Getting rid of concrete and lawns in your garden

My Boxing Day garden massacre for a better ecosystem

Leaving full-time work so I could concentrate on my garden writing in October 2012 spurred me into serious changes – getting rid of concrete and lawns in my garden. The kids no longer played football on the lawn, and the former owner had covered large areas of the shady area under the whitebeam with concrete. Both these surfaces are eco-friendly. Concrete encourages excess water run-off, while lawns are a monoculture. Here’s my view on why you shouldn’t use artificial grass.

My urge to cultivate every last bit of soil, plus Christmas dinner overload, spurred me into action on Boxing Day 2012. Armed with a rusty sledgehammer, an old spade and a manic expression, the garden overhaul began. Death to paving slabs, concrete, turf and any attempt at reason.

Getting rid of concrete – the shady area

Autumn and winter are the best times to decide what you need from your garden. Plants are dormant and have died back, so you can see the structure more evenly. Getting rid of the concrete and paving slabs wasn’t fun. Laid in the 1960s, the soil underneath was compacted and solid yellow clay! I’d decided on narrow beds running next to the hedge in the shadier area. The problem with a deciduous hedge is that it is so see-through in the winter.

It’s odd looking back on this in 2022, 10 years later, to see what worked and what didn’t. The beds next to the hedge are pretty much the same and mature. However, after much change, the next level down now has a collection of large black pots next to the hedge. These hold bamboo Pingwu, hostas, Heucheras, Chaenomeles Jet Trail and C. japonica, Pieris and Photinia Pink Crispy. It provides good winter and early spring structure, added to by the hostas in summer.

Getting rid of the lawn

I was never a fan of the lawn, tolerating it for the children. It became more oddly shaped as I cut into it to get extra border space. It ended up as a path. Throughout the winter and spring of 2013, I dug up the lawn. Like the rest of the paths, I laid reclaimed brick-edged gravel paths. I appeal to the silent majority who hate mowing, edging and scarifying to turf your turf. Unless it’s a meadow, and therefore highly diverse, it’s almost a monoculture.

The technique to remove it is simple. Mark out and loosen chunks (turves) with an edger or spade. I’d suggest the latter, as my edger snapped after 30 minutes, then overturn each turve to knock off as much loose soil as possible. Stack them grass side to grass side, cover with black polythene and in a year, you’ll have excellent loam which can be reused. Once the area is clear of grass, you need to enrich the soil. Use compost, even something like spent tomato bags and add fertiliser – blood, fish and bone, or Growmore.

Getting rid of concrete and lawns – why use gravel?

So what’s so great about gravel? Here are five good reasons to use it…

1. It’s cheap (especially composite/pea gravel).
2. Plant-friendly (great place for planting pockets/Mediterranean plants).
3. Porous (so rainwater can naturally percolate through to the water table).
4. You don’t need planning permission for a large area, unlike an impermeable surface (concrete).
5. Getting it from a local quarry cuts down your carbon footprint.
6. It’s easy to lay.

I used 10-20mm pea gravel, a mix of rounded grey, beige and brown stones, which change colour when wet. The cheapest way to buy it is in bulk, usually as a loose load (where it’s dumped on your drive or the street). You have to live on the flat, and the area has to be accessible to a large lorry. Also, it helps if your garden is flat and you have a wheelbarrow.

As I have none of these, I opted for delivery in 20kg poly sacks, slightly more expensive, but they are moveable. You can also buy aggregates in bulk bags.  I did a vague sum and ordered 50 bags – a tonne. It seemed like an awful lot – I eventually needed two tonnes for the path.

Laying gravel

Getting rid of concrete and lawns and replacing them with aggregates is simple. Don’t forget to use a weed-proof, permeable membrane. This allows water to seep through and drain away, but inhibits unwanted weeds. Rampant self-seeders like lady’s mantle, Californian poppies and geraniums will grow quite happily in gravel and soften hard edges.

1. Remove weeds and large stones, then compact the soil.
2. Lay a weed-proof, permeable membrane over the area of the path in large sections.
3. Pin sections down with metal fleece pegs.
4. Secure the membrane under your path edging (I used reclaimed bricks).
5. Empty gravel sacks, spreading them evenly with a rake – aim for a depth of 4-5cm. Spray with a hose on the shower setting to settle the dust.

That autumn, the driveway was redone, with a wavy brick path through gravel, followed by a new raised bed and heavy trelliswork fence in March 2014.

More gravel work followed, including a new seating area in 2021 and a new patio, summerhouse and raised pond in 2022.