Removing large gravel and making a lawn area on a budget, advice wanted please!

honeybee1234

I recently moved into a new house, and my garden consists of a slabbed area, along with an area of large gravel (not sure of the proper name!)

What I'd like to do is remove the gravel and get rid, and replace with some turf to make a lawn area with a border, and grow some non-specific flowers/plants that would be fairly low maintenance.

What's the best way to do this on a tight budget? 

Working_Mum

Hello there honeybee123,
I have done exactly this in an area at the bottom of my garden recently. I've copied the link below which may help give you a bit of inspiration. 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6251595/blank-canvass-garden-design-inspiration-needed#latest

I used the Supermarket bags for life to bag up the gravel. I put an "offer" of it on Freecycl3 and it was taken by a chap (he had a project for himself and then it expanded into one for his daughter too!). I think 4 people benefitted from it in the end. I also Freecycl3ed the weed membrane which was underneath -  another 3 people benefitted from it for their allotments paths!

I've now got to clear the broken roof tiles which are still in the soil (I think there is a garage under it all to be honest!). I am digging in plants as I clear the ground and some are going great guns.

I'd start with an idea of how you want to use your garden - where does the sun fall during the day - maybe draw up a little plan. You can then decide what needs going where - seating area, pots or plants dug in - somewhere to work i.e. pot up plants / potter around/ somewhere to store things like compost, lawn mower, tools etc. 

I have found the super market like Aldi, Lidl have been great for buying hydrangeas, acers and rhododendron. I also like Home B4rgains as they're not been super expensive and they've had a nice selection of easy care plants. M0rrison's have pop up garden centres at this time of year and they're great. I also check local garden centres for inspiration and price checking. There are a couple of charity run garden centre's close to where I live which have been great price wise and have a nice selection of plants. 

I have picked up cuttings from friends and family and potted them on. There are Open Gardens in my area and I always visit and buy plants from there - great value of money and you can buy what's inspired you whilst supporting local charities. I have Solomon Seal and Lily of the Valley all over my garden and they cost £4 each from an Open Garden!! Keep your eye out on Freecycl3 too as plants/ seedlings/ saplings are often posted on ours. I have potted up about 8 saplings into pots for my patio - I call it "my copse" as I try to combat a bit of climate change heat!

Poppies and aquilegia are great for self seeding - if any grow in an area you don't want them to be you just hoike them out when they're tiny!

It's such a super exciting time to have this blank canvas - the beauty of gardening is that there are no mistakes and you have to be patient to appreciate the process - there is a great, supportive community community on here too so ask any question you like and I feel sure someone will be along to help and cheer you on!

Good luck 

WM 

gwynlas

Offer free gravel on local marketplace sites such as Gumtree, you could bag it into rubble sacks if you have space to store  it. Probably will find landscape membrane beneath which will need to go to landfill. Soil can then be dug over and grass seed applied if you do not want the expense of turf. Labour intensive but low cost achieved.
There are alternatives to grass if you just want to break up the boring gravel and don't want the maintenance issues of a lawn.

twopenny

It's tough work getting up the gravel, liner and turning over the compacted soil so pace yourself.

Look up what's needed for the lawn base ie dig, level, tread down.

By autumn it's a good chance to buy grass seed. Cheapest buy loose from a diy store.

I hung on to the liner which was a better one than you can get in the shops now and used it here and there.

My friend used it to plant through to reduce weeding.

I made an area for the washing line so no wet feet in winter, also some reflected heat for clothes drying and a seating area with some of the gravel

What about a lawn with a dry gravel garden in one corner. Very low maintenance.

FreeBear

gwynlas said: Probably will find landscape membrane beneath which will need to go to landfill. Soil can then be dug over and grass seed applied if you do not want the expense of turf. Labour intensive but low cost achieved.

If the job had been done properly, you may well find ~75mm of hardcore/MOT1 under the gravel too. If so, digging it out is going to be major hard work. Although... It looks like some of the geotextile is poking out from the gravel in places. This suggests a cheap DIY job with just a thin layer of gravel (it should be around 50mm deep if done properly), hopefully on top of bare earth. Only way to find out is to dig over a small patch.

Brie

Lavenders and rosemary make nice plants though you have to get decent hardy ones.  I also like hebes - got a lovely one from Aldi when my dad died a number of years back.  Plant through the weed liner to save weeding much and cover that with bark chips for pretty.  The cats/foxes will still like it of course.  

honeybee1234

Hi everyone. Just wanted to say a massive thankyou to each of you that's replied, it's lovely that people take time out to offer helpful advice. 

@Working_Mum Great link and useful tips, thanks! I'll be having a reread in a bit when I have some more time.

@gwynlas I'm currently considering turf vs grass seed, I'd briefly thought about seed but thought it may take quite a while. I was roughly thinking I'd like to have something in place by the time the school summer holidays start so not sure what stage I'd be at with grass seed if I did that now?

@twopenny Read your reply and I'm thinking I may be a bit over-ambitious in my timescale, I was thinking I'd like to have something in place for the summer holidays. Obviously I realise it wouldn't be completely finished, more thinking of the lawn area?

@FreeBear I've not had a proper look but I think it was indeed a quick DIY job. I'll have a check later and see what it is. 

twopenny

In that case you'd need to have the whole lot up pdq - dig, rake and level then stamp down.

Buy turf and lay (not budget)

Keep watered for the rest of the summer. (not budget)

Can't walk on it for at least 3 vweeks but it won't be rooted for 6 weeks or so. Depending on how the water has penetrated.

https://www.turfonline.co.uk/blog/how-soon-can-i-use-my-new-lawn/

honeybee1234

@Brie Thanks for the tips, they're appreciated. 

@twopenny That's a useful plan, thankyou. I've not had to do much more than mow a lawn or weed borders before so this is all pretty new to me! 

Brie

Agree about turf vs seeds.  So much seed will be lost to birds and whether it rains or you water it will be a muddy mess for quite some time.  Laying turf is dead easy - I did our entire back garden in a couple of hours all on my own as OH was busy cooking a Sunday roast for his folks.  Made easier by the rain starting half an hour before I finished so no watering being required on day one so I had time to shower and put on a frock before the outlaws showed up. 

honeybee1234

Brie said:

Agree about turf vs seeds.  So much seed will be lost to birds and whether it rains or you water it will be a muddy mess for quite some time.  Laying turf is dead easy - I did our entire back garden in a couple of hours all on my own as OH was busy cooking a Sunday roast for his folks.  Made easier by the rain starting half an hour before I finished so no watering being required on day one so I had time to shower and put on a frock before the outlaws showed up. 

@Brie feel very reassured after reading this! I also hadn't thought about birds getting grass seed. 

Had a bit of a look earlier, it looks like there's a layer of membrane on top of soil, then a layer of soil with the gravel on top so think it'll be easy enough in that sense.