Grass Problems For New Gardener

Greetings all ,

I have just recently moved into a house with a nice garden to sink my teeth into.
Trouble is , i have no idea what im doing so apologies if i ask any inexperienced questions , im a fast learner and im very keen to get my hands dirty , or fingers green so to speak :)

The first issue id like to tackle is the grass , i don't think anyone has lived here for sometime and never cared for the garden when someone was.
The lawn is far from a nice green it should be ,to more of a yellow , wheaty type color.
Am i correct in saying this is dead ? And is it possible to bring it back to life.

I can upload pics later today when i get back home ( currently slacking at work so cant right now )

Many thanks for reading , any tips and tricks will be massively appreciated.

Regards

Lee

Your lawn does sound like it's dead. Pictures would be most helpful.

Hi Lee, welcome to Dave's Gardening Forums, you will enjoy it on the site as there are so many people here who will try their best to help out with any gardening questions you have and IF they cant, they might be able to re-direct you to somewhere to get help.

Try not be too overwhelmed by the old garden you have taken over (we did the same thing 30 odd years ago) you need to tackle one area at a time IF doing it on your own, IF getting help, be prepared to be around to supervise the work as other people are great at removing Plants, pathways, Structures, Drains Etc that are well hidden under the mountain of greenery, overgrown shrubs and they can bring down tree's that are unusual, and took years to grow and survive all weathers, so IF you can, work on one area at a time, that way you will get to know your plot, what is growing there and perhaps save some that are struggling.

I agree with CvilleGardener re the lawn, it sounds like it could well be dead BUT, I've seen what was classed as dead garden plants and lawns come back to life after due care and attention, NOT ALWAYS BUT it takes a few weeks to give it a chance and perhaps save you a lot of money and time later.

Here's what I would do first, take your hands and separate some tuft's of grass way down to the bottom at soil level, IF there is still green showing down there, then the grass is still alive at the roots, IF brown / wheat coloured, assume it's dead, do this little check several areas, it takes you 10 min's and may save you a fortune.

IF there are green shoots, use / hire a grass strimmer (that's a tool on a long pole / handle that is either powered by petrol OR electric) these gutting tolls have a nylon cord that cuts away the grass
and you will have to rake up the grass cuttings to allow air, water / rain and LIGHT into the lawn area, this will stimulate the grass plants to begin new growth. (even if the lawn is dead, you need to remove the tall tops growth to ease the task of removing the lawn to make a new one IF you want a lawn.
Don,t be tempted to feed the new cut lawn, this will give it further stress, just give it a good soaking for several weeks till you see nice new green shoots.
Remember this lawn has been left to a slow death for maybe years or even several months IF the house was left empty or neglected. Just think of it like yourself, after an illness the last thing you want is someone arriving to over do the diet and try force a recovery before you have found your feet LOL.
After a couple of weeks of the water treatment, IF no new greenery is showing, take it the lawn has decided it aint gonna give you the green, green grass of home.
If the new shoots are evident, then start to feed the lawn by starting end of SEPTEMBER, any sooner and the soil is still too warm and the grass is still in recovery, This feeding is called AUTUMN feed, it is sold as such at the garden stores or on line, (garden centres are great for picking the staff's mind re the best type of feed for a neglected lawn, DON'T ever give more feed than the instructions / dosage say on the makers info, OVERFEED will BURN the grass plans and it will give an uneven feeding reaction also.

In UK come autumn, we normally have enough rain to keep the lawns watered BUT as we have all suffered from climate change, water falling like Niagara Falls for months instead of days, is NOT exactly best for our lawns either BUT, you will have to water should we NOT get the rainfall as per normal, especially if a feed is laying scattered on top of the lawn, the directions will give all this advice.

After the new grass grows to about 3 inches tall, keep the mower blades high and you are just skimming off the tiny top growth as this will help the old grass make many new side shoots and these will be stronger, try avoid walking on the lawn while all this is going on as the grass IF still alive will be going through a period of shock and recovery, GRASS is a much tougher plant than most of us think BUT it can show signs of neglect, drought, and other problems we sometimes miss till their is a mega problem however, here in UK that is less likely due to our plentiful amount of water.

While you await the grass to recover, you can still carry out other tasks like, IF you have old flower borders, look see what plants are there, some will be like the grass and just require all the weeds around them removed and some TLC offered by feeding to save them from further neglect till AFTER the foliage has died down, try NOT cut the foliage from plants this year UNLESS you know what they are and you have decided you really don't like them.
I know many gardeners who have taken over an old established garden and gone into it with such gusto, no plants except to rip out the whole garden and start again, BOY, what a pigs ear they have created, because they have never owned a garden and know even less about soil structure or plants need's, the following year the garden is a mess, left to go to wilderness because a) they dont know where to start, b) they cant afford to make the garden they THINK they want and that is visualised like some botanical hundred acre of plants, until they find out the cost of plants and usually plants they have already tossed out, anyway, moral of the story IS : never dig out any plants in a garden you have just taken over till the next spring when they will be showing off their colour, textures and beauty, OFCOURCE there will be some that cant be saved by then, some you absolutely hate BUT might look nice in another area, or some that are in a space you want to make a path or plant a tree or something like that.

