As you can see in the photos we’ve just cleared a year’s worth of weeds and overgrowth from our back garden. I’m trying to figure out what to do in order to stop the weeds coming back. I’m a complete newbie when it comes to gardening so I don’t really know where to start. Fundamentally, we want to spend as little money as possible, this isn’t our “forever house” so we just want to manage it until we move on.
We are about to put a shed where the end of the stone chips are, but before we pour the base we need to figure out what’s best to do. It will be the area of soil pictured that we will be working on, it measures approx. 16m x 4m, the soil is of very poor quality and full of rocks.
I haven’t even priced it but I assume a permanent solution like paving or decking would be too expensive. We don’t really want a lawn but if it was cost effective to buy a load of top soil and seed we’d do it. I would be very grateful to hear any other suggestions that you guys may have?
Cheers.
If you just want low cost and low maintenance then remove the stones, lay membrane and then relay the stones making sure you remove any soil contained within the stones so weeds cannot re-root on top of the membrane.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Not sure where to go from here but good work so far. If it were me I'd consider making some raised beds at the sides so you can fill them with decent soils and plant something nice. We did this with railway sleepers but that doesn't seem to fit the budget of what you've described. Could be done with treated deck boards maybe?
Spend some money on it, it will help drastically with the value and sale potential!
Get a little shed at the bottom plus some raised planters for vegetables, then flower beds and turf down.
If you want 100% no maintenance then yes, visquene the whole area and throw gravel back on top - but where's the joy in rubble?
Thanks a lot for the info and suggestions folks! I think raised beds are the way to go. Called into my local garden centre at lunch and they sell railway sleepers which aren't too expensive. Rather than putting a lawn around the raised beds we might just use bark mulch, seems to be the most cost effective way of keeping the weeds down!
Take it back to soil, flatten it down then add a membrane.
Shed at the back and a few flag stones at the front for a small seating/patio area.
Get a few tonnes of slate or similar delivered and cover the membrane over.
Buy some decent size plant pots and position them about the place... possibly build some raised planters down the wall.
Add some trelliss to the wall and buy some climbing plants - honeysuckle grows quite quickly or Clematis would work.
Dig a trench and lay some electrical cable and CAT6.
Now your property has a home garden office instead of a shed.
I'd get somebody in to completely remove the hedge and take it away, it's taking up a lot of room and will need constant maintenance. I'd then build a brick wall and at some same time, some raised beds. What you do with the rest depends on what you want.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
Trim the hedge...
I would start looking for rag ends of decking, astro turf, slab stones, block paving and other "no weed" options.
Those hedges are going to generate dead leaves, and produce lots of compost every year.
You will need to sweep up the hard areas, and dig it into the soft areas.
Keep an eye out for driveway and garden refurbs where there is good stuff being thrown away.
A patchwork look would look good, and break up the length.
A fully grassed lawn is going to struggle for light in the shade of the walls and hedgerow.
Good answer!Originally Posted by 200mwaterresistant
Seeing that at the back of a house I was considering buying would definitely not improve my impression of the place.
Creating a little garden is hardly going to cost much.
My dream garden would be the whole thing dug with channels, pools dotted around interconnected then all water sealed. Then covered with river bed stones and build your wild flower areas and grass on top of the high ground. Decent pumps to get some movement to the water. Have various seating areas connected with small bridges.
Basically a wet garden and introduce fish like Chubb, roach and gudgeon and then let nature bring in the rest, snakes lizards, frogs etc.
Thanks for all the replies! I would dearly love to get rid of the hedge but it's a boundary hedge and the neighbour doesn't want it gone. He's a nice fella and we're not going to fall out, so it's an easier life to leave it there and get on with things.
Looks like we'll be doing two raised beds in the middle and maybe a border beside then wall, then bark mulch the lot!
Hedges attract hedgehogs and birds.
The garden can be turned into a Japanse garden without a hassle. The membrane suggestion is a good one and a good start for a Japanse look-and-feel
Looks like a garden with bodies buried in. I wouldn't dig down too far
Like others have said, I'd cut it right back on your side. You'll keep the privacy but it won't be at the expense of taking up room on your side of the boundary.
I would advise against bark mulch , its good for borders but it has a tendency to disappear over time meaning you will be topping it up, plus as said that hedge will drop a lot of leaves , a decent size gravel or as mentioned slate will mean you can buy a cheap leaf blower and whizz over to clean it up
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote