Replacing small grass area for gravel?

carrieholroyd

I have this tiny bit of grass out the front of the house. The lawn mower has broken and ideally I do not want to replace (due to storage too). Any ideas what I could do with it? Was thinking some kind of gravel maybe? The issue is it isn’t level under the window, slopes towards the window but has a drain (needs straightening to fix drain pipe back in) and something else (not sure what it is, think it’s coming out by the phone line/internet connectors). Also, the slabs are uneven/lifting. Seen some pretty stepping stones but again, don’t know if this is a good idea as bins need to go this way to be put in the back garden.

Want low/little maintenance. 

Any ideas at all? 

Anyone with any pics of similar areas? 

Thank you 

Fairygirl

You could simply remove the slabs as well as the turf, and then gravel the whole area.
You could add a few shrubs planted directly too if you want some greenery. The ground below the turf would probably need a bit of beefing up if you want to add planting. 
Alternatively, you could just have some containers. 

Just be aware that even a small area of turf takes a bit of effort to lift, and then you need to dispose of it unless you have somewhere to keep it until it breaks down. It can then be used in existing beds or borders if you have any. You need to dig out about three inches to give you enough depth for some membrane then the layer of gravel   

carrieholroyd

Thank you for replying. I would probably add some greenery in pots. Would we need to level out under the window? (There is that grey pipe thing which is my concern as levelling it would cover that), or would we just leave the slight slop? I definitely think the flags need removing. Maybe some white stepping stones or something? We only live on small cul de sac but ours is in the corner so hopefully won’t look out of place for being different.

Fairygirl

It looks like a very tiny slope - my garden has a bigger slope than that - so I doubt you'd need to worry about that at all. Once you remove the turf and add the gravel, you'd be at the same level as the grass is. 
It would be worth getting the down pipe checked to make sure it's properly connected first. 
I think stepping stones might make it more difficult to move bins, but that's something you can look at yourself 

carrieholroyd

It’s definitely not connected properly. It’s slipped sideways and lodged in the wrong direction. You’ve made it all sound very doable. Suppose if we hate it will be easy to rectified/change.

Fairygirl

It won't  be difficult to do - it just requires some physical effort. Turf is easier to lift when it's damp, so it might be better to wait until you've had some decent rain if the ground's dry.
I replaced my back lawn earlier this year. I was going to renovate it all, as I'd had builders in on a couple of occasions which left it looking lousy. I made a new pond and gravelled the whole area, tying it in with the existing paths, and added more planting too. It took a while because I did it when we'd had some very dry weather, so it was a bit at a time 

Chris-P-Bacon

Go for it - gravel and a few terracotta pots (maybe with clipped evergreens) will look smart.

Ergates

I’d be very wary of trying to level the ground under the window. Can you see where the damp proof course is? Can’t see it on your photo, but you need to make sure that it is well above ground level to avoid creating damp problems.
If it was mine, I’d be tempted by gravel under the window, with maybe a pot or two, and a row of small shrubs in front of the fence.