my garden which needs loads of work.

[XtashaX]

i dont have loads of money to spend to get this garden right, so need some huge tips. i cut back most of the weeds on monday and since then we have had loads of rain so not been able to get back out there. but these weeds are horrible they come back no matter what you do. we have tried digging the hole thing over, drenched it in a good weed killer etc.. and they come back worse then ever, this year they was 6 ft high. its like a vine weed , nettles and thistles, all the gardens are the same around here, but some are paved so it helps. but to pave ours it will cost around £1000 which we just dont have. plus we want somewhere for the kids to play safe.the garden is about 24ft long by 15ft wide at the back and 9 foot wide at the front.
excuess the junk that has been thrown out since this picture was taking.
http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/6314/p7040062ld5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
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[CactusLady]

Well you've certainly made a good start with that and its a really good size.

I am sure you'll be able to have all the things you need in there, you know, play area, maybe a bit of lawn, and if your funds can run to it a decking area. I did know someone whose DH was very handy. He got a load of pallets really cheap and used those for decking, with some treatment and handcrafting of course :)

I suppose for the moment its just preparing the ground and thinking about what you'd like and maybe set a budget.

Well keep us posted - how do you do it with a wedding looming, kids and a bunch of kitties to look after to - you amaze me gal http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e85/ftby24/Smilies/remoteImage-69.gif http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e85/ftby24/Smilies/remoteImage-69.gif

[XtashaX]

i know , i end up leaving things till i have a bunch of things happening.:) i just got so fed up with looking out my kitchen window to a bunch of weeds, that i got the stremmer SP? and went out there lol yes it took me ages as the line kept breaking due to the thickness but it helped. the cats seem to like it , but a bit :sniffle: that i have taken away there hiding places lol

[Anakat]

It is a bit hard to tell from the pics, but that weed looks horribly like Ground Elder http://www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.uk/ground-elder.htm
It is almost impossible to get rid of. I would grass the lot, it is quite cheap to do it from seed just takes a bit of time. Once you start mowing it it will help to weaken the ground elder and anyway it's green :lolup: and grow flowers in containers.

[XtashaX]

just looked at the picture yep looks a lot like some of the weed we have, it spreads everywhere , grows up things and around things strangles them so to speak lol. i will try and get a close up of it, might help some.

[XtashaX]

ok some pictures. now looking it does look a little different??
http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/2091/p7040063zb2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
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this iis growing up an apple tree that is hanging over from next doors garden
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/4310/p7040065hi9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
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which leaves moudley apples in ours, no wonder i have a wasps nest out there somewhere.

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/2063/p7040064wf3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
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[Anakat]

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c194/Anakat/p7040064wf3.jpg

Both really hard to get rid of :bawling2:

[Barryz]

Looks like Ground Elder for me. Very nasty weed, but it can be killed by very regular trimming (moving). I had large areas in my garden, completely covered in it, but when DH started tu cut the grass there, it dissapeared - takes about 2 years, but then it is gone, an nice grass takes over it.
but the positive news for you - Ground Elder likes rich, good soil so it means that soil in your garden is in the good condition.
Which area do you live? What zone? Few hardy hostas always is a good thing to start with

[XtashaX]

im in south east london. at least i know it can be killed slowly but surely. will just take some work. so first thing i should do i dig it all over? weed killer everywhere, do the grass seeds, then mow it how often?

[Barryz]

oh, dig it out as much as you can, but it is quite hopeless... :) Grass seeds (is your garden shady?Then pick up grass seed mixture for shady areas). DH is mowing our lawns 2 a week, soemtimes more often (it depends on weather, if it is dry, sometimes only once a week, if rainy then more) DH is British so I presume do as you do it usual and all will be great. Only remember - no children or dogs for a month until grass start to establish
And cutting, cutting, cutting :)

[XtashaX]

ok thanks everyone for the tips.

[CactusLady]

any more thoughts then Tasha - what do you think you'll do ?

I was thinking about low maintenance plants and the such like, you know, get them at a resonable price, plants that are young and that will fill out into area really well :biggrin2:

Have a look at this BBC link (http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/htbg2/) on How to become a Gardener site - its by Alan Titchmarsh - its great and dead easy to follow. It walks you through the basics and does mention some low maintenance plants. Point No 7 is about the 'no time garden' :p thats what I like :clap:

Well have a look and let us know what you think :comp_surfin:

[XtashaX]

Hiya . i have an idea of what i want to do i will run you through it.
well first things first i have to level it all out so will be digging it over. then on the sides and back i will be putting that black cover thingy down with pebbles covering it with a fence going around it. then i will be doing the grass seeds like was suggested leaveing it a month then mow it once a week to help with the other weeds. and will be useing pots for my flowers in the fenced part to help with the weeds.
now in my head it sounds good weather it will be we will see lol.

[CactusLady]

Hiya . i have an idea of what i want to do i will run you through it.
well first things first i have to level it all out so will be digging it over. then on the sides and back i will be putting that black cover thingy down with pebbles covering it with a fence going around it. then i will be doing the grass seeds like was suggested leaveing it a month then mow it once a week to help with the other weeds. and will be useing pots for my flowers in the fenced part to help with the weeds.
now in my head it sounds good weather it will be we will see lol.

:clap::clap: yeah a good start - have you got any of your ideas on paper - I messed about for ages just sketching out ideas and stuff, it was helpful and of course it was something I could show DH :p one thing it certainly showed us was how big an area was and what the potential costs were going to be - it was a patio area that needed tiling so it was great for that too !

[XtashaX]

no i never thought about sketching it, but will deffently try that to see how it will roughly look. i will be posting in the tcs about the garden for some tips on the ex stray we took in anyhow as i never relised but his got very terror tortial SP? wont let my own cats in the garden and is spraying over everything in there.
thanks for the idea.

[Anakat]

If your cats go in the garden, gravel is not perhaps the best idea (they think it is cat litter :biggrin2:)

[XtashaX]

they have been ok in the front garden they end up digging in the potted plants:argh2: and decide that is the perfect place. or the other place they seem to like is the woodchip around the outside they also try and bury there dead mice there also:dead:, but will deffently keep that in mind thanks.