My Garden Progress

Hello @Gail_68

Thanks for the kind words.

I have tried to rebuild the edges of the lawn where there was damage and hopefully the grass will spread into the areas from the surrounding lawn.

The easy solution would be to just recut the edges but to do so would remove approximately 5" of lawn edge which would be too much to lose.

I suppose the other option would be to cut out the section of damaged lawn, turn it 180 degrees so the good edge is now the border edge, fill the damaged area in the lawn away from the edge and reseed.

I will leave it for a while though and see if it improves first.

At least the weather is cooling down to be more my level of comfort, and hopefully more rain will follow

Thanks

Kevin

 

Kevin, you have described exactly the way to repair the edges to your lawn......i.e. cutting out the damaged turf, turn it, fill in with top soil and re seed. Tried and tested method and now, and for the next few weeks, is an ideal time to do it.

 

Hello @Verdun

Thanks for the confirmation.

I tend to work through every possible scenario mentally as I find visualisation extremely easy and that one seemed to be the best solution.

I am still trying to get back to some kind of normality but will attempt the fix soon, hopefully.

Thanks

Kevin

 

Your welcome mate...just nice to know your better.

I'd leave your lawn alone then mate and see how it establishes itself and if it doesn't come on then try your other options you've mentioned

 

Hello Gail

Thanks for the kind words.

I am looking for some advice at the moment regarding Ivy, which I really, really hate.

I have managed to cut down the Spirea Japonica Shirobana which had become overgrown just now since the Green Bin has been emptied, unfortunately it is now full again so I have to wait another two weeks for it to be emptied again :(

Anyway, after cutting the Spireas down it is apparent that there is Ivy intertwined in the plants.

Also, there also seems to be ivy roots all over the area.

I can find two main ivy roots, so my question is if I can either kill or remove the two main ivy roots will the offshoots die also or are they independent of the main roots.

If I have to I could have the two Spirea removed and then the whole area treated if that would be a better solution.

Anyone have any ideas what course of action I should be taking?

Thanks in advance

Kevin

 

Hello Kevin

You can kill the main ivy plant by cutting off near ground level exposing as much wood as possible and painting those cuts with SBJ or similar stump treatment. It will kill all offshoots unless they themselves have rooted.

Ivy roots are not deep and easy to pull out. I have cleared many a weed infested area by pulling out the long strands of ivy; of course, they root along their length to form independent plants.

If you like the spireas then keep them, if not really to your fancy then dig them out but a wholesale weedkilling of the area just for ivy is not necessary unless you have other perennial weeds there too then yes do that.

Ivy is not a straightforward weed to treat with weedkiller....it has a waxy surface resistant to many weedkillers ....there are though strong glyphosate-based weedkillers available for this......so the recommendation is to bruise the foliage first.

So, a stump killer for the 2 main ivy roots and a strong glyphosate for the rest.

Ivy is a pain...I hate it too.....but it is relatively easy to pull out. Then in future keep an eye out for ivy seedlings and pull out as you see them to eventually eradicate.

 

Hello @Verdun

Thanks for the information.

I did follow your advice about painting the cut ends of the Ivy Root previously which worked, however, these two Ivy Roots were not known about until the Spireas were cut down.

I would like to keep the Spirea if at all possible.

Good to know that killing the main root will also kill the offshoots.

One question though

If an offshoot has rooted then how would I kill it, cut and paint with stump killer?

Thanks for your help.

Kevin

 

Sorry kevin...I may have mislead you
Killing the main plants will only kill the side shoots directly linked to them. Those shoots independently rooted will need treating individually. Offshoots are best simply pulled
out.....you will find you will pull out several rooted pieces along the length. Or, spray with strong glyphosate or glyphosate products that claim to control ivy. These side shoots are likely to be more "green" than woody so not a stump killer for these

You dont need to dig up your spireas.....pull out ivy roots around them. Some patience on your knees may be required though

 

Hello @Verdun

Thanks for the clarification, it is appreciated.

Kevin

 

Hello all

I am still in the process of getting on top of the garden, it is taking a while but it is getting there

I have one garden border that over the years has receded due to re-cutting the edge which I want to build up again.

The border is shown here:



What I want to do is to build up the edge so that the lawn is once again level with the edge of the paving slab, has anyone any suggestions as to the best way to achieve this?

I had thought of cutting a square of lawn out, similar to when repairing an edge, move the square forward so that it is level with the paving slab and then fill the gap left in the lawn with top soil and seed.

Do you think this solution would work?

Thanks in advance

Kevin

 

Exactly the thing to do Kevin
Still ideal time to sow the seed too !

 

Hello @Verdun

Thanks for the confirmation, much appreciated.

Kevin

 

Hello all

The next stage in getting the garden under control is now complete

The garden gate has now been replaced with a solid T & G Gate:



This will hopefully give me more privacy in the back garden.

The gardener has also been in and cleared all the borders of weeds, or at least the majority of weeds:


Next will be the addition of new top soil as some of the borders have dropped a fair bit then compost will be added and dug in to all borders.

After that, the fun begins with planning for the planting in the Spring

Thanks

Kevin

 

Looking really good now Kevin
as you said, the fun part, planning and planting, is yet to come Choosing plants you really like, that suit your conditions and look good together

 

Hello @Verdun

Thanks for the reply.

I think the planning and planting stage actually scares me more than getting the actual work done.

Where to start?

Soil conditions are Alkaline and Sandy.

Thanks in advance

Kevin