how far down is the turf burried? When I've removed turf I have always left it in an out of the way place to rot down. Some of the more tenacious grasses may well grow up through your border. what are you planning to plant?

the turf is below the top spit, as in about 9 to10 inches,was planning some herbacious perennials,summer bulbs, some dahlias in the other bed. ideally would have rotted the turf elsewhere,but space is at a premium at the mo,soput it back in the hole due to hte need to use the path, i did woder if it might re-surface [hope not] hence the question
thanks Sbg

ah a real spit then. should be ok but I wouldnt put deep rooted plants in the border til next year. give the turf a chance to rot down. the shallower rooted stuff will be fine.

I usually bury my turfs. As long as they are a spit down they have always been OK - the only time they have grown through a bit was when I got tired and didn't put them deep enough. Even then it was quite easy to hoik out the bits that did appear. My thinking is that with clay soil anything fibrous is bound to help the soil structure.

thanks sbg+stera will go gently this year,trying to do lots of jobs in the garden hence the haste to get things done early as poss,looks like a building site at the mo