Help needed - embarrassing garden!

That's a very good idea noisette, I had it on a tiny upstairs balcony and it was almost as good as the real thing - greenwise,
Jenny

 

It does seem to be more widely available and affordable now, Jenny. A Godsend for small, low-maintenance gardens!

 

You need to take your own measurements and check out existing construction depths as the above info. was only a guesstimate to point out just how much work may be involved.

 

Hi scrungee I would do that prior to booking anything its just nice to have a guide to get rough pricing.

Good point noisette hadn't thought of mowing under the trampoline that could be tricky. I have seen some decking tiles which apparently can be placed on top but I have lots of odd angles and corners so doubt I'd be able to do it with my limited diy skills he he!

The rabbits were free range in the garden until one escaped to next door through a one inch gap! Now they have a run which is easily moveable. Will save them from the plants too!

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It was for us when we were selling our house in London. We had mostly paving, patios and raised beds, with a small lawn in the middle of the back garden. Having dogs meant it always looked a mess which didn't bother me too much when we lived there but wasn't too attractive when it came to putting it on the market. We put some astroturf down in place of the grass and it solved the problem, at least as far as selling it went. Not sure if you can put it straight onto paving slabs though?

Perhaps attaching some trellis to the fencing with some raised beds or large troughs in front of it, and planting climbers and perhaps a couple of shrubs and perennials in there would work. I know your garden is north facing but does it get any sun at all? My front garden is north facing but gets enough sun in the summer to grow hollyhocks and sunflowers as well as other sun loving plants. Even a few hours in the middle of the day can be enough.

 

In summer I'd say it gets about 1 to 2 hours of sun...

Thanks for the ideas I'm loving these tips they're all so fab no doubt I'll have a pick n mix garden with ideas from all sorts of places

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Err...will save the plants from them

 

Crazy paving is much easier to remove than solid concrete I have found personally. Although it can be more time consuming you can do it without hiring tools and doing your back in. The fact that weeds are poking up through the joints in the paving tells me that its starting to breakdown anyway. You could do it with a kangoo or a sledge hammer which are quicker but you will find that there will be lots of small fragments made which is messy. Get yourself a cold chisel and a club hammer and hammer away at the joints between the paving, then get a crowbar and lift up each slab. It's easier to store a load of slabs neatly piled on top of each other than a pile of rubble in such a small space but that's just my opinion.

Whatever method you decide to use you should work out if there are any waste pipes or mains gas pipes underneath the paving and if so be extra careful around these areas. I know most people will assume they are quite deeply buried but I found that or mains waterpipe was at surface level when I took out a raised patio a few years back. In other words the paving could be there to hide something.

The soil is also really badly compacted and the whole area will need a lot of digging over and improving before you can even think of planting in it.

 

Haha your right noisette! Jungle Jane you've raised some interesting points. Hmm... The joy of crazy paving.

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Hi wise owl your right it does sound daunting... I like the idea of reusing them in some way too as I hate seeing things go to landfill. How did you make raised beds out of them?

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He he I knew what was intended thanks that's a really good tip though! I think I might just do that and then lay the turf I had a brief look this morning and it seems its just laid on soil the ones that are already breaking down are easy to lift so I think just getting at the mortar will do the trick. I'm kind of excited now to begin

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He he true true I'll probs do a bit at a time

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