Having finally completed our house move, which dragged itself out over the Summer & included a move into temp. accom, I'm glad to say we have now nearly finished re-decorating and the next project is the garden. I say garden, jungle wouldn't have been more appropriate

Anyway, we have an 80 foot patch (about 12-15 foot width). We have starting clearing and digging & the plan eventually is to have 4 clearly defined sectors. (a) a paved patio/bbq area outside the back door. (b) a lawned garden area (which may eventually have a pond). (c) an allotment area to grow some veg, potatoes etc & (d) an area for a large shed.

Obviously this is a pretty major project and will take time to complete. Anyway questions for now.

1. getting rid of old roots - should we spray the whole area with round up, if so will this kill off any of the grass we currently have & how long should it be left on for
2. Should we hire a rotavator for the day, if so when ie prior or post spraying with round up. should the current (patchy quality) turf be dug up or simply rotavated in
3. The old boy who lived here previously has piles and piles of coal ash outside the back door - can this be dug into the soil

Thanks for any help. There will be more questions as we go along - lots more

From my limited knowledge, I think I recall hearing somewhere that coal ash is good for the garden. So yes, dig it into the soil.

Forget the pond, forget the veg patch, forget the BBQ area and get somebody in to turn the whole lot into a golf practice area. Chipping, putting, a bunker. Gawd knows you need it.

Failing that, you really need to get moving so it has a full winter to settle down. You may find it more cost effective to get a specialist in to clear the lot and then speak kindly to your nearest horse stables who will be more than happy for you to take a load of sh*te off their hands and get it dug into the whole area.

1. Use a product that does not kill grass, like SBK weed and root killer for docks, brambles and nettles. It needs at least 24 hrs of dry weather to get into the weeds and preferably some sunny weather to encourage the plant leaves to suck it up. It is systemic, which means it will get into the roots eventually - usually they show signs of wilting after 48 hrs and die off after a few weeks. If your lawn area only has daisy, dandelion, clover etc (usual grass weeds) use a product like Verdone rather than SBK as this is not such a severe product.

2. Don't use weed killers in your veg area as they stay in the ground for a few years and you really don't want your veg sucking up nasty chemicals. When digging the area try removing as many weeds and roots as possible and then spot weed with weedkiller by hand for any that appear in spring that you really can't get out. Hand weeding is far more effective than weedkillers as you are removing the whole of the offending plant rather than relying on it dying to the tip of it's roots.

Only rotavate after weeding the area (or if using weedkiller, after they are fully dead) or you will potentially double the number of perennial weeds such as docks, nettles, bindweed and brambles which grow from the smallest section of root.

3. Coal can contain arsenic and traces of other harmful metals, so only use on grass and flower borders where it will be fine. Don't use on areas that will contain food plants (veg/herbs/fruit).

I suppose that is the kind of sensible answer you were after, AK?

OK time for an update...

In the back garden:

The Hedge (4-5 foot) has been (s)trimmed & I've cleared about 1/3 of the garden including digging up a couple of tree stumps and some Pampas grass, so we can now see from one end to the other. probably another day or two's digging up, then it should be ready for spraying and then turning over.

Q1. If I spray, will it kill off the current grass as well as any weeds/roots
Q2. If I turn the soil over will I need to dig up the turf or can I just mix it all in together and the grass will eventually come through

My plan is to clear, spray, leave for a week, dig over, put on top soil & then either seed with grass seed or vegetables. Is this viable, in the correct order & will spraying prevent any seeds from coming through (If so how long before I can plant)

In the front garden:

I'm about 80-90% done. Having (s)trimmed the (2-3 foot) hedge, dug up a bush (& all its roots), cleared the path & borders, mowed the lawn, dug out the borders & a 5x4 foot patch in the centre for a flower bed (The Wife thinks I've dug her burial plot). I've sprayed all the soil areas this evening with Weedol Rootkill plus & used Bayer Garden Advanced Lawn Weedkiller.

