Advice needed on bringing a garden back to life!

dublin24guy

Hi all, I recently moved into a new mid-terrace home as a first time buyer and my back garden is absolutely huge and in a terrible state. The previous occupant had gotten a really bad landscaping job done and now I am doing my best to get to grips with it. The problem is though I'm struggling to know where to begin.

The garden is 11x80ft (which I think is about 880 sq ft) and rectangular in shape. It has pebbles down the middle, with a good few weeds peeping through, and raised beds either side. The beds were in a really bad state with over grown trees and bushes. I have now dug them all out with the exception of 1 which I dont think will ever some out! During my digging I have found everything from sheet metal to plastic and rubbish, to old metal fence posts still in concrete!

I had planned on gathering up the pebbles, shoveling the raised beds back over the soil in the middle of the garden and trying to level it out and eventually sow a lawn. I suspect though that the lawn may not grown given the amount of rubbish I have found in the soil. I know trees grew in it before but who's to know if anything would grow again! Even if it did, it would probably be patchy and unsightly. Also, I fear if I put a rotovator to it that I could unearth an indian burial ground based on what has come up so far.

My question at this point, should I persevere and continue with the current plan, or, would it be better to invest in a roll out lawn? I am in the house alone so will be doing the majority of the work by myself, and of course, have limited cash at my disposal so I don't have the option of employing a specialist.

Any advice at all would be much appreciated, especially if you have another option which maybe I have not considered!

Thanks!

ponddigger

hi some photos of the garden and we might able to give some advice:D yours mal

prospect

Some photos would help.

Grass will grow in reasonably shallow topsoil, but my main concern from your posting would be stuff like sheet metal under the proposed lawn, this would most likely cause wet areas in your lawn where rain water cannot drain down through the soil.