Strip of land, what to do??

[beatts]

Hi All,

I have a small strip of land that I am responsible for on the other side of my drive.

It is approx 6 foot wide by thirty foot long (ish) but is on a slope of approx 30 degrees or so. I might also add it backs onto a fence i.e the fence runs along the back of the high side, the low side is level with the drive. The slope runs from the fence to the drive.

It is also shadowed by plum trees in the summer (on the other side of the fence)

Any ideas what I can do with this?

At present it is just grass and weeds which are a pain to keep on top of and also look pretty rubbish and boring.

I was thinking of weed fabric then covered with some sort of shale but wouldn't it tend to slide down the slope to a big pile at the bottom??


any ideas greatly appreciated.


thanks

 

[Softus]

I have a small strip of land that I am responsible for on the other side of my drive.
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Any ideas what I can do with this?

Ask the owner of the land what they would like to see done with it?

 

[Trazor]

When you say responsible for, do you consider it to be your land, or do you know for a fact that it belongs to someone else.

If its the latter do as softus suggests.

Or are you thinking of claiming the land...?
If so you would have to show that for at least 10 years of the period of possession, you honestly thought the land was yours...

The old 12 year rule about possession only, does not now apply.

 

[beatts]

sorry,

just the way I worded it.


It is my land, and at the moment pretty much just scrub.

I look directly at it from my living room window, and as people drive up the street it is on the left hand side of the road.

 

[deefadog]

How steep is the slope? You could always put a row of rolled logs across every 5-6 ft, kind of mini tiering it to keep things in place, or tier it properly?

 

[Softus]

I have a small strip of land that I am responsible for on the other side of my drive.

This statement remains baffling, on many levels.

If the land is on "the other side" of your drive, then isn't it on your property? And if so, why didn't you just say "I have a steep and narrow bit of land in my garden..."?

It is also shadowed by plum trees in the summer (on the other side of the fence)

Fence? What fence?

At present it is just grass and weeds which are a pain to keep on top of and also look pretty rubbish and boring.

In a more constructive vein, why don't you replace the rubbish looking weeds with nice looking ones?

 

[Trazor]

I look directly at it from my living room window, and as people drive up the street it is on the left hand side of the road.

But if they were driving up the other way, it would be on the right hand side.......Yes.........Not sure this helps us.

Kill the weeds off with a suitable weed killer, grass is the easiest to keep tidy on a slope IMHO.

Why not plant loads of bulbs for a spring show, daffodils/crocus are nice, amongst others.

 

[imamartian]

i think you mean - garden - drive - strip - border fence?

anyway, what about planting wild flowers and daff bulbs etc... try to keep it colourful and low maintenance

 

[beatts]

Hi

I am not sure that it make's any difference as to the ownership or positioning of the land, but for the sake of argument the land belongs to me.

My drive ends then there is a public access road runnig across the end of the drive up to the end of the cul de sac and the strip of land is on the other side of this road (same width as my drive), upto a fence (where another persons land begins)......anyway that is not the issue,

I am not in the slightest bit green fingered. I am very good with DIY but have no creativity or major interest in gardening, I just want it to look nice.

How can i keep the weeds down but at the same time grow nice plants.

Won't I have to apply weedkiller to get rid of existing weeds which will render the ground poisonous to new plants ?????

At present it is a mix of grass and weeds.

If I were to cover it with a weed suppressing fabric (held in place with ???)

and then cut holes in it at various points for plants, also covering the entire plot with shale or gravel would this look ok do you think?

would the gravel slide down the slope.

the gradiant I would say is approx 30degrees. From ground level to three feet high within four foot of length (very approx)

 

[Thermo]

use a systemic weedkiller such as round up. It it drawn into the plant via the leaves and kills off the roots and does not harm the soil.

Cover with a decent fabric memebrane such as plantex, not teh cheap crap you get from the diy sheds. you can buy pegs to hold it in position

on the slope you would be better off going for something like paddlestones rather than a small gravel. these are larger and flat and tend not to move so much. Have a look at www.stonemarket.co.uk for inspiration

you can plant plants through the membrane and they will be fine.

 

[beatts]

excellent advice, thanks thermo!