Ugly back garden

IceDiamond

Thanks for taking the time to reply, especially when you can't even see the garden. Maybe this might work as long as you put www in front of it
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If I could even get a better way to edge off the grass without those stupid wooden posts, as they make it impossible to do the edges.

I took the photos a while back so there's daffodils in the pots now, and something in the window boxes, though I don't know what its called. I've still got the powerwashing, cutting the grass, and deadheading to do.

torbrex

You could just remove the posts to allow you to edge the grass properly

IceDiamond

But then if I do that, the gravel will move onto the grass. How could I keep it off?

torbrex

IceDiamond wrote: »

But then if I do that, the gravel will move onto the grass. How could I keep it off?

The gravel wont move unless it is walked on and its is unlikely that there will be many feet walking over it without your knowledge (excluding cats)
You could edge the grass so that there is a few inches of bare soil between the gravel and the grass, also an opportunity to sow some seeds in there to add a little colour.

budgetdiyer

Is the level of the gravel higher than the lawn? If not consider laying a mowing strip.

I'm about to do this in my garden using block paving as an edge, i've got a near 15m run to do :-(

Basically the block sits level with the lawn and will also act as an edging to keep the gravel / lawn seperate. The mower will just run over the block and keep all the edges nice and tidy, you will still need to edge the edge of the blocks every now and then but alot less than you'd need to do it with the current log roll edging.

IceDiamond

torbrex wrote: »

The gravel wont move unless it is walked on and its is unlikely that there will be many feet walking over it without your knowledge (excluding cats)
You could edge the grass so that there is a few inches of bare soil between the gravel and the grass, also an opportunity to sow some seeds in there to add a little colour.

I must give that a try. There's not really much walking done in my garden, except for the local cats as you said.

IceDiamond

budgetdiyer wrote: »

Is the level of the gravel higher than the lawn? If not consider laying a mowing strip.

I'm about to do this in my garden using block paving as an edge, i've got a near 15m run to do :-(

Basically the block sits level with the lawn and will also act as an edging to keep the gravel / lawn seperate. The mower will just run over the block and keep all the edges nice and tidy, you will still need to edge the edge of the blocks every now and then but alot less than you'd need to do it with the current log roll edging.

Would that be hard to do? Would I need to do much digging? Maybe I could dig down to level off where the tiles are so they would be level with the grass on that side.

IceDiamond

Forgot to say, the gravel is higher than the grass unfortunately.

Amarillo

Given that you're planning to sell and your garden brightens up in the summer anyway, I wouldn't do a lot. A mowing strip is a good idea but given the gravel is higher than it's a pain and I'd be tempted to just put the log edging in properly.

Clean up the white wall at the front, tidy up where the lawn meets the patio, cut the grass, weed the gravel. Then I'd have a look in the garden centres and see if you can get some cheap spring plants to put in, there was an article saying how they are throwing loads due to the weather this year.

Spring bulbs, primroses, viola's etc will immediately cheer it up. You said you've got some in pots anyway. See if you can maybe get a forsythia to go against the brick wall and an evergreen clematis that flowers about this time - I think mine is called Early Sensation and it's about to burst into a load of white flowers, it's late this year. Flowering currents are pretty too. Invest in a spring flowering Camellia and a nice pot and put that strategically on the gravel. I was lucky and found a decent size one for a tenner that's about to transform a gravel corner of the garden. You'll be able to take the pit with you.

The thing with your garden is some people like lawn, some like gravel for low maintenance. Just make it neat and tidy with colour to draw the eyes from the boundary and save major efforts for your new garden when you get it .

merlot123

I would paint the wall white again, it has green stuff on it. The boards on your neighbours shed need painting (it would make your garden look better), remove the edging, I don't personally like it, I have gravel next to grass and its fine. The concrete path is dirty looking, I use cheap neat bleach and a broom. A few colourful bedding plants dotted around would complete the overall look.

I think if you have the paint, you could do it for £10 or less.