Rip it up and start again....
Rebecca Longson
Posts: 4
Hi, I'm so glad I've found this site! I'm new so bear with me please 
We have just moved into a new place and the garden needs A LOT of work.
We want to get rid of most of the greenery other than the hedgerows and the twisted willow I think.
We have a 1 year old so want a nice level grassy garden. I've managed to trim everything back a bit. There isn't much grass, mostly pebbles and mud really lol.
Does anyone have any advice on where to start and techniques? We want to do it ourselves as money is tight. Advice appreciated.
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Firstly, I'd get a skip and get rid of all of the rubbish you don't want.
I'd also put an ad in freecycle for some of the shrubs you don't want, must be dug up & removed by person collecting. Make it clear about what you want to keep, & what they're welcome to take. If no takers, then dig everything up you don't want.
Getting a bit late to grow lawn from seed, you may have to wait until next year, or later on in the year to lay a lawn from turf, as the weather is warming up, it would need a lot of TLC to get the turf to bed in properly, unless it's done by the end of April, other time to do it is September/October, then a sharp frost could kill it all if it's not rooted by then.
I think what I'd do, is a lot of the digging and clearing and levelling now, then cover the lot with weed-supressing membrane, and cover it with bark chips. That way your LO will have somewhere safe outside where they can play. Turf is very expensive to buy, so save up for some decent stuff and do it around this time next year.
Gardening is a slow process, so as has been mentioned in some other threads, don't expect an instant transformation. You look like you have a lot of pots there, so you could maybe grow flowers in some of those this year, and transfer them to flowerbeds next year. If you intend putting a swing or climbing frame in at some point, I'd keep the bark chips around that, they're a lot more forgiving on hands and knees than falling onto grass with solid ground underneath - grass won't survive directly underneath the swing, so bark chippings look neater.
I will be using the weed membrane/bark chips option later this year, when I've cleared the top part of my new garden of brambles, bindweed and nettles, whilst I get my veg garden started and some money saved for turves next year.
I'd agree with all of that except that I would set grass seed. It's very forgiving, just need to water if it turns dry.
In the sticks near Peterborough
Ooh good idea about the wood chippings, I may consider that for a play-area in the garden! Also, freecycle idea is a great idea! Deinately will save me some time and effort too! Time is limited due to having a demanding 1 year old lol
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Shouldn't be a problem finding homes for those mature shrubs, can you imagine what they would cost if they were available to buy at that size.
Trouble is, lots of folk want summat for nowt, and aren't prepared to put in the graft (ie, get in the car with spade and go and dig up stuff they want). I suppose the other thing you could do is dig them up yourself and car boot them, if you have any other stuff you want rid of, that could net you some money towards your lawned area.
I've seen adverts on freecycle where people are asking for leather recliners in a certain colour, flat-screen TV's (old CRT ones no good, actually specified on the ad), lots of folk out there get a bit fed up of want, want, want, with no stuff offered in return (I have ads where I'd like shed/chicken coop/greenhouse, but I'm prepared to travel to dismantle, and put the graft in, not a single reply - not that I blame them, these things cost lots new, so lots go on ebay.
One chap put in an advert on Freecycle wanting a porshe (not sure of spelling), very tongue in cheek, specifying colour, year, etc, and asking if it could be valeted and have a full tank of petrol before they delivered it to him. Made me laugh, as lots of very demanding posts, will really bad spelling and grammar from one particular poster the previous week.
When I've advertised, I've given the stuff to the first person that asked nicely, with reasonable spelling. If I give stuff away, I'd like it to be appreciated, and so far everyone that's picked stuff up have been nice to meet. I've had some quite rude responses - no thank you, no please could you consider me - one just asked when she could pick stuff up!!!
Maybe I should put this on the rant thread, don't like people being rude when you're trying to do them a favour!
Yeah I agree, some people want something for nothing. I have someone coming to look at 4pm and have told them they will need to dig them up and collect whatever they want.
I don't mind if they are prepared to come along and put in the effort.... And yea, I'll only reply to adds which seem genuine and not wanting for the sake of it.