what do I do first

ivy tree

We are laying a new lawn and I would like to know if its best to put some of my plants in where the borders are going to be before we put the turf down  as they have been in pots for a few months,we dug them up for moving house? all the top soil is down and I will be putting the fertilizer down before the turf, but not sure if it's best to do the plants after the lawn has settled and got established, thank you

AnniD

Must be honest, I'm a great believer in getting plants out of pots and into the ground as soon as possible.Ths gives them a chance to get established before the winter.With the amount of rain we are having at the moment, this should be quite easy to do (and cuts down on the watering!)   

Guernsey Donkey2

I agree with Chloe, but would suggest you check that your potted plants aren't pot bound and not kept in full sunshine (what sunshine - none here). With every move there is a chance that one or two may die, or not flower this year, but with a little maintenance they should be rearing to go next year.

AnniD

Looks like I'm outvoted  maybe I'm biased as l've lots of plants in pots waiting to go into a new bed & I'm getting twitchy !

ivy tree

Thank you all may be I am getting a head of myself and a bit twitchy as AnniD put it, Plants seem ok in their pots i will plant later

Last edited: 02 August 2017 21:03:55

KT53

It's much easier to lay the turf if there aren't any plants in the way.  Once the turf is down and cut back to the border line there's no reason why you can't plant up immediately at that point.  Just make sure you stand on boards to protect the turf.

hogweed

I vote for getting plants into the borders as soon as possible. There is no reason they will interfere with putting the turf down - not as though you are planting right to the edge of the grass. So I say go for it - sooner the better. 

The only word of caution I would say is that if you are going for organic shaped borders, it is only when the turf goes down that you get a good idea as to whether the border should be wider or narrower or a slightly different shape. It is therefore a bit more difficult to change the border shape if it has already been planted up.

Iamweedy

If your plants have already been  in pots waiting for a while, I would get the border marked out PDQ and the plants in place first. Then the plants might be able to get more established before autumn comes.

The turf is probably easier and maybe cheaper to get going a bit later in the season than the plants.

However all gardens  have their own conditions with daylight, soil type etc etc.One solution does not fit all.  

Last edited: 03 August 2017 10:31:01