Naomi Slade is hoping for some green, green grass at home!
Work has started on sorting my soil to create a lawn
With the garden resting and the bones bare, I've come to the conclusion that this isn’t a bad time for making a start on the lawn.
In all honesty, the space earmarked for this isn't terribly prepossessing – it’s shaded and the soil is heavy, so it’s likely to hang wet and will be easy to compact. Conventional grass may struggle but, nevertheless, I’m keen to have something green and growing as it’s currently pre y barren.
And while December is a bit too cold and dark to actually sow seed, the period between now and spring will allow the soil to se le and breathe, making it a more hospitable place for germination when I do.
The first job is to scrape off the inch or so of hardcore that was laid under the late and unlamented fake grass that covered the ground when I arrived. It doesn’t sound much, but when shovelled into bags it makes for a surprising volume of material! Then, with the weary clay soil exposed, it’s time to show it some love.
While I don’t propose to dig it hard and deep in the oldschool way, cruel treatment has meant that this bit of ground is dense and airless. So, to make it less heavy I’m giving it a dose of the good stuff – peatfree and organic Lakeland Gold claybuster from www. dalefootcomposts.co.uk.
Dug lightly into the top few inches and used as a mulch, it will encourage in worms and other soil invertebrates and promote healthy soil bacteria. Over the winter the soil structure should improve as the worms and weathering do their bit. The large air pockets from the digging will shrink, the organic material will become incorporated and dragged deeper underground, and the whole thing should become more permeable to water – and, eventually, roots.
Ultimately, the idea is to create a healthy community that will, by hook or crook, thrive despite the conditions. It may never be an immaculate bowling green sward – but then I don’t want it to be. That’s not my style.
I don’t mind the weeds and the moss. Actually, I quite like them. And in challenging areas of the garden there’s no sense at all in waging war on the things that actually want to grow there! The utopia would be a patchwork of evergreen plants that’ll look cheerful, absorb water and feed the wildlife and, if I achieve that, I’ll be happy.