My Garden Progress

Hi Kevin,

40 degrees is uncomfortably hot but at least it only lasted a few days. We've had a little light rain here but the ground needs a good soaking. I keep an eye on the Jet Stream movements and it looks like Britain will get some bouts of rain over the next couple of weeks.

At last your landscaping is sorted and payment sorted. The long 'to do' list never seems to get shorter does it? One thing is ticked off and another appears.

Geraniums are always good to flower and will often give a second flowering if trimmed when they've finished the first.

Is your new lawn nicely settled now? I've started work on one of my three today. I don't think they've been touched since my bungalow was built 20+ years ago. I've been scarifying the back and side lawns with an electric scarifier and the amount of thatching that has been raked out is amazing....

 

Hello @Sheal

Thanks for the Reply.

That is a lot of Thatch, can you use it for other purposes?

It always seems that when One Item is Ticked off the List, another Two take its place

The Next Item on my List is my New Bike, which should be ready around 8 August.

Then it will be saving towards the Table and Benches for Next Year.

The Joys of having New Lawns laid in Summer

It has been a Journey, that is for sure.

The Lawns were laid June 20, I then Watered them Every Day for an Hour for Two Weeks, then Three Times a Week, then Once a Week.

When The Hot Weather arrived I had to up the Watering to Everyday again.

In the meantime, trying to get the Lawn Cut was difficult, as the Lawns needed the Water but you obviously are not able to Cut the Lawns when they are Wet.

So, the Grass kept growing and were not able to be Cut.

Once the Cooler Weather arrived I was able to gradually Cut the Lawns starting at the Highest Cut Setting of 75mm and then gradually lower the Cutting Height until I got the Lawns to the Length that I will be keeping them at, approximately 50mm.

It took a while but the Lawns are looking good, for now

I am currently just putting the Sprinkler on when it is needed but with all this Rain currently it seems fine.

I hate to admit it but I did have a small (?) accident with the Back Lawn

I was using some Rust Remover for Natural Stone on a Stain on one of the Slabs and some got soaked up by the Kneeling Mat I was using, I moved the Mat out of the way and unfortunately it got onto the Lawn

The Rust Remover is a Mild Acid so approximately 1' Square of the Lawn was Burnt, luckily it was just the Grass Leaves that were Burnt which have now mostly recovered.

I also had to dispose of the Mat and have bought another since I did not know if any of the Acid was still present in the Kneeling Mat and I was not going to risk it.

Thanks

Kevin

 

Hi Kevin.

Unfortunately not. There is to much to compost so I'm burning it. I've spent two afternoons scarifying and it's very slow work, the thatching being very dense. Another two sessions should see it finished though.

Your new bike will be a nice present to yourself. The last time I rode a bike I was still in junior school, many moons ago.

Reducing the cut of the mower bit by bit was the best way. If you had put it on it's lowest setting straight away you may have damaged the lawn. I'm glad you're happy with it now.

Oops! A mishap with the rust remover, we learn from our mistakes.

 

Hello @Sheal

Thanks for the Reply.

I see from your other Post that you have finished Scarifying your Lawns, that is a large area there but at least you have that View to look at whilst you work.

I am trying to sort a few issues in my own Garden at the moment.

Whilst the Landscaping has solved the many issues it has left me with a few, minor, new ones.

Because the Levels have been done properly, the Borders on the bottom of the slope are above the Level of the Paving, not much but enough to require some Soil to be removed.

The issues gets more complicated since there are three Lobelia Cardinalis in the way, so, I will need to remove the Plants, bring the Soil Level down and then re-plant them.

I think I am going to wait until September to do that as it will be Cooler, better for the Plants, and Me.

It seems that whenever I am in Direct Sunlight, I start to Melt, not good for being in a South Facing Garden.

I am looking forward to the Rowan 'Joseph Rock', Malus 'Rudolph' and Acer Negundo 'Flamingo' growing and providing some Shade.

I have also removed the Drip Irrigation and replaced it with Soaker Hose.

The Drip Irrigation is fine for targeting individual Plants, however, I seem to have a lot of Plants that will Self Seed and adding a Dripper for every Self Seeded Plant is impractical.

Thanks

Kevin

 

Hi Kevin,

It was hard work scarifying the lawn. I don't want to do it again for at least a few years but the front lawns will have to be done next year. The back lawn is about 6o ft wide by 40ft deep, plus the small side lawns. The front lawns are approximately 120ft by 30ft with the drive separating them. I never get tired of the view, it sold the house to us.

