Where to start with this site/plot?

Hi, what is the best approach to improving the “lawn” area here?
This is the area/plot that a family caravan/mobile is on in a caravan park.

A couple of things to point out, to give some background:

• Years back (7+) there was generally a decent covering of grass across all of plot.Hasn’t been maintained too well since.
• The perimeter areas seem to get sprayed annually by the maintenance guy in the park with weed killer and is probably why there is no growth there. Reason for doing it, seems to be because his ride on mower won’t get in close to the edges.I’m happy to have him not cut the grass if it means him not spraying perimeter of plot so we can grow grass there.

• Site is circa. 700m from the beach, so soil is definitely sandy.
• Lots of weeds, see picture.

What do we want to achieve?

1) Remove weeds, ideally spray something and negate having to manually remove all, is there a specific weed killer which will kill those weeds in the pics and also maybe dissolve them in the soil.

2) Try and grow grass in those perimeter areas where there is currently no grass/growth and hasn’t been for a few years.

3) Grow grass in areas where we kill the weeds.

4) Backfill some holes on the site whixj have developed over the time mostly from the odd rabbit and also add some soil to level areas which have a slight decline. What should we use here considering it is sandy soil? Can we just add regular topsoil or will that be pointless?

All advice, tips, suggestions are greatly appreciated

 

It really depends on your future plans for the area. Do you live there or is it a holiday home, holiday let, will it be a play area, sitting out area, parking another caravan, how much effort do you want to put into it, etc.
If you are hoping for a lush green lawn you will need to remove the weeds using a selective broad leaved weed killer then put down a lot of top soil before sowing grass seed. With diligence you could end up with a bowling green lawn, takes about 8/10 years. All bowling greens, golf courses and croquet lawns are top dressed annually with lawn sand which contains selective weedkiller, feed and provides drainage. To maintain grass growing in such a sandy soil you will need to water, water, water permanently. If someone is spraying weedkiller around each year you stand to lose a lot of the grass on your side of the fence. Even if they say they are careful wind drift can carry quite a distance.
There are various grades of grass seed from coarse hard wear to fine bowling green grades.
You make your choice and pay your money.

 

Heya, thanks for your reply and questions you have posed.

Mobile home is literally used around 4 months of the year (May to September).
So, the mobile home takes up the bulk of the plot with the remaining area the “grassy” area. This grassy area will not be used for anything in particular as we have a veranda to the side of the mobile, so really for the grassy area I just want it to look aesthetically better - greener, more grass and that is simply it - nothing fancy at all. In time, I will plant a couple of plants around the perimeters but for now it is just to make it greener and fill in those patches where no grass has grown due to weedkiller etc.

As I mentioned in my previous post, grass did previously grow throughout the plot in years gone by but with use of weed killer and no maintenance really around removing weeds, less grass is visible.

The items I referred to in my picture as weeds it seems are called Hypochaeris glabra or Smooth Cats Ear. They come out of the sandy soil easily but there is so many of them, would be easier to spray something to kill them without killing any remaining existing grass than go around and take them all out.

I think a specific grass seed, maybe hardy that is suited to a sandy soil would be ideal. The soil is what it is here due to the proximity to the beach and I’m not too interested in improving the quality of the soil but generally working with what we have here.

Thanks

 

Another thing to consider is grass which is salt tolerant as you so close to the beach.
A selective broad leaved weed killer should not affect the grass already growing.
As you are not going to be there fulltime and not wanting to nurse and nurture on a daily basis I would suggest;
Weed treat the whole area this summer while you are there.
Rake out the dead weeds, level and tread down.
In Sept. before going home sow the whole area with grass seed of mixed fescue seed.
Hopefully when you return next May it will be ready for a haircut.
I did a quick Google search for grass seed to grow in sandy soil and found several brands, one claimed to be salt tolerant, from A1 Grass, other brands available.
Unfortunately, in an area as you describe, it is not likely to grow as a lush green lawn. Not enough moisture or nutrients for a sward but it should at least be green.
Good luck.

 

I'm not sure it's worth trying to persevere with grass there, especially if there's a danger of weedkiller spray, and when you're not there full time to maintain it and keep it happy.

Perhaps a rethink is needed? Cut a border out and use gravel maybe. A couple of potted specimens on that while you're there, to give some interest. Annuals would be easiest as that's when you're using the site. The pots would just stay there the rest of the year and could be revamped each year

 

Hi, thanks for your suggestions - they sound plausible to me and whatever way it turns out it can’t be any worse. So, I think I will go with that approach.

 

Thanks for your reply. If trying to restore the grass, I will be having a word with the maintenance guy asking him not to cut the grass/spray the borders on our plot and that we will look after it ourselves throughout the year, it is the only way I can give it a chance.

On the gravel idea, unfortunately we are heavily restricted by the owners of the park on what we can do to our plot as technically we are only renting the plot on an annual basis even though we own the mobile home. So, gravel is more than likely a no go. With plenty of kids in the park who wander in and out of peoples plots we will be told there is a risk of kids throwing stones etc. So, I think it is a battle which we won’t win.

Having seen what the plot looked like previously, I know it can get back to having an overall half decent cover of grass which would make it look a lot better than the state it currently looks.

 

Me being me, I would beg, buy,, borrow or steal from a skip, some heavy duty plastic sheeting to staple closely onto the boundary fencing where the spraying is done.
However as a tenant, what you can do may not allow that.
Do some research before spending money on plants as those that will grow in shoreline conditions are not going to be the usual garden plants. You may need to buy from a specialist nursery.
Aloes, agaves, phormiums, lavender, sea cabbage, santolina, olearia, lavender, convolvulous, most silver leaved plants would do, tamarix is useful, it makes a good wind break, and pretty pink flowers, sea buckthorn has massive spines, also, shrubs and trees will be shaved by the wind into leaning with the wind, a big problem on the shore.
What you have to remember is any plant, including grass, is a living thing and in the main need some attention. With a holiday location anything you plant will have to be tough enough to survive without your help. Have a look around other plots and local gardens to see what is growing, ask people for names, you may be lucky and find someone who knows the answer!
The beach in this country is a very harsh environment for plants which is why it is rather bleak and sparse with vegetation.