In need of advice for drastic change!

Hi everyone,

I joined this forum in the hopes of getting some helpful advice from people who know what they're talking about.

I have a garden that is very overgrown and neglected and is in need of some drastic changes.

There is a patio area directly behind the house, which extends around 7-8 feet backwards, then there is a large lawn which fills the rest of the garden area.

The lawn section can no longer be called a "lawn" more like a jungle! There are large weeds that extend to around 5-5 1/2 feet.

Now I need some solid advice on how to get rid of all of this...permenantly with a mind to turn it into a low maintainence garden consisting mainly of gravel and pathways. I have tried all sorts of weed killers but nothing seems to help. What kind of equipment would be needed to undertake a task like this?

I have attached photos of the garden to see how bad it is.

Thanks for any help people!

 

with a rotivator, and a bit of sweat, you could clear that area in a day .... if you are planning to plant some lawn, don't wait too long (especially if you are going to seed), as winter is fast aproaching

 

Ok thanks guys...the garden is actually pretty big and extends to the left...the photos don't show that very well. Anyway a rotivator it is then! So I chop down the big brown ones..should I try to get rid of as much as I can by hand before the rotivator?

If I rotivate, how do I stop them all from coming back? As this is my mum's garden and she doesn't have any time for maintaining a lawn...is there a way to make the ground basically infertile? Then it would be easier to create gravel based garden without anything growing through!

Also there seems to be a lot more soil on there than there should be. Some parts have small hills on them! Would the rotivator help to even it out? Where can I hire one anyway?

Sorry for the questions...I just want to get this sorted! I'll post pics of my progress when I tackle it next week if anyone wants to see?

Thanks!

 

Good replies,

To echo the dock situation, cut the blighter's down but make sure they are disposed of or burned. Even if sprayed off now, the seeds will remain viable and will shed from any cut stalks just left lying around


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Ok that sounds more managable now...I think I'll definately need a rotivator, as others have tried to strip it down last year, but then left it as it was, sprayed weed killer and then by the time spring and summer came back around, it all grew back just as badly.

So i could probably rotivate, then go around and remove roots and stuff manually. It's gonna be some bloody hard work!

Thanks for the helpful advice!

 

place a free advert on your local gumtree site (www.gumtree.com ) ... ask for a gardener/labourer to assist and offer £7.00/hr... you may get loads of responses and will sort it it quick time ... (if you hire a labourer for 7 hours, it will cost you £49 ... 7 hrs may be enough to sort the garden if you help)

 

Good idea, but I already have someone that will help!

I'm looking at a rotivator hire now...it has 3 different options; 5HP, 7HP or 9HP.

Does anyone know the difference? Either way its between £20-45 for a day.

 

Joyce DO NOT use a rotorvator on the garden without first killing everything off with weedkiller. Because there are Docks present you will probably have to spray everything more than once. Treat the weeds this year, rotovate next year.

 

Joyce has no intention of planting lawn in the garden ... so no need to wait until next year....

I'd rotivate and clear the area now, then use plastic sheeting and stones

she will have to periodically spray with weedkiller even if she uses stones ... (I have seen weeds grow through plastic sheeting with stones ontop of the plastic)