Hello dear fellow home builders...
Now we are in the house and the weather is nice, so we’re focusing on the garden first rather than dealing with the leftover tasks inside. :p
Here is our current plan for the garden.
1. What do you think of it overall? Is it laid out and planned sensibly, or does something seem completely out of place?
2. First, we want to sow grass seed this weekend. The soil has already been fully tilled, and right now I’m clearing it of weeds, stones, etc. What ground surface should I choose for the play area? Is grass the best option there, or would bark mulch be better? What are the pros and cons?
3. We plan to border the play area with berry bushes next. What should I keep in mind when planting raspberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants, and gooseberries? Can they be planted next to each other? Do they all tolerate full sun well? The spot gets almost full sun all day.
4. In the vegetable garden, I’d like to create a strawberry bed this year. What are some nice options? I don’t like it when beds simply end in bare soil. Is there a way to create a nice border or edging?
I would really appreciate lots of comments and ideas. 🙂
Best regards
By the way, we will only be working on the back area for now—so grass and the play area this year. The rest will follow next year… The plan is for it to look like this eventually….
Now we are in the house and the weather is nice, so we’re focusing on the garden first rather than dealing with the leftover tasks inside. :p
Here is our current plan for the garden.
1. What do you think of it overall? Is it laid out and planned sensibly, or does something seem completely out of place?
2. First, we want to sow grass seed this weekend. The soil has already been fully tilled, and right now I’m clearing it of weeds, stones, etc. What ground surface should I choose for the play area? Is grass the best option there, or would bark mulch be better? What are the pros and cons?
3. We plan to border the play area with berry bushes next. What should I keep in mind when planting raspberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants, and gooseberries? Can they be planted next to each other? Do they all tolerate full sun well? The spot gets almost full sun all day.
4. In the vegetable garden, I’d like to create a strawberry bed this year. What are some nice options? I don’t like it when beds simply end in bare soil. Is there a way to create a nice border or edging?
I would really appreciate lots of comments and ideas. 🙂
Best regards
By the way, we will only be working on the back area for now—so grass and the play area this year. The rest will follow next year… The plan is for it to look like this eventually….
Since this topic is coming up for us as well, I took your thread and comments as a reason to look for more information about lawn seeding.
I think if you type “lawn etiquette” into Google, you’ll find some helpful information. I do have my personal gardener at home 😉, but I believe this topic won’t pass me by unnoticed.
But first, the rest of the outdoor area needs to be finished. That means—first the terrace needs to be completed and the spot for the garden shed prepared, then the lawn and flower beds. Otherwise, when building the terrace, you risk damaging what you just built.
Oh, and you mentioned that you want to border the play area with berry bushes—gooseberries among them. Nice idea—the kids will have a snack right on hand.
But gooseberries aren’t called that for nothing. From childhood experience, I can tell you they have long, nasty thorns. If a child can’t stop themselves while playing...
But maybe a thornless variety has been developed in recent years. There are roses without thorns now, after all. (What would a thornless gooseberry be called? “The berry, formerly known as gooseberry—without spikes” 😀)
Also, if your kids aren’t older yet, you should teach them which berries are safe and which are harmful. There are some berries that look tasty but can have negative effects on humans. The child only sees: “Hmm—there are red berries like in our garden. I’ll grab some.” 😳
I think if you type “lawn etiquette” into Google, you’ll find some helpful information. I do have my personal gardener at home 😉, but I believe this topic won’t pass me by unnoticed.
But first, the rest of the outdoor area needs to be finished. That means—first the terrace needs to be completed and the spot for the garden shed prepared, then the lawn and flower beds. Otherwise, when building the terrace, you risk damaging what you just built.
Oh, and you mentioned that you want to border the play area with berry bushes—gooseberries among them. Nice idea—the kids will have a snack right on hand.
But gooseberries aren’t called that for nothing. From childhood experience, I can tell you they have long, nasty thorns. If a child can’t stop themselves while playing...
But maybe a thornless variety has been developed in recent years. There are roses without thorns now, after all. (What would a thornless gooseberry be called? “The berry, formerly known as gooseberry—without spikes” 😀)
Also, if your kids aren’t older yet, you should teach them which berries are safe and which are harmful. There are some berries that look tasty but can have negative effects on humans. The child only sees: “Hmm—there are red berries like in our garden. I’ll grab some.” 😳
Wastl schrieb:
Don’t you have the problem of constantly having sand in the house? After the sandbox play, I always have to do a thorough clean-up before they turn the living room into a desert,... If there were still sand under the swing and other equipment, they would probably never be allowed to go in or out on their own. Exactly why there’s no sand anywhere except the sandbox. Here, after playing outside, the kids change clothes right away... I don’t really want sand in the garden. :o
EveundGerd schrieb:
It’s still too early to sow grass seed!
