What to do with this mess? (new gardener needs help)

Hi all,I've been browsing this forum for a little bit now and it seems very informative,so I thought I'd ask for some help. My girlfriend and I have recently moved into a new house with our two young daughters and the rear garden is in dire need of some TLC. Neither my girlfriend or I have a clue about gardening as this is the first time we have had one . We would like to get our garden in a state which our children can safely play in, just a grass lawn I suppose for now. Our garden is full of wayward grass and prickly weedy bushes which the previous owners appear to have cut down to ground level.The roots are coming through again now and seem to be everywhere.We would like to know how we should go about turning the garden into a nice lawn. We will be doing the work ourselves as we can't afford help right now and we would like to get stuck in




Any help would be greatly received

 

Hi soulsurfer, welcome to GC..
First thing id do is clear all the "dangerouse" stuff away from the bottom of the garden, then id cut the grass, give it a good rake over, you will be suprised how tough grass is, you could have a nice lawn under all that, maybe reshape it, plant a few kid friendly evergreens,shrubs,flowers,.There will be loads of advice coming from other members,depends what time they log in, Good Luck..

 

I agree with Youngdaisy. Get rid of all the prickly stuff rake the grass over and cut it on a high setting. If you want to spend a little you could sprinkle grass seed on it to cover the gaps more quickly. Give the kids a patch of ground and let them grow their own flowers/veg, that way they'll appreciate what you plant.

 

I'm intreaged. Whats the big blue plastic barrel both you and your neighbour have? Just to the right of your end neighbours green house. You have one too. Doesn't look like a compost bin.

 

N G it's a water barrel compost bin is on the left,S S you need to sort your boundary fences out first probably be your biggest cost.

 

Soulsurfer,welcome to GC. you have a job in front of you,you will get there,the more you get rid of the rubbish the more keener you will get

 

Hi SS and welcome to GC first get stuck into and hack all this dead would away .

And if you dont want it dig it up by the root and dispose.

You certasinly have alarge job in front of you or ask all the help of your friends etc to bring a spade or pruners etc and give a helping hand.

Good luck.

 

Thanks for the advice, looks like my Girlfriend and I are going to have some green fingers soon I think I will try and tackle it by doing one area at a time and then when it's mostly soil and little weed growth I will rake it more level.In order to cut the grass I will have to use a strimmer as the ground is far too uneven and full of debris to use a mower. What is the best way to dispose of any clumps of grass I dig up? We definately need to sort out some kind of fencing at some point too as mentioned, ahh so much to do...

 

Soulsurfer. Welcome to GC Just take it one thing at a time. Most people are put off gardening because they try to do everything at once. Look at your priorities and just take it steady. Patience may be a virtue but it is an essential when setting up a garden.

 

Soulsurfer, if you intend digging the whole garden I would suggest you hire a rotovator, you`ll then get the job done in a day.

 

It's probably easier David. But Ss should then be prepared to spend a lot of time weeding. :D

 

Hi Soulsurfer welcome to the forum. It does look like you and your girlfriend are going to have your hands full and not only with your two little girls.

If I was you I would put another fence up and mask that greenhouse you know what I mean 'do now and don't pay later' kids+games+glass=trouble! :D

I wouldn't go crazy and try to do it all at once do a spot at a time that way your children will be able to play outside without too much trouble as you progress through the garden work.

You don't mention how old your girls are? If they are reasonably young then maybe daddy can build them a large sandpit for them to play in....doesn't cost much to make one out of wood, add some sand and buy a tarpaulin cover and their away and after they grow up you can turn it into an alpine bed.Hel.xxx.

 

A rotovator sounds good but I've heard they are hard to control and have a mind of their own My girls are 8 and 6 this year and a sandpit sounds like a great idea. I surf all year round and as a result we tend to be at the beach quite a lot. A sandpit would be like bringing the beach to the garden (for the kids anyway). I'm starting to get quite excited about doing the garden as opposed to dreading it!

 

get your girls involved. use the garden as a learning proces. teach them how to grow stuf and at the same time teach them how to protect them selfs. today my 12 year old daghter was cutting and pulling a brable bush apart.thick gloves and a good thick coat kept her safe

get your two girls to pick a corner / patch let them dig it up them selfs so that they can grow there own stuf .. sun flowers are always good with kids,, see who can grow the tallest
:D

get the girls involved in the garden. dont do all the work youself and let the girls not apreciate the garden..


:D