A few gardening questions.

snagglepuss16

hi, just looking for some advice and help please. we moved into a new house in late september so never really bothered with the garden.But now its getting to better weather I want to do some work on it.
Out back there is a large grass patch which has some sort of compost area in corner with rhubarb growing from it. Grass is not in very good condition and also there is a tree stump in the grass, about a foot square.
Ideally i'd like the rhubarb removed as i have a toddler who will be running about but not sure how to go about this, as for the tree stump, any suggestions. But my main thing is the grass, a dog over the fence has used it for a toilet since before we moved in, grass is also not very healthy and ground is uneven.I'd really like it all lifted, rolled flat and relaid, do you think this is a good idea, also could i do it myself, in terms of getting good grass coverage when relaying or am i better hiring a professional, which would cost??
Many thanks in advance

Wookey

Paint diesel or kerosene oil onto the tree stump to ensure its killed of, it will take a few years to rot down but will break up easily when its done.It will be expensive getting someone in to do the grass, you can hire a rotavator for a day and rake the ground level yourself and sow the grass seed for well under a £100. If you feel you need to dig out the stump enough to let you cover it with 6-8" of soil and grass then dig round it enough to let someone at it with a chainsaw. If you defo dont want the rhubarb then just dig it out, bear in mind that rhubarb leaves are poisonous.

ALIBOBSY

You could stick the rhubarb on freecycle and then the person picking it up could do the digging for you.

Personally as I love rhubarb I planted it our garden not pulled it out lol.

Our neighbour had an uneven bit of grass at the back that had been under a swing set for the previous owners.
He weeded by hand any dandilions etc, added a layer of topsoil which he then levelled with a borrowed roller. Then seeded it. Because of the grass underneath it seemed to thicken up really quickly.
ali x

snagglepuss16

ALIBOBSY wrote: »

You could stick the rhubarb on freecycle and then the person picking it up could do the digging for you.

Personally as I love rhubarb I planted it our garden not pulled it out lol.

Our neighbour had an uneven bit of grass at the back that had been under a swing set for the previous owners.
He weeded by hand any dandilions etc, added a layer of topsoil which he then levelled with a borrowed roller. Then seeded it. Because of the grass underneath it seemed to thicken up really quickly.
ali x

i like rhubarb too, just dont want my son to be able to get his hands on it.
my dad suggested digging it and levelling it out but its far too uneven and its just a mess so really would prefer starting from scratch so to speak. many thanks for your suggestions though
wookey can i say i think something might have bee painted on it already as its a dark greasy colour, do you think, i think i will dig a hole round it and cut it down further, will the grass grow successfully over it?

toni_

ive just bought a house with a large garden, the grass was full of leaves and rubbish so we killed everything off by spraying it all with weedkiller then hired a rotavator to turn over all the soil and then we raked it all out so its more level. We're waiting till the weather gets warmer to grass seed it all but its looking pretty good as for you ruhbarb you could always but a fruit cage or make something yourself to cover it up from little hands

snagglepuss16

toni_ wrote: »

ive just bought a house with a large garden, the grass was full of leaves and rubbish so we killed everything off by spraying it all with weedkiller then hired a rotavator to turn over all the soil and then we raked it all out so its more level. We're waiting till the weather gets warmer to grass seed it all but its looking pretty good as for you ruhbarb you could always but a fruit cage or make something yourself to cover it up from little hands

rake it out, yes many thanks,why didnt i think of that lol,any advice on good grass seed and a good way to distribute it, also once everything was dead did you dig it up to dump it?

Wookey

snagglepuss16 wrote: »

wookey can i say i think something might have bee painted on it already as its a dark greasy colour, do you think, i think i will dig a hole round it and cut it down further, will the grass grow successfully over it?

There are several makes of tree killer on the market, there all pretty much oil based or have an oil content. No reason grass wont grow over it again, if you do want to dig it completely out it will give you somewhere to put the extra soil from the humps you level out

whichwhydoIturn

Hi I live in a house that has an area sectioned off (about 10ft x 8 ft long)in thr front garden that has stones ( little white ones in it .The garden has fencing to 1.5 side no gate,and looks like nothing .I have time off in April and am willing to get it looking smart with flowers.However i am stuck for ideas little money but am able to get at it.What would be the cheapest way of fencing or making it look like something.Could you help me with some ideas please.x

Wookey

Take a walk round any garden centres or nurseries near you and see if there is anything that catches your eye. Decide if you want low and easy maintenance or something that will need a bit of work thru the year but will probably look better for it. A few seed packets or bulbs won't cost you to much and see how you get on, there is no one solution that fits all and taking a year or two to get it into the shape you want is only to be expected.

whichwhydoIturn

Thank you ! Think gonna ebay and car boot to earn bit of cash for fencing & a gate.x

Wookey

When your out car booting take a look round for anyone selling boxes of bedding plants at reasonable prices.