Hi Sibe,

I have a small courtyard garden (approx 25 x 20 ft/7.6 x 6.1m) in my house in London which I've been renting out for six years. Not surprisingly, the garden hasn't been looked after very well; the lawn is ruined (all mud patches & weeds) and the climbing plants along the fence (clematis, climbing rose etc) have wandered all over the "dwarf" conifer (now 20ft/6.10m high!). I'm wanting to do a makeover as soon as I can in order to sell the house. I was considering re-turfing the lawn as a start, however, is December/January a good time to do this?

Also, the patio looks very grubby. Is it possible to apply a stain or similar to the stone flagging to freshen it up?

Thanks for your help!

Regards,
Carol

Our gardens expert replies

Hi Carol,

No, I'm afraid that December/January is not usually a good time to turf a lawn. If weather conditions are extremely favourable (ie mild and dry), and likely to remain so, you could risk it though I doubt you'd be able to obtain supplies of turf at this time of the year in any event. In most years, March will be the earliest you could reasonably attempt this job.

I note you say the lawn is all mud patches and weeds, however, and wonder whether grass is a good idea in this garden? The area involved is quite small and if it is at all shaded or a difficult site this would not encourage healthy grass growth. An alternative idea may be to tell any prospective purchasers that you would meet the cost of laying a lawn eventually or make a contribution towards some other type of ground cover or surface material. Look at Creating a Lawn From Seed
and Creating a Lawn From Turf along with
Controlling Weeds for more helpful information.

If your garden has been neglected, I'm not surprised that the clematis and climbing rose have clambered up your conifer. These climbing plants can be extremely attractive, and it should be relatively easy to tie them back in place on the fence and prune them to size.

I'm afraid that your 'dwarf' conifer is typical of many so-called. Most of these should really be described as "slow growing" conifers; often the rate of growth depends on the growing conditions. A friend of mine used to enter a number of dwarf conifers in Alpine Garden Society Shows and often won first prizes - his plants at the time being less than a foot high. When, however, he planted them out in his garden and they had access to plenty of nutrients and room for root growth, they ended up about as high as yours is now! See Planting Tips for more helpful hints.

As for your patio, I'm not aware of any colouring systems that would really be permanent. As you say this is stone flagging, however, artificial colourings would not really be appropriate and a good clean should improve the surface. While you could use a power washer to clean off the dirt, these can often be more trouble than they are worth as they can leave sharp lines which can look even more of a mess than a uniform grubby colour! I think the best approach to cleaning up your patio would just be to give it a good scrubbing over with a mild detergent and a stiff brush. This should bring the stonework back to its original state. For more advice see Laying a Patio.

All the best!
Sibe