Over Autumn / winter, weather permitting, gardening never stops, you draw plans up for new paths, arches, place a seat or hut / shed, AND get to the local library to look for books on garden planning, plants, how to lay out new beds or borders and also send off for some new plants men catalogues, these are a mindfields of inspiration, have beautiful coloured pictures of the plants and some have tips on how to and where to grow the plants.
try amend the soil in the borders as you dig out weeds by adding as much humus to the soil as you can, horse manure is what us gardeners call gardeners gold, it is so rich in nutrients, helps break up the soil structure, helps retain moisture, helps add air into the soil but most of all, it helps us gardeners work in easy to dig soil that is rich in all the lovely stuff our plants need.
Most people who keep horses allow you to help yourself regards the manure, make sure it is well rotter, or it will be too strong and burn the plants roots, there should be no really strong odour from the manure and if you lift it in your hands, it should crumble like a nice rich compost,
Will all this info I think there is more than enough to get you started off,
Get back to the forum if there's more questions and done be afraid to keep asking, we ALL had to start somewhere and 50 odd years ago there was no place like Dave's, we just learned from family, MY Dad told / showed and practised with me learning all I know, others will have had someone else maybe close to them who guided them also.
You will never tire of gardening and hopefully you will catch the gardening bug.
Best of luck, take your time and just enjoy, don't make it into a desperate nightmare IF things go wrong, you just learn from mistakes and start again.
Have a happy healthy new hobby with your new garden.
Kindest Regards.
WeeNel.

Ditto Weenel:
The first step is to see if it has any come back. Water.
Based on the response you can:
Continue caring for it if it comes back pretty well.
Reseed parts if recovery is patchy.
Redo the whole thing.

Perfect Diana, do you remember the Daunting feelings we all had at sometime, in our gardening life when we felt" this time I've bitten off more than I can chew" and we beat that challenge, well I think Lee has that feeling BUT, If he takes his time, makes a start now, he should I HOPE, be cutting his lush new lawn by next year AND, saves a whole lot of money by saving the grass area.

Here in UK, a new lawn is a very expensive item, Hope he makes it OK.
I love when new gardeners want to try this gardening past time, so healthy, so fulfilling, and a great way to meet like minded friends. No mater where in the world you go, there are always people who are trying OR, have cultivated there own little heaven here on earth, AND willing to share their knowledge, That's the way to go EH !!!!!.
Best Regards.
WeeNel.

Many thanks for all your comments
You certainly now your stuff. Wee Neal I'm going to call you my garden guru!
I'm definitely going to give it my best shot, I can't wait to get started to be honest.
I have attached a few images of the lawn as it is now. I can seem some green in certain patches. I have also come across what appears to be a blackberry bush, not sure if this will ever be edible but I'm sure you will know.

Have you had no rain for a long, long time? Just curious.

I see a lot of green in that lawn.
Water, and sharpen the lawn mower blade, you will be putting it to use very soon!

The last pic might be blackberries, but a close up of the leaf could help, including the back of the leaf, and the stem that attaches the leaf to the main plant.
Actually, blackberries have a leaf that is divided into (usually) 3 parts, so keep these three parts together when you take the picture.
Are there any flowers or developing fruit? Pics of this, too!

There are thornless cultivars with improved flavor, larger fruit (and, of course few to no thorns) and there are wild blackberries with more thorns. I am not sure if the UK has the same wild one as I am familiar with in California.

Hi Cville_Gardener - Its not rained as much as it usually does , we've managed to have a decent summer so far :)

Hi Diana_K - I take it from your reply there is still life in the lawn :) just need to buy some garden tools now :)
I will send some pics of the blackberries later today , there is a few developed fruits nice and round ,
there is also a few green ones which look like they are in the process of growing .

Thanks

It also appears it would benefit from a good dethatching.

De-thatching Lee is where you RAKE off all the dead and brown dead looking stuff that has been left laying on top of the lawn, this is why the rest of a lawn starts to look dead, the brown straw looking top growth prevents the light getting to the lower green parts and over time, the lawn gives up trying to grow.

Diana is correct, there is quite a lot of green under the thatch, Dont know IF you have purchased a mower yet, but anyway, you need to set the mower blades as High as you can and take it over the lawn, it will remove a lot of that dead thatch, letting you see exactly what is there to be saved.

once you have done that and ALL the top growth has been cleared away, you can then start to save the rest of the lawn, come September time when the weather is cooler and maybe wetter, you can re-seed the bare areas after raking the soil first to allow the seed to set down roots, as I said earlier, DONT begine to feed the lawn or you will damage the new shoots that you need to sprout allowing regrowth ALL OVER the lawn and not just hear and there.
There are some feeds you can use for when your planting new lawns BUT never having used them as I prepared the whole lawn area before I scattered the seed years ago, I now give an autumn feed end of the growing season.
I do find that raking the lawn is very soar on my back and stomach muscles, so we bought a very cheep SCARIFIER, this looks like a lawn mower BUT it has wire hooks instead of blades and it does the job really good and fast. you need to empty the collection box evey stip of lawn (OR it appears like that anyway) but it really does save time and you get it all rwked the one day so think about buying one, borrowing one or even hire one.
For garden equipment lee, I go on the basis that IF I need to use something more than 3 times a year, then it's best to buy one of these tools as borrowing is unfair, not as convenient as opening the garden shed and it's there. they last for years IF you clean off the dirt and grime after each use, AND done forget to oil / greece when finished for the season and store away.

The Blackberries by the way are BRAMBLES, most likely a bird ate the fruits a few gardens or streets away, pooped out a seed and as the seed came ready coated with nice bird manure, it germinated and has grown in your neglected garden, use gloves when working neer them as their thorns are very sore and give septic boils IF you dont remove the thorns.
They berries make lovely jam and jelly or just pick them and add to deserts or breakfast cereal.
These Brambles by the way spread by rooting wherever the long branches touch the ground and soon take over a garden IF you dont cut them back after flowering or remove all together, also the birds love them and will beat you to the delicious fruit soon as you turn your back.

Hope this helps you out Lee, enjoy your new hobby of gardening. stay in touch IF you need any more answers / help and were all here to help you get to grips with your new BUT neglected garden.
Kindest Regards.
WeeNel.