Hi Guys.Just moved into a new property and the garden is in need of a makeover

IWelcome to Goy all of you, hope you enjoy it here and are settling into your new house. Things look rather damp there at the moment ( as everywhere!) I wouldn't rush but live a little and find the sunny/shady spots and see if anything else appears worth keeping. Shoot me down if you like but do you need the lawn?

Lot of wear and shade on that lawn? In the spring you could give it a good scarifying/spiking. The bare patches re seed with a heavy use and shady area grass seed, Feed regularly, cut the grass as it grows not letting it get long or dry and top dress in the autumn.
However, I would consider re turfing it to get the thickness and at the same time put paving where the doors/gates are to cut down wear. I suspect you have some pretty plants on that fence if you wait and see it may pay off?

I'm not sure I'd returf at all yet - its' hard to know why that lawn's in such a state - could be too much wear and tear, or it could be not enough sun and no care at all. I think I'd give it till Autumn to see how well (or not) it does with a bit of cutting and Lawn Weed and Feed or something, and by then, you'll know just how much sun it gets or not. Also, is that the whole garden, or is there more of it that's paved before the raised supporting wall I can see in the bottom edge of the second pic? A clue as to how big it actually is would be useful, too.

think i would returf , looks a bit past it, depends how long you want to wait, or do you want instant,

Personally I'd get rid of the grass altogether... What are you wanting it for?

i love to see grass MB, and love the smell when i cut it, guess everyone is differant ;o)

id think about what you want from your garden now and in the future.id look and see what other neighbers are growing succesfully excuse my spelling.do you want water feactures.have you got pets or do you feed birds etc.the real true beauty of your garden is that its flat and basicly a blank canvas which means the world is your oyster in your garden.id look at lots of gardens,go round garden centres and see what you like and write down the plants details .maybe sketch from above bye measuring your garden and downscaling it onto a bit of paper and putting your plants on the paper.you have some time before the best planting time .its worth planning now rather than jumping in and regretting it.its not that hard realy.you can get softwear on garden design . i designed mine and a few others including my mums .better to get it right now and love it than rush and make do i think.personaly id dig that old grass up and returf it for the sake of £100 perhaps.also take your taste from indoors outdoors so they merge.there are so many possabilities but you are the only one with that perticuler part of the planet in yours hands.a stitch in time saves nine.anyway welcome and i hope weve helped and given you something to think about .there are hundreds of different lovley gardens and people on here and millions id guess of lovley plants.take care bye for now .

cucumber sliced and cut grass are 2 of my fave smells on the planet.strange that im not keen on cucumber lol sanbaz xx.

love cucumber nosey can eat it like a fruit lol :o)) x

i love the smell . water melon is like it when you get real close to the outside.yum yum red melon with a sprinkle of brown sugar (dribble) lol xx

Wow, thank you for all your replies guys. Wasn't expecting such a response.

Pamg - TY for your welcome to GOY and this is a brilliant website. Were settling in lovely TY and yes it is a little damp here. The drainage isn't great in my garden and lack of sun doesn't help. I am going to wait till summer before removing any unwanted plants flowers that arise. I am going to shoot you down though as I'm a massive fan of lawn and love the look of it when lush. I'm not a fan of stones or total paving. Thanks for your reply

Drc - Thank you for your idea and I've already spiked it last week to help with drainage and it's better than it was when we 1st moved in a month ago but still not great. To much rain & snow. lol
I was drawn towards returf rather than reseed as there's no guarantee that the seeds will work. Also i'd say 75-80% of the lawn is covered in moss. Where I made a border & turned the mud over at the back and sides, The moss was just peeling away with ease. When I do the moss killer in April I don't think they'll be any lawn left so returf is prob the only way to go. Why do I have to wait till April before putting the moss killer down? Would it do any harm to do now?
The side gate is rarely used but that corner will be dug with low height plant/shrub or a paving stone. Haven't decided yet.
Looking forward to the back section just to see what blooms up!!
Thanks for your reply

Bamboo - The lawn is in such a state due to previous tennant not giving it any attention at all. I must admit it's not the best drainage garden i've seen & not sure how much sun it'll get in the summer so all the more reason to give it a bit more TLC. The landlord did say it never used to be like that until last year.
Yes that is the whole garden i've got to work with. There is a little more paved section before the brick wall. I haven't measured exactly but i'd say its around 80-90 sqm. The sheds have to stay as there our storage due to no loft being ground floor flat. This will probably take the area about 60-70sqm to work with.
Thanks for your reply

Sanbaz - Def a case of returfing i think as seeding will take to long due to amount of moss there is. Also like to start from scratch with lawn as it could be a waste of time and money if the seeds don' take that well. Want a nice lush grass which like you said, is a gorg smell when freshly cut!
Thanks for your reply

Moon grower - I'm a hugeeeeee fan of lawn gardens and don't go much on stones or woodchips in replacement for lawn. If the new lawn doesn't get enough sun and ends up full of moss then maybe i'll have to eat my words and have a stone garden. Thats the last resort though! lol
Thanks for your reply.

Thank you all for your replies again. Will keep you all posted on the progress. Think it'll be a slow one.

Noseypotter - Thanks for your reply and will def have a look at what neighbours are growing well.
Would love a water feature maybe next to the shed where i've got the pot at the moment. Will be investing in a bird table and bath from Argos. £25 Bargain. Have been looking at some gardens on here and there are some stunning pics. Will be returfing as the moss has just run riot on the lawn. Be more easier to returf and maintain from that. Returfed my mums a few years ago and really enjoyed that although her garden was 4 times the size of this to returf. Hell of a job but it looked a picture after i'd finished it. I'm a perfectionist which could be my downfall when coming to having a perfect garden! lol

Welcome To GOY. Don't forget to sweep lawnsand into when you have made all those hols for drainage in the lawn arrear as the new lawn will only turn to moss again.
Do you agree GOY Members.

Hi Mum. When should i sweep the lawnsand in? After i've got rid of moss of before?

i think the moss is dorement at the moment and the moss can only poisen itself when its growing again so it can feed its own roots or whatever the poisen but i mite be wrong.good luck and your welcome to ask as many questions as you like .you never know i mite need an answer of you sometime .anyway its a nice friendly site with lots of people who know what there talking about so your garden doesnt have to be chance or hit and miss and will be lovley.anyway take care bye for now xx .
regards leigh aka www.noseypotter.com

I wouldn't bother with moss treatment, lawn sand or anything else- if you're determined that you want a lawn, clear what's there, prepare it properly and lay new turf in March - but make sure you're able to water it easily (hose and sprinkler) for 2 months after you've laid it (should the weather ever dry up and actually warm up!). the only reason I advised waiting was because we're not sure why the moss is there - it will always be a problem in shady areas,or in damp areas, but as long as your garden gets sun in summer, you can use treatments to try to keep it under control anyway. If you want advice as to how to prepare for and lay turf, and look after lawns generally, get yourself a copy of D. G. Hessayon's The Lawn Expert -libraries have them sometimes, charity shops, or new for a tenner.

just what i was thinking bamboo again are minds are as one amazing lol