Garden of moss & rushes

water-man

Evening all,

I need help on how to save my garden grass. The lawn is quite large probably 0.5 acre at least (ignoring house). We are in the house 4 years and at the time put in the effort to install drainage, rake and sow grass seeds.

In the first year the grass was initially doing well however we were attacked by leather jackets and grass was almost completely destroyed. Spent years 2 and 3 regularly applying grass seed and fertiliser (10-10-20) and it started to do quite well. This last summer was a disaster though. We had a new arrival and I ended up travelling a lot with work and when at home I spent the time inside trying to help put as much as possible thus the garden got left behind.

We seemed to get another leather jacket invasion and along with the grass not getting a regular cutting it is now in a terrible state. There is not much grass only moss and rushes!!!!

So please boards.ie Gardening community can you help get our garden back into good condition. We both really enjoy being outside and looking at our gardening is depressing us. What can we start to do now to have a nice garden come summer-time.

Thanks,

Water-man

magicbastarder

apt username.
have you considered giving up, and working with the conditions rather than against them? do you specifically want a lawn?

Harry Palmr

Quite, if I had a plot which was essentially water-logged I'd not spend any great amount of time never mind money trying to alter it's basic nature. A garden which is based on moisture can be very beautiful.

Some pictures might help though, is it an open empty plot or do you have mature border for example? Lots of water consuming plants and trees could help and obviously they look good.

water-man

Hi,

@ magicbastarder - The name has been about a lot longer than the house that's for sure As for giving up not something I and especially my wife would be known for!!! However more than open to suggestions on how to work with what I have & yes we'd like a lawn. I'll try and take a pic of the front and back gardens tomorrow to give you an idea and field suggestions on how to work with what we have.

@Harry Palmer - It's pretty open at present - first house on this particular field. My better half is not keen on planting hedges or the like as she enjoys the view and likes the open space however she could be convinced if I can communicate the benefits. We've planted some fruit tress at the front and around the back we have a small veg patch plus a few other patches with fruit bushes (blue berry, raspberries & goose berries).

Thanks again.

looksee

I saw the title and my first reaction was 'oh that sounds pretty'. Then I realised what you were saying. If it descends to rushes that quickly then even with a lawn its always going to be boggy and not a great option for a child(ren) to play on. Some pics would help but I tend to agree that if its been drained already you are going to battle to make a lawn out of it.

staples7

water-man wrote: »

Evening all,

I need help on how to save my garden grass. The lawn is quite large probably 0.5 acre at least (ignoring house). We are in the house 4 years and at the time put in the effort to install drainage, rake and sow grass seeds.

In the first year the grass was initially doing well however we were attacked by leather jackets and grass was almost completely destroyed. Spent years 2 and 3 regularly applying grass seed and fertiliser (10-10-20) and it started to do quite well. This last summer was a disaster though. We had a new arrival and I ended up travelling a lot with work and when at home I spent the time inside trying to help put as much as possible thus the garden got left behind.

We seemed to get another leather jacket invasion and along with the grass not getting a regular cutting it is now in a terrible state. There is not much grass only moss and rushes!!!!

So please boards.ie Gardening community can you help get our garden back into good condition. We both really enjoy being outside and looking at our gardening is depressing us. What can we start to do now to have a nice garden come summer-time.

Thanks,

Water-man

Im not sure until I see pics what the conditions are like, but when I started my lawn 3 years ago there were plenty of rushes. A lot of mulching later im very happy with it and no sign of rushes. If you travel a lot and generally dont have the time I couldn't recommend a robotic mower highly enough. Have it nearly a year now and I dont even have to worry about it. Like you kids work etc has taken over. Plus I can send it out on a wet winters day to give it a quick tidy without getting bogged down in a tractor mower.

Hocus Focus

water-man wrote: »

Hi,

@ magicbastarder - The name has been about a lot longer than the house that's for sure As for giving up not something I and especially my wife would be known for!!! However more than open to suggestions on how to work with what I have & yes we'd like a lawn. I'll try and take a pic of the front and back gardens tomorrow to give you an idea and field suggestions on how to work with what we have.

@Harry Palmer - It's pretty open at present - first house on this particular field. My better half is not keen on planting hedges or the like as she enjoys the view and likes the open space however she could be convinced if I can communicate the benefits. We've planted some fruit tress at the front and around the back we have a small veg patch plus a few other patches with fruit bushes (blue berry, raspberries & goose berries).

Thanks again.

Strategically placed hedges, trees and shrubs will benefit the other vegetation in your garden by giving shelter from strong winds etc. They will also have the effect of softening the landscape and breaking up the area into different "rooms". Also, as someone else mentions, larger planting such as this will give the benefit of soaking up some of the excess water on the site. You can plant strategically so as to frame the more distant views seen from different parts of the house or garden.

water-man

Thanks for all the responses so far. Attached are some pics.

WM

macraignil

water-man wrote: »

Evening all,

I need help on how to save my garden grass.

