil to remove, possibly it could find its way onto the car park ?

The other way might be to build up the area above the car park wall so it becomes more level with the flagstones.
Expect you have thought about a fence to go above the car park wall assuming the kids will eventually go onto the grass ?

Before committing to anything major, would dig out a few 30cm + deep holes to see what is actually beneath the grass, you might find its very shallow soil in places above rubble or thick clay.

A possible alternative that might be easier to gain a level surface would be decking ??
Not grass, but it could look good with lots of pots and plants and being lower than your patio easy to set up automatic watering.