How to renovate a backyard in one year....?

Question

So I am getting married on 09/19/09, and I haven't really been too excited with any typical reception sites, so I was thinking of using my childhood backyard. It is huge and I only want to invite about 100 people.

The problem is, it's rundown. There is a jungle gym that definitely needs to be torn down, and even though the soil is fertile, any attempt at growing grass has been all for naught.

So do you have any suggestions, or do you think it's even feasable to throw away all of the junk in the back yard (not a lot, just the jungle gym and some trash cans, if I rent a dumpster I can throw it all away in a day), grow grass, and plant some simple flowers in a year if we can only devote two days a week to hard work on it? Thanks in advance for even reading my crazy rambling!

Answer 1

The answer is no. Because if you can't even grow grass then you need to alter the soil which mean literally bring in tons of bags of soil from a garden center or pay a landscaping supply company to deliver the soil. It takes a year for grass to fully establish the root system too. Or else you have to bring in sod which can cost a lot too.

So in reality it's not recommended- you are creating a huge undertaking and you have too many other things to worry about for your wedding so unless you can afford to pay a landscaper to deal with it I would not go there.

Answer 2

Sounds to me like with a little elbow grease, you could get the yard cleaned up in no time.  But you'll have to water the sod, if you put that down.  And you can also have potted plants laying around instead of established flowers in a garden.

Answer 3

You can "clean it up" in two days - but there's no way you can establish grass there if you're not going to be around to water if frequently until it gets established...whether it's seeds, or sod.