The earliest time is mid-May.
If you want a good, durable lawn that can resist moss and weeds for many years, you need seeds from a specialist supplier! Hardware stores and garden centers don’t count!
The seed mix is important. Cheap mixes mostly contain fodder grasses that grow quickly. Over time, this causes bare spots in the “lawn,” which encourages weeds and moss to settle in.
I recommend a sports and play lawn mix. Hmm, in the garden forum they say it’s perfectly fine now because the weather is so warm. Here, there’s supposed to be some showers starting this weekend as well, which is great for the lawn. I’ll keep reading for more info... *pondering*
Musketier schrieb:
Rounded gravel might also be an alternative for the play area. Rounded gravel... Interesting, I definitely need to look that up. I think we have something like that at the playground here. *thinking*
f-pNo schrieb:
Since this topic is also coming up for us, I took your thread and comments as a reason to look for more information about sowing lawn seed.
I think if you google “lawn etiquette” (Rasen Knigge), you’ll find some helpful advice. I do have my personal gardener at home 😉, but I guess this topic won’t go unnoticed by me.
But first, the rest of the outdoor area needs to be finished. That means – first complete the patio and prepare the spot for the garden shed, then the lawn and flower beds. Otherwise, you might ruin what you just built while working on the patio.
Oh yes – you mentioned enclosing the play area with berry bushes – including gooseberries. Nice idea – the kids get a little snack right there.
But gooseberries are called that for a reason. From childhood experience, I can say they have long, nasty thorns. If a child can’t stop quickly while playing,...
Maybe a thornless variety has been developed in recent years. There are also rose varieties without thorns now.
Also, if your kids are still young, you should teach them which berries are good to eat and which aren’t. There are some berries that look tempting but can be harmful. But children just see “Hm – red berries like we have in our garden. I’ll just grab some.” 😳 That’s an option for us. The patio won’t be built until at least next year. Financially, it’s not possible any sooner. Until then, the gravel has to do. The tool shed and such won’t come for two or even three years... Until then, we’ll have grass there because otherwise the clay soil turns into mud right away when it rains... That’s just no good. We’re just not doing everything at once...
But thanks for the tip about the gooseberries. Since last summer, I’ve been explaining to the boys which berries they can eat and which ones not. At my in-laws, the older one always tried to eat the dangerous red berries. :o
The timing for sowing grass seed depends on the weather. Ideally, the outside temperature should consistently be above 10°C (50°F), and there should be no frost at night, as grass seeds need a certain soil temperature to grow.
These conditions may already be met in some regions of Germany, so I wouldn’t say at this point that you definitely can’t sow grass seed yet.
It’s best to apply some starter fertilizer under the grass seed to help the lawn take root quickly and deeply (you can also apply a slow-release fertilizer again in the fall to help the new lawn survive the winter better).
These conditions may already be met in some regions of Germany, so I wouldn’t say at this point that you definitely can’t sow grass seed yet.
It’s best to apply some starter fertilizer under the grass seed to help the lawn take root quickly and deeply (you can also apply a slow-release fertilizer again in the fall to help the new lawn survive the winter better).
Yes, I went to the specialist store and stocked up. I got a soil activator, fertilizer, and the seed itself... I’ve already spent around 200 euros (about 220 US dollars). 😱 I thought that was a lot for just “some” lawn. But I prefer to do it properly right away rather than having to reseed 100 times later...
By the way, we only installed our second sun terrace some time after the lawn was already in place. As a result, some of the surrounding grass was damaged, with patches turning into mud due to all the foot traffic, unloading of stones, equipment, etc. However, with proper care and some patience, you can restore it (loosening the soil a bit, overseeding, and applying a good slow-release fertilizer). Now, you can hardly tell that those areas of our lawn were once so heavily used.
Be careful to choose a fertilizer that suits your soil conditions and does not contain harmful substances for animals and young children. This was particularly important to me because some fertilizers take time to fully dissolve, which always poses a risk of children or animals coming into contact with them.
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