Front garden makeover needed on a VERY low budget

sb44

Our front garden is an eyesore.

The people we bought from had just put gravel down so that they could park 2 cars so there is gravel where a lawn would have been and the drive is like a crazy paving that also looks a mess but I don't think we can do anything with that side of the garden for now.

It isn't a nice looking gravel either, looks like the stuff from the beach and the weeds are coming through all over the place (the depth of gravel was only about a couple of centimetres!).

The ground is so hard that my husband took a hammer and chisel out there yesterday to get some dandelion weeds up.

Anyway, I want to make it look better almost instantly but I have virtually you know what all to spend on it so I am talking about £50 here if that.

I am not bothered about something that is going to last for years to come as I know we will need to spend a bit to get anything decent, I just want it to look like we do care about what it looks like (which it doesn't at the minute).

The area is about 10' x 14' if that.

Once the weeds have all been removed it is a very flat area.

I shall tell you what I was thinking and you can give me any ideas that may help me.

Ok, because I want something that is quick and cheap I was thinking of putting down some of this:

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav/nav.jsp?isSearch=true&fh_search=black+bark&selected=products

I have a few evergreen plants in planters in the back garden so I thought of planting these or even leaving them in the planters and spreading them around the garden and having this bark around the to cover up the carpy soil.

I was thinking of putting down mulch before I saw this bark but have been told that mulch stinks, does anyone know if the bark does?

I also thought of getting just a few paving stones from B&Q to use as stepping stones, wouldn't need many in this size of garden.

Any ideas folks?

absfabs

You can save yourself a lot of future weeding if you put down some weed-suppressing membrane under the bark/pebbles. You can always make some slits/holes when you want to plant your evergreens.

hardpressed

As it's a relatively small area, rake the gravel to one side, spray with weed killer, then as asbfabs says, put down a weed suppressing membrane, then rake the gravel back. If there's room get a few tubs with some pretty plants and jobs done.

sb44

absfabs wrote: »

You can save yourself a lot of future weeding if you put down some weed-suppressing membrane under the bark/pebbles. You can always make some slits/holes when you want to plant your evergreens.

I have seen this before, some say it is worthwhile, others not.

If I would only be putting bark on it would that be heavy enough to hold this stuff down or do you have to pin it down?

sb44

hardpressed wrote: »

As it's a relatively small area, rake the gravel to one side, spray with weed killer, then as asbfabs says, put down a weed suppressing membrane, then rake the gravel back. If there's room get a few tubs with some pretty plants and jobs done.

Ok, well I can do the weed killer bit and buy some membrane to put down but the gravel is def coming up.

It looks flippin' horrible and that is the whole point of redoing it so that will be raked up and taken to the local tip.

AndysDad

If you don't want the hassle of taking the pebbles to the tip,be green and put them on Freecycle I'm sure someone will want them and save you a trip to the tip.

Lotus-eater

Bark is a mulch...
You have to cover it in someway, grass or gravel or bark. Definitely put membrane under bark and weedkill the weeds before you do it.
I agree with hardpressed, thats what I would do.
And I was going to say what Andysdad did as well I was!

RAS

Hi

Couple of thoughts.

Put the gravel on www.freecycle.org - free in exchange for raking it up and taking it away. Someone will want it.

Consider keeping the gravel under the window -it makes a noise when walked on and is a good burgular deterent.

If the garden faces south (the sun is in front of you at 1pm if your back is to the wall), then watering pots would be a night mare, so it would be better to plant stuff in the ground, even if you have to dig a pit and move some ahlf dent soil in.

There are a number of climbing annual plants - nasties, sweet peas,etc, that are very cheap and a 29p packet from LIdl would make a huge impact in the short term.

blue-kat

ask on freecycle for some paving slabs to make a path through your bark chippings?
keeps your feet clean when the bark is all soggy after it's been raining for weeks.

or maybe someone's got some leftover bits of decking to build a raised area for pots?

bear in mind you may need to buy a sack of bark chippings every so often to keep it topped up.
you say you hate the gravel, but I'd be tempted to use some of it under your bark to eke out further and weigh the landscape fleece stuff down.it's surprising how much mulch is needed to get a good covering.

Nomad25

that mulch stinks, does anyone know if the bark does?

:rotfl: mine does, the cats use it as a toilet .

sb44

Thanks for all of your ideas and advice folks.

I didn't think of saving the gravel to hold down the membrane and then covering it with bark, that could be an idea.

Shall have to have a rethink and price up the membrane.