New lawn

[mysteryduck]

Greetings all, the plan now is to have three 4ft square raised beds in the front (will get the tape measure out tomorrow to check they fit). Will keep the borders at the front and side walls for lavender and whatnot. Add some nice decorative pots round about. Maybe put some veg in one of the beds Another for alpine, maybe a dwarf pea plant in a pot, or a tiny squash. I think it might be pretty!

Was out at a new garden centre today and bought some nice shrubs, including a rather fetching dwarf magnolia. I was thinking about gravel round about the raised beds. But now I'm thinking health pearlwort as a "lawn". Any thoughts on that? tips or advice?

[nickdub]

Greetings all, the plan now is to have three 4ft square raised beds in the front (will get the tape measure out tomorrow to check they fit). Will keep the borders at the front and side walls for lavender and whatnot. Add some nice decorative pots round about. Maybe put some veg in one of the beds Another for alpine, maybe a dwarf pea plant in a pot, or a tiny squash. I think it might be pretty!

Was out at a new garden centre today and bought some nice shrubs, including a rather fetching dwarf magnolia. I was thinking about gravel round about the raised beds. But now I'm thinking health pearlwort as a "lawn". Any thoughts on that? tips or advice?

Sounds like a plan is coming together - a few random thoughts - obviously whatever you make the walls out of for your raised beds is a potential weak spot - so cost versus the length of time it is able to do the job is a consideration there, as is the appearance of the structure.

Pots are handy because you can vary stuff and it gives you flexibility to create a look, but they have a few downsides too eg watering in the summer if you go away, and leaving out in the frost in the winter as some plants really can't stand having their roots frozen

I'm not sure how hardy magnolias are - your local garden center or for that matter neighbours might be able to tell you.

health pearlwort - no idea :-)

BTW one trick if you want to go from a paper plan to actually envisaging it on the ground, but before committing, is to get some really large pieces of cardboard - then you can cut them to the shape of the beds you are thinking about and lay them roughly in place out on the ground - don't forget you'll need a bit of room to work, unless you have your own hot air balloon.

[mysteryduck]

Sounds like a plan is coming together - a few random thoughts - obviously whatever you make the walls out of for your raised beds is a potential weak spot - so cost versus the length of time it is able to do the job is a consideration there, as is the appearance of the structure.

Indeed! And thank you all again for the inspiration! Much better than my "fix the lawn" plan

Was thinking about these ones: Rowlinson planters. Planning to cut off the "lawn", remove undersoil. Put lawn back on the ground, put weed mesh down, put undersoil down, then planters on top. Will get some b&q no peat compost to fill at least one raised bed. Don't know if I should line the bed walls? (I read in a forum somewhere that it might not make a huge difference as the liner will rot anyway. Might paint on a wood preserver though?

Pots are handy because you can vary stuff and it gives you flexibility to create a look, but they have a few downsides too eg watering in the summer if you go away, and leaving out in the frost in the winter as some plants really can't stand having their roots frozen

I'm not sure how hardy magnolias are - your local garden center or for that matter neighbours might be able to tell you.

It said hardy, so I guessed it was ok. My only requirements are hardy, perennial (for the most part), small in stature, and purple or white, with a dash of red.

health pearlwort - no idea :-)

BTW one trick if you want to go from a paper plan to actually envisaging it on the ground, but before committing, is to get some really large pieces of cardboard - then you can cut them to the shape of the beds you are thinking about and lay them roughly in place out on the ground - don't forget you'll need a bit of room to work, unless you have your own hot air balloon.

Great tip! Got lots of cardboard lying around from recent Ikea purchases. They'll do the trick nicely

[rary]

Small flower beds is a good idea too. We are going with the raised beds approach, thinking that squares are easier to cope with. Thanks also for the turf instructions, but I'm slightly confused. I'm not sure where the soil in step five (grey) comes from.

The soil comes from step 2, the section in Orange

[mysteryduck]

The soil comes from step 2, the section in Orange

Brilliant, thanks! I was reading the sentence wrong, but it seems so obvious now..

What about the moss though? If it takes too long to rot.. and I put the moss block upsidedown, with roots above moss (but under some soil), can the moss regrow in the opposite direction? Or do I put the moss under the weed membrane, with soil (and subsoil?) on top of that? Should I use a membrane at all? And how do I tell the difference between soil and subsoil?

[nickdub]

most of the fertility of the soil is in the top 3 or 4 inches ie top soil. From there on down there are a lot of possibilities including any of : good soil, stone, clay, sand etc. the only way to be sure is to dig a hole and have a look - then decide how to handle it when you know what you are dealing with - free advice available on the presentation of more information here :-)

As for moss if you bury it a few inches or more down it will die and any extra humus is always a good thing.

I'm not a big fan of weed suppressing membranes, but if you are looking for a very low maintenance finish they can do a very good job, particularly if you want a path made with gravel or crushed slate for example.

[HoneyChild]

You can create a mini pond using a plastic washing up bowl or something similar. I plan on doing something in an area of my garden which seems to attract toads and newts. Something small is still better than nothing at all.

I forgot to link to a tutorial page which also has a little video;
https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved...eateaminipond/

[mysteryduck]

I forgot to link to a tutorial page which also has a little video;
https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved...eateaminipond/

That is ridiculously cute!!

[mysteryduck]

most of the fertility of the soil is in the top 3 or 4 inches ie top soil. From there on down there are a lot of possibilities including any of : good soil, stone, clay, sand etc. the only way to be sure is to dig a hole and have a look - then decide how to handle it when you know what you are dealing with - free advice available on the presentation of more information here :-)

As for moss if you bury it a few inches or more down it will die and any extra humus is always a good thing.

I'm not a big fan of weed suppressing membranes, but if you are looking for a very low maintenance finish they can do a very good job, particularly if you want a path made with gravel or crushed slate for example.

Fab! No membrane for me then I'm away for a week on the 20th, but after that will get to the digging!! .. might start a new thread actually, as this one is increasingly not lawn related..

[nickdub]

Have a good holiday - don't forget to add a few plants to your birthday present list :-)

[mysteryduck]

Have a good holiday - don't forget to add a few plants to your birthday present list :-)

Why thank you! But it's for work. And don't you worry.. I have a list already!!