Garden makeover Advice

masonsmum

We moved into our new house last May and we got it for an excellent price however a lot of work was required inside and out. The previous owner had a huge house/shed thingy at the rear of the garden and it was an alladins cave. It reminded me of A Life of Grime with those people who collect rubbish etc.

However this weekend we have successfully removed it all, shed and all and it has left a bit of a mess and a lot of uneven ground and we really need to do something to level it and make it safe before the good weather starts as our 2 year old son will be outside most of the time.

Any ideas on a cheap way to do this and I would prefer a grassy area but I heard turf is quite expensive.

James187

When we did our garden last year, the turf was the cheapest element (we had a combination of turf, bark, beds and stone chippings). After a couple of online quotes we called a couple of local turf growers and got some for only £2/m and £5 delivery. Its easy to lay as well and as long as your soil is okay you won't have to spend any money preparing the ground.

Ebe_Scrooge

If you want grass, then seed will be cheaper than turf. A bit more ground preparation will be needed ( digging / raking, but should be zero cost ), and it takes longer to establish than turf, but the only cost will be the seed itself which will be peanuts for a relatively small area.

As an alternative, you could look at bark chippings or padded rubber matting if you want to make it a play area. These are quite expensive, but where I used to live the local council was giving away second-hand versions of both these - they were doing up all the playgrounds, and you could get both chippings and rubber matting for nothing ( you just had to collect it ). Obviously it was a bit worn, but for a kid's play area in a garden in was ideal. May be worth checking your local council website.

bengraves38

as long as your soil is okay you won't have to spend any money preparing the ground

Hi Masonsmum.

Be very careful. The price of £2 per meter is a good one but if you put your nice turf down onto poor soil you will just have to do it all over again in a few months time.

It is a good idea to dig some coarse sand into the soil first, this is not expensive (around £30 per tonne delivered).

And if you feel the soils is nutrient poor (you will have a good idea by seeing how quick weed growth is now the shed has gone), a good quality pree turf feed would be a good idea.

The flatter the surface you put the turf onto the better chance it has of surviving and rooting down. Holes or dips create wet areas and high spots tend to dry out! This of course won't cost anything apart from a good saturday afternoon and a sore back :rotfl:

Finally the turf needs to be given at least 2 months of growing before Mason goes running around on it !!!

Hope this helps you