Renovate or maybe start from scratch.

Done for the year. Let's see what they look like come April/May.

 

UPDATE. Picture dump.

Plenty of stuff growing in the garden that I have no idea about. Some areas with shade have lost the grass completely, some is doing well.

Also, it needs a cut.

 

Dump2.

 

The only way to stop the bluebells from multiplying is to take the flower heads off so they don't go to seed. The bulbs themselves will need to be dug out. If you don't dig them out they will take over the whole lawn but obviously if you like them then let them remain.

The problem with laying a new lawn is, it's impossible to get rid of any remaining weed seeds in the ground during preparation. You can either dig them out or put a weed killer down in April when the weather is warmer and the weeds are growing more actively.

In the barer shaded areas it may be worth re-seeding with a grass seed that's produced specifically for those areas.

 

I don't mind them in the corners, but growing in the middle of the garden is a nuisance.

I did dig out a big bunch yesterday.

I think a lawn weed killer will have to do. But will it kill these buggers ?

I have shady area seed but we get no sun in that corner so I don't know if that would work. It was nice and lush before winter. now it's just dirt.

 

Lawn weed killers won't kill Bluebells unfortunately, but it will deal with the other weeds. Check the packaging when you buy and that will list the weeds it will deal with. Weedol is one of the better ones.

I'm not sure what those other weeds are, perhaps you could take a close up picture of the leaves please.

Once the weeds have been dealt with try over seeding the bare areas. This last winter has been very wet and many plants including lawns have suffered, so it's not surprising your young lawn has struggled.

 

Do you know if the bluebells are the English or Spanish variety? The English ones are protected by law.

 

You've English, Spanish and hybrid. English version if that's what you have the law allows you to be are able to remove the English version from your own land and dispose if you so wish. You can't however remove and collect them from areas you don't own.
If it's the hybrid or Spanish version it's best to remove and allow the bulb to dry out and die before composting.

 

I killed the arums with glyphosate last year. They come back. They are really really stubborn.

Those bluebells are all over.

Systemic weed killer, you mean glyphosate them again? Because that will also kill the surrounding grass.

The reason why I had decided to renovate the garden in the first place was because it was full of assorted plants and we always had trouble cutting the grass. So then it got neglected because it was a chore and then it eventually got really bad.

Looks like I have more work to do in the garden.

 

The way I see it, you have two choices:
- either you try to rectify "nature" and kill as much as you can just so you can have a green lawn;
or
- work *with* nature and make that area a woodland feature (seeing as the Lords & Ladies are doing a grand job of trying to colonise it anyway). Certainly this is a wildlife friendly plant and doesn't mind if it gets given the shade of a tree (apple, perhaps?) once Spring/Summer comes into their own.

If I were in your shoes, I would be going the "working with nature" route. Why? Because with the perimeter given over to hedging/shrubs, it will leach out much of the goodness in the nearby soil; couple that with being a shady area as well, which presents its own challenges, your options are severely restricted.

I'd be looking at creating a little copse area; a shady haven for the heat of the summer. Lush lawn is going to be a time (and money) consuming ambition, possibly disproportionate to the amount of space which is there. I would go with the flow on that particular space.

Hope I haven't offended; just my two penny worth

 

I am not too fussed about having plants around the borders. Because I would not have to mow there anyway.

The gardens used to be full of barnyard grass or crabgrass (whatever it is called). There is still quite a lot of it. The mower used to jam every two meters of cut before. I gave the grass a cut last weekend and it was a quick job so the bluebells and the daffodils got shredded. I wonder if constant mowing would kill them.

I am also going to get verdone extra and spray that, seed the bare areas again and pull out what I can in the next few weeks when it starts to get a bit more warmer.

 

The Daffodils may eventually disappear with mowing but the bluebells will return every year. They will have to be dug out to get rid of them.

 

second cut.