Instead of grass

[Alf]

Anybody any ideas what I could lay in my garden to replace a small area of grass (not worth keeping) which is now mostly weeds and can get very wet when rainy. Would prefer it's not stones or slabs. Thanks

[dr b]

If it gets very wet when rainy, that suggests the ground is low there; sounds like some new topsoil is needed to fill in the depression for starters. Have you considered a low-maintenance ground cover, or are you set on putting in something non-living?

[woofgang]

possibly a previous owner just dumped some earth on top of a cement base instead if lifting the base which is why it gets wet. I would suggest that yousort the drainage before doing anything else

[Alf]

Dr b, I would be interested in the low maintenance ground cover suggestion.
I'm not sure I can do much about the drainage as the back garden meets our neighbours garden, however I'm sure a bit of topsoil wouldn't go amiss if this could help.

[dr b]

There is a wealth of info on ground covers on the web. I'm sure your local garden center would also have lots of advice. There are too many variables for one-size-fits-all answers (#1 is: sun or shade? but also type of soil, do you want flowering or not, etc.). I have done this in several areas where grass stubbornly refuses to grow & am happy with the results.

the ground cover itself could help with the drainage issue, as its capacity for drinking up water will exceed that of grass (or weeds!)

[carlton23]

Nothing `sets off` a garden better than a nice well kept lawn, but if this is proving to be like too much hard work , then why not cover it with a artificial grass? Rolls of this can be purchased at a good garden centre, and will cover a host of sins.

[madmaggot]

Camomile.