I hope you can give me some pointers! I have a long thin garden with
a patio, but at the moment the grass area is in a right state. It's
bumpy, bare in patches, and has no definition. The dog also enjoys
using it as his personal toilet.

Trouble is I've got twin toddlers, and with the nice weather coming I
will be letting them into the garden alot more. So what is the best
thing to do with the garden? Grass is not a priority, as we back
straight onto a park. What I was thinking was large flower borders
and bark for the kids to have their slide or whatever on. My question
is, do dogs still do their business on bark? Is there anyway I can
attract the dog to a different area? I would turf the lawn but with
it being so bumpy it's going to be difficult, isn't it?

I would also like to have a small veg patch at the top of the garden.
Do dogs poo on such things?!

Any help and pointers appreciated.

Christine