Does anyone know anything about gardening?

ime the hozelock ones last about a year (spray guns, suspect a lance will be similar).

someone posted a good guide to establishing a wildflower meadow previously itt. can anyone remember the link / location ?

This?

https://www.lfgss.com/comments/17355075/

thanks. I think it was a website link (talked a bit about the value in planting up at the end of the summer iirc) but will take a look at this video !

If you have a browse through his channel you might find something useful.

I think end of summer makes sense as many seeds drop then and need the winter.

A1 lawn seed

super shady mix.

In my experience, this is a bit of a marketing thing.

Any grass seed will do and it's more about the prep to make sure the ground surface is loose and free of other debris and well-raked with nice topsoil. Then you need water and light ensuring that it doesn't dry out... tricky in current weather.

Chuck a load of cheap compost on top of the grass seed too - keeps the moisture in like a damp warm cover. Good for germination apparently

You can also pre-mix the seed with your top dressing (damp) and leave it in a warm place for a few days to kick it off before spreading it out.

Wish I’d done this. Might do it for the patchy areas after a bit of breaking the hardpack

Looking into breaking up this hard soil without totally uprooting the new grass, what are my options?

Thinking some kind of tiller/miller/cultivator. Something one step more than poking holes, but not further than scarifying?

Maybe something like this?

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Is that just poking holes ?

hard soil

The build quality of that doesn't suggest it will cope, for long, with hard soil.

@midlife yes I think that’s just a poker, but at least it rolls.

@mespilus bet it lasts all of 5 minutes while I get my shoes on, before packing it up to return as faulty.

I’m hoping for something push-along like that, unless a more traditional scarifier is the way to go?

Have you got a sturdy garden fork?
When I was trying to lossen up/reinvigorate some neglected compacted soil, I used a garden fork to make 6 inch deep holes.
Then swept in sand. Certainly improved the drainage.

You should've broken up the soil before planting the grass.

Personally, I'd get a pair of aerating sandles, as they are likely to last longer than that ^ contraption. Probably worth adding some organic matter too, as that'll help improve the quality of the soil and break it down.

If I was doing it properly, of course. But… Yea the issue is that it is mega patchy.

If anyone wants a pair of aerating sandals, I have a pair doing nothing in the shed, EN1.

They were used when I was putting down some self-levelling compound on a floor

what are my options?

A few have been listed, but they're all wrong.

What you need to do is:

1. Sack this project off till autumn
   
2. Enjoy other elements of the garden over this lovely weather
   
3. October: scarify, aerate, top dressing with feed
   
4. March:over-sow
   

Sounds ideal.

Any idea what this is? Looks like a climber of some description.

It’s in Italy.

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Bougainvillea. Clue's in the cafe name.

Fueng fah in Thai, just ubiquitous in Thailand, like privet, you see them as hedges.

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Thanks chaps.

I was scrolling down thinking "it looks like Bougainvillea to me" when the cafe name appeared, somewhat giving the game away.