Can anyone give me advice on where to start with this:

icklejulez

I am currently in the process of purchasing a house and the property is in need of a lot of external work, the garden being one of the problems. I have a photo of the garden Im not sure how to upload can anyone tell me how? The garden is I think approx 90foot by 30foot after viewing it the other day and has a lot of concrete, overgrown trees etc in it. Once I upload the picture Im sure you'll see I need a lot of advice.

PS I need to do it on as small a budget as possible, and dont have much experience however I am good at learning new skills.

mariauk

Morning!

Sign up with https://www.photbucket.com and the upload your picture from your pc. When you have done it you will have the different boxes at the bottom of the photobucket picture.

URL Link
HTML Tag
IMG Code

Copy and paste the third one( IMG CODE) in your post and it should include your picture. HTH

Maria

icklejulez

I may be being silly but from the link you posted where do I go from there???

mariauk

You will have to register with photobucket and then somewhere on the main page it will say "upload photos" click on that and there will be a browse button, this will take you to your pc documents. Double click the picture you want and then click on "upload now" on photobucket. It then creates an online album with your pictures that you can return to and add more pictures/videos.

mariauk

I just found this http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=4576038&postcount=24

SRA`s explanation is probably far better than mine

icklejulez

Thanks: To everyone here is a picture of the garden in our new house. The tree to the back right of the garden is actually growing sideways and a few trees appear to be dead. However one of our friends is a tree surgeon who can be bought with a few cold beers.

Anyone know where to start with this, the costs of doing it or how long it may take???

Oops heres the garden:

emmaroids

thsi front bit would make a loverly patio, and i would half the rest (were the path is) and sow grass in one side and grow veggies in the other.

as for price, do you know a builder?? maybe they can get you some cheap slabs,
as for the rest, a bit of donkey work would be the order of the day.

dianadors

I'd dig up all the concrete. I would lawn the back bit and put a border around the edge. I would create a new path at the side of the garage ( you could leave the shingle in for this,) and then grow veg on the left hand side. This would be a budget way to use the space until you got more money together and wouldnt take too long to do.
Good luck and dont forget to post piccies as you go.

icklejulez

Any ideas how to dig up the concrete in the most economical form and also how to prepare the area for turf. Does it need to be level? Do I need top soil etc???

emmaroids

a sledghammer would work, or you could hire a jackhammer but that may be too much for the job.
yes it will need all the stone taking out and a good dig over, rolled before you lay turf.

mikeywills

I would n't lay turf I would seed it, it will take about three months to come good but will be a lot less expensive than turf, and its a good time to start doing this April is when grass really starts to take off.

After digging up the concrete, with a sledgehammer and crow bar, or a jack hammer if you know anyone who has one dig over the soil underneath. This will need to be left for about a week to let the ground settle, this will make it a lot easier to rake over, and get rid of the big lumps. You are looking for a fine level surface. An alternative to rolling, you can walk over the ground with big boots and tiny little steps just inching forward going up and down and side to side. The purpose of this is to compact the soil so that you don't get hollows appearing where the soil settles after you have seeded. rake over ground and scatter with grass seed this can be picked up for about £5 a box. With the back of the rake just gently pull it across the soil so that the seeds are covered over. Now comes the important bit, make sure you cover this area with some netting to keep the birds and cats off it. Within a couple of weeks you will see the seeds germinate and start to grow, after about 6 weeks the grass will look like it needs a cut, but don't leave it at least another two weeks before doing this, and only then cut it on its highest setting. You should be able to remove the netting now though. Cut every couple of weeks for the next couple of months and add some feed and some extra seed wherever there are bald patches. By July you will have a nice lawn, and at the fraction of the cost of turf.