Hi from the Somerset Levels.....

Hi all

I have a major task ahead of me finally turning the area outside my back door, commonly called a 'Garden' into what actually looks like a garden with items such as a lawn and plants surrounding it......

And I know that I am going to need help not just with my rudimentary knowledge of gardening but some major issues within the garden, when I say major I mean major!

The minor problems I face

• The Garden is South Facing, a complete sun trap
• It's small only 5m x 4m ish (we intend to move our side boundary fence out to the actual boundary next year giving us another 2-3 meters)
• The soil is clay

The major ones

• 
  
• We have a large slab of concrete at the top of the garden, next to our shed, totally unsightly indeed.
• The lawn is raised and full of creators (our youngest german shepherd, who has now grown out of wanting to be a miner)
• Her excavation activities did however uncover why since moving in 5 years ago, I have failed to get the lawn to thrive in any shape or form.
• The garden is raised because it contains the remains of the brick shed that once stood on the concrete slab, and a above ground stone fishpond, mixed with other rubbish!

I however this summer started out with growing a small salad crop, lettuce tomatoes etc on the patio, to test my dogs and whether they would leave them alone, which they have so I have progressed to making a much needed chill out corner, with tubs, hanging baskets and a nice wooden Bistro Set, even managed to take some fuchsia cuttings early this year from my MIL's garden And pleased as punch the hanging baskets, and various tubs I have, I have brought from the garden centre within a diy shop as very reduced prices, given tlc to bring them back!

 

Hallo Ellie,
to Gardeners Corner. You'll find loads of help and inspiration here. Looking forward to seeing you around,
enjoy,
Jenny namaste

 

Welcome to GC Ellie, it sounds like you have a fair bit of work to do but members will help you out along the way.

 

Welcome to Gardeners Corner

I'm an ex leveller, used to live at Hambridge

 

Thanks for the Welcome....

I shall probably be asking lots of questions, even the silly ones.. ( I know I will )

In many ways I feel daunted by what I need to do, as a lot of preparation work, which going to mean hard labour eek.... My lawn is actually scaring me, as I've relaid a lawn before, but didn't have a ton or two of rubble to remove before I could even start the preparation work for the new lawn.

Actually pondering how much it would cost to get contractors in, to the hardest bit removing the rubble, as even though I could do it myself our local council tip now level charges at the tip! I assumed the charge of £3.50 for a bag of rubble, was for a builder's rubble sack size, found out the other weekend while down there. they class a bag as being a supermarket carrier bag! And skips are as cheap as they used to be

@Zigs

Beautiful part of the country is the Levels, as you know got a diverse lot of soil content around the levels, from lovely peaty soil, to red quantock soil, and where I live clay, and I kid you not, I could make a large full dinner service from some parts of my garden, as it's solid clay!

 

I was on clay too, had to underpin me house

Few shots around the place on this thread

http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/threads/soggy-zumerset-today.48936/#post-629973

I'll send you a few Bridgwater beans when the seeds are ripe if you'd like.

 

@Zigs

Yes please do send me some when they ready...

We all thought that the 2013 flooding were bad enough, but this years has been totally devastating indeed... Here's so photo's from the the 2014 flood

Taken from the bank of the River Parret at Stathe looking out over Aller Moor

 

Will do

 

Hello and welcome, you will like it here

 

Welcome Ellie

 

Hi Ellie.....welcome to GC