Please help - advice required (pic in post)

theatretony

Just want to know if I am going about this the right way. My front garden is a mess and I would like to gravel it over, but funds are very tight, at the moment I have covered the grass over with a sheet and eventually I will be putting gravel down. My gardening skills are near to zero, so excuse my stupid question!! Just want my garden to look nice for a change.

Below is a pic of the garden in its current state (as of yesterday).

My back garden is alot bigger and longer, and that looks great - all neat and tidy, 'tis just the front that is 'doing my head in'

SallyForth_2

I would imagine that the work needed to lay gravel isn't going to be your cheapest option. You will need to clear all the greenery, dig it down a little, put some decent weed represant fabric down, before the gravel can go down, and then you need to buy gravel!

I would suggest you don't go for a big bang approach, but tackle the problem in smaller tasks. Can you get your hands on a strimmer? I would strim all the unwanted growth down especially up to the walls and under the hedge (without damaging the hedge itself), and mow the rest. Then if you can get some sort of feed and weed product for lawns, put that down, and keep the mowing going, the weeds will eventually lose the battle and the grass will look more healthly.

Then, you have a more appealing canvass to work with, perhaps dig boarder to put plants in, or lay some slabs into the grass to a level which can be mown over. It's not a huge space, so although it sounds like loads of work, it will get better.

The last thing which ideally could do with attention is that hedge, can it be clipped back a bit, or even trimmed down from the top, so the space doesn't look so claustrophobic?

theatretony

Thanks for the advise. The gravel route appeared to be the easiest option, as I can get trade price on gravel through a customer. The garden is the 'odd one out' in the street. This is because my house is in the middle of a housing assoc. and the other houses are rented and mine is bought.

Hence why I want it to look nice without having the expense of buying and installing a new metal fence to match...

Google maps street view:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?client=firefox-a&channel=s&hl=en&q=ls14+6af&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Leeds+LS14+6AF,+United+Kingdom&gl=uk&ei=QGz6S-uxFYn80wS2-5jqBw&ved=0CBYQ8gEwAA&t=h&z=16&layer=c&cbll=53.803725,-1.475164&panoid=N_uGVfzQyrJmzDgUSupqKg&cbp=12,230.93,,1,14.01

Therefore, everyone else has metal fencing, I don't as i refused to pay £2,000 to have that done for such a small area and to have the house painted would have cost £700 which to me was a serious overcharge....

Kay_Peel

I think you're being a bit ambitious at the moment. Really, all that garden needs is a tidy up at this stage.

I would get a strimmer (or borrow one), or a tough lawnmower. I would then simply cut the grass and weeds right down. I can see that the ground is bumpy and not level but that shouldn't faze a tough lawnmower or a strimmer. How long would that take? 15 minutes?

I'd cut back the hedge, snipping off the bottom branches, taking a good 12 inches off the middle section and cutting deep into the top section. It will slope backwards from bottom to top. How long would that take? 30 minutes?

Once everything was flat and cut back, I'd be able to see a very nice plot with the potential for a wow! factor. I wouldn't gravel it at all. I'd think about one small project for this year - perhaps making a border from the gate to the front door - and I'd just concentrate on giving it a weekly strim to keep it flat and neat.

And that's all I'd do for the time being. It's all about bite-sized chunks and not giving yourself a headache, I think. Once the plot is tidy you'll be able to appreciate that you've got a lovely garden that isn't as bad as you think and doesn't need much money spending on it.

:beer:

rhiwfield

I'd tend to agree that the garden first needs a tidy, using a strimmer and a hedgecutter/pair of shears. Its not a large garden so that shouldnt take long at all.

The wooden fence/gate could be smartened up with woodstain and two coats of masonry paint could help the house fit in with the neighbours if that was your preference.

katholicos

Here is what i would do if it were my front garden:

1. Cut the hedge so it doesn;t stick out all over your grass/garden. You will gain more garden space and it will look a whole lot neater and tidier (this is not a criticism).

2. Get that plastic/tarpaulin up as soon as. Borrow a mower/sttrimmer and cut the grass/weeds down to a nice low level. And treat with Weed and Feed.

3. Dig a 15 inch or so border out of the grass from your front gate to your front door and buy some cheap bedding plants (they are on offer now at all garden centres) and plant them.

4. If you can get your hands on a couple of slabs or small bags of gravel, dig up an area between your front door and front window....and lay the gravel, slabs, then put your wheelie bins side by side on top of it. Both facing towards the road.

5. Paint/creasote your fence and gate. Paint/stain it/creasote it a nice bright colour to make it look vibrant or go for a more subdued look. Consider doing your front door in a matching colour.

6. Put up a small bracket between your front window and front door...a little hugher than your door number. and buy or pot up a small hanging basket (use more cheap plants).

7. Make or buy a new door number plaque.

8. Pull up the weeds/grass that are growing out of your garden and over the front pavement.

I think all the effort could really pay off and indicate that your house is a private house and not rented etc. All this requires minimal effort and will cost next to nothing compared to gravelling your front garden.

theatretony

A lot of good ideas there... tried to cut back all the weeds from the pavement that have grown through and that looks a bit better.

katholicos - where you say to put the bins, there is already concrete there (about 10 inches wide) so bins unable to go there unless I remove the grass a few inches.

Never thought about painting the fence (stupid I know), but will look into that as it cannot look any worse than it is...

Just wish it was as easy as the back garden... that is the same width but the length is about 70-80ft and has a nice patio in the middle...

SallyForth_2

It looks like most of us have the same vision, and now that I have seen your googlemap of it, you have a very nice front which won't need much to bring up to scratch.

I wouldn't worry a jot about the metal fencing, yours looks great, it just needs a coat of fresh wood preservative.

Strimming, cutting and clipping, will work wonders.

RAS

Hi

ignore the issue about the metal fence in the short term.

Clear the weeds on the pavement edge. Put some new stain on the wooden fence,.

Cut back the grass with a strimmer, hard, then speak to the neighbour and tackle that privet hedge. Take it back into the old wood and it will start to re-sprout in about three weeks whilst it will take for ever if you leave it until teh autumn.

Can you keep you bins at the back of the house? if not think about getting a couple of pieces of trellis and fitting up a bin store left hand side of the garden, backing on the hedge. That will make your front door more attractive.

Dig out a small border in front of the windows (say 50cms) and plant that up; use a climber by the door. That makes the front window less attractive to thieves as well.

frogglet

I agee with the other comments, trim the hedge , remove the plants sticking out under the fence and paint the fence green to match the metal ones and it wont look so different. cut the grass and feed and weed it, you will soon have a lovely green gardn.

mazinmouse

Don't get rid of the grass. Lift up that blue tarpaulin asap and hope grass isn't dead already. Regular strimming should keep the weeds in check and if not you can always use a weed and feed product. Gravel is not quite as maintenance free as you imagine. We used to have to rake ours regularly to get all the little bits of leaves and twigs and stuff out of it.