Q3. How often do Hedges need to be clipped/trimmed/strimmed
Q4. How long before I plant any flowers
Q5. What is the best/most cost effective to use as 'topsoil'
Q6. Am I better off planting seeds or actual plants - which flowers should I be planting (looking for easy to look after stuff, with lots of bright colours - pinks, purples, reds & whites.) Looking for small shrubby type flowers round the sides with a larger but not too large centre piece.
Q7. Will the flowers be in bloom all year, if not should I be looking for plants that all bloom around the same time or have them come through at different times.
Q8. If the flowers are in bloom from April to June for example, what happens at the end of June are they dug up & new stuff planted or do they have to be cut back - if so how and when.

Finally, the veg plot:

Q9. Should I leave this until March time or is their stuff I can be planting between the end of October to the end of December

Thanks for all the earlier advice, Ohh and good idea Jonathan I may put up a practice net at the bottom of the garden so I don't have to go to the driving range

Some seriously difficult questions there, Adrian My advice is get yourself a good gardening book or three, one which takes you through every calendar year, because there is so much variation in advice you could get for any of those questions it would take hours to write. Titchmarsh, like him or loathe him, has some good through-year books available.

One bit of advice is, once you have your basic garden shape and soil in place, make sure you test the soil so you know which plants will be happiest in your environment.

Q2. Turf stripped from soil, laid grass against grass eventually breaks down and makes fantastic loam for top dressing and general soil improvement, so I would strip the grass off and store as described, then dig the ground over. Look up double-digging on t'internet, too,

Q5. Don't scrimp on top soil, and make sure you can get to check it out first. Anything too sandy won't go very far, and anything too chunky and stoney will be a pain for years to come. Go for sterilised soil, otherwise you will be plagued with weeds forever and a day, too.

Q6. Probably a combination of the two. You can get great deals online these days to have small plants delivered to your home, and a lot of sites will sell flower bed packs - predesigned colour schemes and planned to flower from spring right through to autumn. Now is a great time to order plant catalogues, make your plans and get everything delivered for the spring - you have missed the autumn planting season.

From there, you can then read your gardening books and take regular cuttings of all our plants throughout the season and really grow your garden. Simples.

You will make loads of mistakes, but the great thing about gardening is, you can always fill a hole back in if you dig it in the wrong place, or move a plant which is not happy where you first plant it.

HTH

Please bear in mind this is very amateurish, but this should give you an idea on what I think the front garden will eventually look like. I'd appreciate ideas on the best flowers to use alongside the path & for the flower bed itself - also looking for an idea for a centrepiece (be it plant, water feature or even some sort of statue).



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Why does there have to be a centre piece? Are you going to have walks around it? Why not push it into the top right corner, half your flower bill and have some grass to put the sun loungers or whatever on...

The front garden is not especially big & is basically purely decorative. The back garden will be patio'd, sun loungers, bbq, lawn, veg plot etc (Back garden is massive)

Adrian. Think diagonal rather than parallel. Go across at angles rather than straight up and down. Your plot will feel larger and it will create areas of greater interest. Get yourself into the nearest garden centre and take a look at the garden design books.

How you going to get from the path to the grass and centre piece? Step over flowers everytime. Tweet Alan Titchmarsh, see if he has any ideas.
I think though, you need curves in a garden. Its natural, like flowing water, ridged gardens are for stately homes to emphasis strength.
I'd have the flowers near the house, so that's what you look at then, separted it wtih grass area then have your veg and shed.

From a quick skim...........

Have you thought of putting the BBQ bit at the bottom of the garden? Sounds daft, but it works on a number of levels, including keeping the stink out of the house to people actually staying in the garden, rather than watching X Factor or Strictly - jeepers Sven's ex has an amazing bod considering she must be however old, and who did Tess Daly's make up?

Try a little herb garden near the back door - but don't put mint into it!

The ash\soot is excellent for clay soils - if you have this then digging it over will shag your back, and not in a good way

Practise nets are a waste of space as you do not see the flight of the ball, but chipping into a net is worthwhile