Both trees have TPOs and is blocking at lot of sunlight to towards the rear of the garden (west facing), particularly the left side in this photo. The shade is restricting all grass growth and a bunch of weeds are growing instead. Suggestions and ideas how to make this situation better. Maybe shade resistant turf? Or a pergola in the corner? Not really keen on decking it but maybe I could be persuaded. I don’t want too much shrubbery since I want the clean. It’s really bugging me so I would really value your opinion. Thank you 🙏
by clan_kusunagi
9 Comments
Ah man that looks like the perfect place to lie and doze on a hot afternoon. Possibly with a cold cider.
Over sow with shade resistant grass seed and buy a hammock. That’s what I do but I’m a lazy shade lover.
You could try grass seed varieties that are more suited to shade.
I’m also wondering what the light levels are like earlier in the day? Generally, in the UK, if you can stand in the spot and look directly up and there’s nothing in your view of the sky, then there’s enough sun for grass. I can’t see other trees in the photo, so the question is whether it’s worth investigating if it’s something else causing the problem with the growing (eg soil compaction) first.
Woodland plants. Lots of them.
We have a free-standing hammock under our shade trees. It’s quite nice on a hot day. And it can be moved to a sunnier spot if needed.
You can sometimes get a crown reduction of about 30%, worth talking to the local tree officer
Perfect spot for hydrangeas!! They won’t burn in the sun like mine 🙁
As other comments mentioned, as long as you have the right grass species, they should thrive in shade. On our pastures, we have the thickest, greenest and longest grass blades directly underneath heavy tree cover, especially with the drought we had early summer. It’s not easy to see from the picture but I wouldn’t say weeds are thriving either, unless you mow them regularly.
There are loads of possible reasons why grass isn’t growing well and shade isn’t high up on the list. I’d say the main ones are:
1. Lack of nutrients in soil, especially nitrogen
2. Improper growing medium, e.g.: waterlogged soil or sandy soil with little water input, etc
3. Lack of room for the roots to grow. I can’t tell from the picture what’s underneath the soil. If it’s a thin layer of topsoil with stones or concrete underneath, you shouldn’t expect grass to do very well
4. Bad soil conditions, e.g.: toxins in the soil or too low of a pH, most grasses prefer it above 5
5. Pests destroying the grass, e.g.: rabbits can chew grass all the way down until it won’t have enough energy to grow back anymore. Slugs and snails might completely destroy a plot of grass if they run out of other food sources. There can also be more complicated issues, like disease
In short, I’d inspect my soil before reaching for shade resistant plants.
Tpo’d tree would benefit from thinning and raising the canopy. Call your local tree guy
Suggest you research so shade/woodland plants and plant the along the fence line as grass will never grow well there in my experience. It’s a small sloped lawn so really it’s just visual appeal that matters and with the right planting it could look nice.
Make sure to keep cutting the grass as even though might not need it, it will help suppress the weeds.