Where to Start Improving Lawn

A bit of a misleading title - it’s a grassy patch rather than a lawn. I’ve fairly recently moved from a smallish suburban garden to a neglected countryside one. From photos way back I can see it was a nice even lawn, but years of neglect have turned it into a lumpy uneven mess. Just before winter I gave it a cut just to keep it manageable.

I’m now looking to start fixing the front garden. A giant dilapidated play frame has been removed, and I’ve had 13 tree stumps ground - the grounds are the brown patches over the holes. The top layer of soil is a rich brown colour, and is easier to dig than the clay soil in my last garden, but underneath it’s fairly hard, and some bits in one area of the grass retain surface water when it rains.

I don’t really know what to do next. I’m not looking for a perfectly manicured lawn, but something a bit more even and attractive than what’s currently there would be nice. I don’t know whether it needs removed and replaced (quite a sizeable area), rotavated and reseeded, or what. I’d be very grateful for ideas on where to start!

 

Hi, if your budget will stretch to it I would be tempted to get a local lawn care company to come and have a look at it and give you advice. Maybe let them treat it for a year to see how it improves.

 

I think a lawn care company is likely to say you need to start from scratch to be honest.

Its probably possible to get it to a half decent grassy patch, if that is all you really want.

Its quite a large area, I think I would really do a bit of planning first as regarding what kind of garden you want, and do you really want all that grass, or some borders with plants and trees.
Nice view, but I bet it gets draughty when the wind blows.

 

I'd definitely reduce the grass area and put in flower beds etc.
Maybe go with a more wildflower meadow approach.
Unless I was going to have garden parties I'd skip the lawn care company.

 

I'd guess the right hand side is West?
So garden faces South?

 

I'm going to say - just keep cutting the grass regularly, not too short, and see how it is over thenext couple of months.
When I lived down that way, the big problem was rabbits eating everything, and frankly, it's just grass, so don't get too hung up about it. If you want a bowling greem that's a different matter, but I'm guessing not.
You could give it a general feed once things warm up a bit, then see what the lumps and bumps are like. You can always fill them as you go along, some topsoil will do, but it's easiest to try and keep the part you see most in better condition, and just keep the rest tidy.
You can also seed areas later on once you have a feel for how it's looking. It's not going to be instant, but the only way to make it look like a 'lawn' rather than a half decent bit of grass for your needs, is to have it all stripped, prepped and re turfed. Not cheap.

Ayrshire has very good conditions for grass, and once spring is properly underway, it'll improve. In the meantime, just do a few sketches of areas you absolutely need - ie if you need storage, a washing area etc, although I'm guessing not if it's the front. Planting will depend on what you like and what time you have for maintaining it. Prep is important too if you want areas of ornamental plants. You need things that can withstand the open, windy site. The trees will have been providing a shelter belt, so you may want to replace the ones you've taken out, with something similar.
We had a large, spring fed pond, feeding into a smaller one, in the front and just an area of grass. I fed it and kept it neat, and all the other bits further from the house were just mown. It was easier to concentrate on all the bits near the house, with rabbit proof plants as much as possible, and just improving the messy bits as we went along.

 

Thanks for all the replies. Definite food for thought! @Tesni, would like to get a lawn care company in, but as we are getting the back garden renovated to return all the decking, landscape bark and slabbed areas in the back into what I would call a garden, money will not stretch to that at the front. @pete, yes, I only want a half decent patch of grass, not something completely manicured. You’re also right about the wind and the south facing aspect @NigelJ I think ultimately that’s what I’d like, but this year will have to be all about managing what’s there, whilst looking at what grows well locally, and how to use shrubs to create a lower maintenance but attractive area. @fairygirl it’s really helpful to have your input from living in the area. I knew nothing about the growing conditions when I moved here, and am on a steep learning curve. Oddly I haven’t seen a single rabbit in the area - I think they must be hiding until I put some tasty plants in! I think for now I’ll just try keeping on to of keeping it a manageable height when it gets a bit warmer, feed it in due course and start planning how to reduce it with good planting and reduce the amount of grass area with some shrubbery. I also like @NigelJ ’s idea about some wildflower sowing too. Thanks for all the input, looking forward to tackling this now!

 

Just remember that if you want to go down the wildflower route - it isn't as simple as the info often suggests.
Have a look around the area [I can just about make out the road sign, so I can see you're near Auchinleck ] and see what there is - whether wild, or cultivated. For example, Oxeye daises will thrive, but they can be quite thuggish. The soil will be quite rich, so many wildflowers will just get crowded out. You're a bit further south than I was, and than I am just now, but I've lived in this part of the world my entire life, so I'm well used to the conditions.
You may find there's daffs or other bulbs in there too, so it's worth just waiting a bit. Don't want to see you wasting money!

Rabbits often go in 'cycles', so it can be hit and miss, but they'll be there...just waiting for you to plant lots of nice stuff....yum yum....

 

Thank you, @fairygirl, lots of useful advice there!

 

If you are going to redesign your lawn use a length of garden hose pipe to draw out the area in different designs to see which you like best. We were lucky with our last house in Ayr we had a lawn care man who actually had certificates in Lawn and H&S and cut the grass which most lawn care companies do not.

 

That’s a great idea, @waterbut. Will work on improving the quality of the grass this year, and see what grows well locally, and then hopefully a planting plan next year. Using a hosepipe as an outline will help with visualising what shape works best for the lawn. Thank you.

 

Just watched sone episodes of the new Alan Titchmarch tv program. If you can view back episodes there is a young lad who has dug up his dad’s large lawn (with permission) to grow veg etc. Might give you some ideas.

 

Just found it on ITV Player. Lucky the weather is forecast to be wet (as usual) - all the episodes look interesting.