On Jun 16, 2:57*pm, Ian Dargie thedargREMOVE
wrote:
Hi guys, this my first time on here, so please be gentle with me.

I live in a south-facing three-storey tenement flat in Scotland. *The
result is that the back garden gets very little sun for part of the
year, and none at all for the rest of it. *Most of the back was in what
was meant to be grass, but was in fact mostly moss and weeds.
I have now lifted all the "turf", buried it, and dug the lawn site to a
depth of about a foot. *To my surprise, the soil actually seems quite
good, very black and friable, and reaonably free draining. *After the
first foot though, is a pan of thick yellow clay mixed with large
stones, so digging it out is vitually impossible. *
Having prepared the site, my original plan was to turf it, but I'm now
wondering if seeding it with a shade-tolerant grass variety would be
more effective.

Advice/opinions are sought please on:

The advisability of digging sand into the top foot to improve drainage,
given the layer of clay beneath.
Pros & cons of turfing v seeding in the above circumstances.
Suitable varieties/mixes oif seed.

Thanks,

Ian

--
Ian Dargie

Given the location, I guess it isn't very big so why waste what little
space you have on grass that isn't going to grow well anyway.
With a bit of imagination you could make a lovely garden there and no
more or maybe even less work than grass. If I had any grass in a space
like that it would only be a token area in spaces between flower beds
and borders for example and just enough space for a seat in one of the
sunnier parts.

Rod

Rod