I saw your thread about the soil level now being to high. It shouldn't take much to lower that and your plants will settle again with some watering.

A south facing garden will always heat up and I'm not surprised you feel as if you're melting. My back garden faces south east and has sun most of the day - there are no buildings to shelter it.

Irrigation would be good for my gardens but it would be a lot of work and expensive to install it. I have sandy loam soil and it's always dry.

Tomorrow while shopping I will have to pick up some lawn food to help trigger the lawn back into growth. Some decent rain would help too.

 

Hello all

I hope you are well.

I thought it was time for an update Photo of the Back Garden, so, this is the Back Garden as of now(ish).



It is all growing well, I am having to Water the Lawn though, as a New Lawn, South Facing Garden and Summer Heat are not a good mix.

I still have the Border around the Water Feature to sort out as, after the Landscaping, the Soil Level is above the Paving, so, the Lobelia need digging up, soil removed and levelled then the Lobelia re-planted.

I think I have decided to wait until the Spring to do that though, I think

I just wish that the Weather would Cool Down as it is way, way Too Hot for me

Thanks

Kevin

 

Wow! Your garden is a picture Kevin, it's looking good!

 

Hello @Sheal

Thanks, it seems to be growing well.

I am having a few issues with the Lawns though.

No matter how much I Water them, reluctantly I may add, there are still some brown areas, hopefully these will Green up when the Rains return, I am just worried what with them being relatively New Lawns

Also, I am having to take out the Soaker Hose which I replaced the Drip Irrigation with as it is fine for the first half(ish) of the Garden but then the Flow drops off after that, badly

I am going to replace it with Drip Line which you can have Runs of 100m which will easily accommodate the Back Garden.

All Fun

Kevin

 

Hi Kevin,

As long as the turf has now attached itself to the ground I wouldn't worry to much. The continuous heat of late is bound to take it's toll, and be careful not to water with the sun on the lawn, as that will burn. You saw the picture of how brown my lawn was? These last few mornings it's been misty and it's surprising, just with that little amount of water the grass is showing signs of greening up. It's very resilient.

There's always something, isn't there? As soon as one thing is put right, another turns up. At least you can sort this problem yourself, which lightens the load on your pocket.

 

You were riding a bike on Loch Ness only the other day!

 

Kevin I love your garden , it looks absolutely beautiful. The flowering coverage over the walls is fabulous.
The lawn is looking very good, amazingly it's still green unlike the straw we have!

Enjoy.

 

Hello all

Thanks for the kind words.

I have had a particularly rough few Months so I have not been in the Garden much or on here.

Most things in the Garden have Died Back so I am looking forward to the Spring and some Colour.

I am also keeping a close eye on the Back Lawn as it has Yellow Patches, I do not know if it has issues or if this Grass just goes dormant over the Winter, I only have experience of the previous Lawns and they stayed Green all Year.

Unfortunately, due to my inactivity in the Garden, Weeding is going to take a while

All fun

Kevin

 

Hi Kevin,
It's nice to hear from you I don't know anything about your type of lawn but hopefully this summer will teach us that it comes back into full green splendour.

Weeding, that is the only thing that stops for me at this time of year. Too much snow and not enough sunshine.

Are you going to weed "grid by grid" ? That is how I go about it. I set a goal of weeding from "a to b" on the first sunny day and then the second grid on the next sunny day and on and on. Of course we all know that in the summer, as soon as we get to Z, it's time to start at A again!

Is your custom table on order and being process?

Cheers
Lori

 

Hello Lori

Thanks for the Reply.

I have just spoken to the Lawn Expert at ProTurf where the Lawns were sourced.

He has advised to cut the Lawn to between 30mm and 40mm as i have been cutting it at 50mm which apparently is not ideal for this Turf.

He also advised to start Feeding the Lawns, something i am unsure of how to proceed, so, I am considering starting with GreenThumb, again, which I had to stop in 2020 due to my circumstances.

When I Weed I try to do one Border at a time, that way I do not get too overwhelmed.

Unfortunately, the Table and Bench now seems to have been pushed back to Next Year as I am having to have both Entrance Doors replaced as the Seals keep on failing.

The Manufacturer has redesigned the Doors to address this issue but neither they or the Installers are willing to do anything.

It will be less hassle for me, personally, to just get the Doors replaced which will probably be a Job for August (ish).

Thanks

Kevin