We seemed to get another leather jacket invasion and along with the grass not getting a regular cutting it is now in a terrible state. There is not much grass only moss and rushes!!!!

So please boards.ie Gardening community can you help get our garden back into good condition. We both really enjoy being outside and looking at our gardening is depressing us. What can we start to do now to have a nice garden come summer-time.

Thanks,

Water-man

Hocus Focus wrote: »

Strategically placed hedges, trees and shrubs will benefit the other vegetation in your garden by giving shelter from strong winds etc. They will also have the effect of softening the landscape and breaking up the area into different "rooms". Also, as someone else mentions, larger planting such as this will give the benefit of soaking up some of the excess water on the site. You can plant strategically so as to frame the more distant views seen from different parts of the house or garden.

water-man wrote: »

Thanks for all the responses so far. Attached are some pics.

WM

Looking at the pictures posted the garden looks like it has loads of grass. Regular mowing when the ground drys out a bit should help promote the faster growing lawn grass you planted over the coarser wild grasses that I don't see a whole lot of in the photos. I also can't see any moss in the photos and would be very surprised if moss was a serious problem on such an open site. Completely agree with what Hocus Focus has suggested but also would suggest maybe being a bit more realistic on what sort of lawn you can expect without employing a full time green keeper to give you the manicured lawn effect.



Are you planning on holding grass court tennis tournaments or other sports events in your garden this summer? If not I would suggest trying not to be too depressed by not having a sports arena standard playing surface and plant some more interesting trees and shrubs to improve the long term soil structure with their roots, provide their own colour and points of interest to the garden and provide a home for some birds that will peck about your lawn area and sort out your problem with leather jackets. Planted lots of trees and shrubs that provide fruit for feeding birds in my own garden and regularly see them patrolling the lawn for any pests that could give them a nice meal. Also like seeing daisies and clover in my lawn so never use chemical fertiliser as I think an all grass lawn looks far too sterile.

water-man

No tennis planed but no doubt a game of hurley The pics show the garden better than when you stand there and look at it to be honest.

This year I hope to get more regular cutting in. I'd love a robot mower however right now it's not possible. I just like a nice green garden and when I come home form work nothing makes me happier (maybe not the right word) than seeing a nice cut lawn and I know my garden can look better. Is there anything anyone recommends? What are peoples thoughts on scarification - a person at work highly recommended this.

Regarding hedges what are some good native species to plant? We are trying to do some small work when the opportunity presents it self - there are fruit trees (apple and cherry) at the far side of the front garden plus silver birch and beach trees on the North side gable side, added some features to front and back last year plus there are the 4 or 5 veg/fruit beds (mainly strawberries & raspberries with a few goose berries and blue berry bushes) around the back of the house.

We were actually at a friends house before Christmas and their garden is very mature and "wild" after seeing this we are thinking more about how to achieve that "look" for at least a part of the garden so are very open to planting more trees/bushes/etc.

Thanks.

macraignil

water-man wrote: »

No tennis planed but no doubt a game of hurley The pics show the garden better than when you stand there and look at it to be honest.

This year I hope to get more regular cutting in. I'd love a robot mower however right now it's not possible. I just like a nice green garden and when I come home form work nothing makes me happier (maybe not the right word) than seeing a nice cut lawn and I know my garden can look better. Is there anything anyone recommends? What are peoples thoughts on scarification - a person at work highly recommended this.

Regarding hedges what are some good native species to plant? We are trying to do some small work when the opportunity presents it self - there are fruit trees (apple and cherry) at the far side of the front garden plus silver birch and beach trees on the North side gable side, added some features to front and back last year plus there are the 4 or 5 veg/fruit beds (mainly strawberries & raspberries with a few goose berries and blue berry bushes) around the back of the house.

We were actually at a friends house before Christmas and their garden is very mature and "wild" after seeing this we are thinking more about how to achieve that "look" for at least a part of the garden so are very open to planting more trees/bushes/etc.

Thanks.

Good to hear you are open to planting a few more trees and bushes and I do think these should help the ground get a better overall structure with their deeper roots improving the drainage and as a knock on effect make it easier to have a better lawn. The haw thorn, hornbeam and cotoneaster might be options for hedge plants and these can be kept cut back to any size that suits yourself. You can get some of these bare root at fairly good prices up until March or April.


I agree that seeing something green in the garden is nice but for me I find the green of some evergreen shrubs better than just having the green from the lawn. The bay leaf that is useful in cooking looks well at the moment and I also have some oleria traversii that is looking good with its silver green leaves standing out more when other things have dropped their leaves. Pittosporum silver queen is also good for standing out in winter with the bright colour to its variegated leaves. Viburnum tinus also is flowering at the moment which is nice when most other flowers are taking a rest. Happy planting!

eusap

I bought a tow behind scarifier for the ride on mower, year 1 it done a great job very little moss after 2-3 weeks, then we had the hot weather and that winter garden was worse than before.

Year two used the scarifier again and it worked but now in winter the moss is back! I dont think i will ever really get rid of it. This year the plan is to scarifify early and try aerate the ground and improve drainage