Levelling the ground, sowing grass seed and trying to keep four muddy paws out of the picture.

There’s been another little step forward in the garden today. Nothing particularly glamorous, perhaps, but an important one all the same.

With the new raised bed taking shape, the ground in front of it needed a bit of attention. It was time to level things out, get some grass growing and, most importantly, try to keep the dogs from undoing all my hard work!

Getting the ground ready

I started by levelling the soil in front of the new raised bed, using some of the soil from inside the bed to help even things out.

It wasn’t a complicated job, but getting the ground reasonably level should give the new grass a better chance of establishing evenly. There’s not much point sowing grass seed over an uneven surface and then wondering why the finished lawn looks a bit lumpy!

Once I was happy with the level, it was time to get sowing.

Seeding the lawn

For this patch, I used a full box of GroSure Smart Lawn Seed, taking care to spread it as evenly as possible across the prepared area.

Getting an even spread is important if you want the grass to grow consistently, rather than ending up with thick patches in some places and bare soil in others.

After spreading the seed, I used a telescopic garden leaf rake to gently work a thin layer of soil over it. The idea was to cover the seed without burying it too deeply.

Nothing complicated, just a little preparation and a bit of patience. Now we wait to see how well it takes.

Watering during a hosepipe ban

There’s one minor inconvenience though. We’re currently experiencing a hosepipe ban in our area, so getting the new seed watered needed a little more thought.

Fortunately, we have a water butt, which meant I could use collected rainwater rather than reaching for the hosepipe.

Armed with a watering can, I gave the newly seeded area a gentle watering to moisten the soil without washing the seed away.

It’s a useful reminder that gardening doesn’t always require a hosepipe, even when the weather and watering restrictions make things more challenging.

The important thing now is to keep the seedbed from drying out as the seeds begin to germinate, while being mindful of the water restrictions. I’ll keep an eye on the weather and make sensible use of the water we have available.

Keeping the dogs out!

And now for the part of the job that has absolutely nothing to do with growing grass – but everything to do with living with dogs.

Anyone with dogs will understand the problem. Freshly prepared soil is apparently an irresistible invitation to run around, dig a hole, investigate what’s underneath and then bring half the garden into the house.

Lovely.

So, I surrounded the entire area with some spare plastic garden mesh fencing, held in place with bamboo poles.

The poles were hammered into position using the rubber mallet I mentioned in my previous post, The Raised Beds: Tools of the Trade.

The fencing isn’t needed to grow grass. It’s there to protect my hard work from four-legged garden enthusiasts who haven’t quite grasped the concept of leaving things alone.

Hopefully, the barrier will give the grass seed enough time to germinate and establish itself before the dogs get anywhere near it.

Whether they’ll respect the new boundary is another matter entirely!

Now we wait

That’s today’s little garden job complete: the ground is levelled, the seed is sown, the soil has been watered and the area is fenced off.

It’s not the most dramatic transformation, but these smaller jobs all contribute to making the garden more usable and enjoyable.

The next challenge is getting the grass to grow, especially with the weather, water restrictions and dogs to contend with.

I’ll keep an eye on the patch over the coming weeks and see how it develops. Hopefully, the next update will feature a lovely patch of new green grass rather than a muddy excavation site!

Blooming Lovely Chaos, one patch at a time.