A Garden Makeover

About a year ago, we moved into our new home, and it's been a whirlwind of DIY projects ever since.

We kicked things off with a fresh coat of paint and began swapping out the old sockets and switches—well, mainly the switches. I still have a bag full of sockets waiting to be installed!

The kitchen quickly became the centre of attention when Abi's nesting instincts kicked in during her pregnancy. I dedicated a couple of days to laying down new laminate flooring and fitting the worktops, while Abi took on the challenge of tiling.

Following that period of intense indoor work, coupled with the daily demands of a two-year-old and a newborn, I was thoroughly looking forward to some rest. However, Abi had different ideas, and suddenly, tending to the garden became the next major task on our list.

Dealing with the Craters

Honestly, fixing the garden has been on my to-do list since the day we moved in. The previous tenant's dog had left the yard completely riddled with craters. It's no exaggeration to say there were potholes nearly two feet deep that would trip me up every single time I tried to mow the lawn. All I've been looking for is a little respite between jobs, but the lawn simply couldn't wait any longer.

Despite the challenges, we've been working diligently out there over the past two to three months. Our first task was to eradicate the weeds that had completely overrun the lawn—it was almost entirely a sea of dandelions before we began. In addition, we removed the established plants flanking the garden. Abi prefers the grass to extend all the way to the boundary borders, ensuring there's nothing sharp hidden in the brush that could harm the children while they play outside.

The 10-Ton Excavation and Levelling

The next step was the massive levelling process. We tackled this in phases, beginning right in front of the sheds and gradually extending back towards the house.

It required a tremendous amount of physical effort. Abi estimated that we've moved approximately 10 tonnes of soil to the local dump, largely due to the deeply entrenched weed networks and the large gravel and stone pits that were concealed right beneath the surface.

Our workflow looked like this:

1. Rotovating: Breaking up the compacted earth section by section.
2. Excavation: Shovelling out and removing the loosened old soil and hidden debris.
3. Levelling: Meticulously flattening every single inch using a rake, a spade, and a straight wooden board.

To give you a picture of just how much soil we've excavated from the rest of the plot, the shed to the right of the garden now perches on a mound of earth approximately three inches above the newly levelled surrounding area. It has been an utterly exhausting task to haul the heavy soil out of the back garden, load it into the car, and then offload it at the dump.

Seeding and Battling the Elements

It's only in the past few weeks that we've finally been able to start laying down grass seed. We are tackling this part of the job in smaller sections to ensure we can adequately water the seeds, especially those at the far end of the garden.

We've invested in a tonne of fresh, clean topsoil, which we're highly optimistic is free from a hidden weed invasion. Currently, we're transferring the soil from the colossal bulk bag at the front of the house to the backyard using buckets. After spreading it out, we're meticulously sifting through it by hand to remove any stray stones and tiny pieces of debris.

Just when we thought we were incredibly close to finishing, with only the very last section left to seed, the areas we had sown just a few days earlier had other plans. They took full advantage of some sudden high winds and scattered themselves all over the place!

Looking Ahead

Over the next few weeks, we're going to allow the scattered seeds to sprout where they landed, and then we will systematically address any remaining sparse areas by planting additional seed. This approach should provide some natural stability against future high winds, anchoring the new growth in place and preventing the topsoil from shifting.

Our initial plan was to have the entire garden fully seeded and green by this point in the year. However, a predictable combination of unpredictable British weather, minor health setbacks, and general family obligations has extended the timeline well beyond our expectations.

It has meant that recent family birthday BBQs have had to take place on a tiny, unseeded patch of the garden. It's not great, but at least Scarlett has been able to run around happily in the front garden with a burger in her hands!

I'll post a proper update once everything is completely green and finished. If you have any expert ideas or advice—particularly on the best ways to maintain the placement of fresh grass seed during windy spells—your input would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to leave a comment below, respond to the social media post that brought you here, or reach out through the contact form on the homepage!