Our front lawn runs right to the street, with no kerb. The edge of it sometimes gets driven/parked on and (for reasons I'll go into below) we can't simply prevent this. So it tends to get churned up into mud along the edge at this time of year, which then becomes slippery, so now there's a big wheelspin mark.
Is there something I can do to make it tougher? The soil is fairly heavy, with lots of clay, and we're in southern England, so winters are mild and wet. Could I:
- Sow tougher grass? It wouldn't have to be a perfect match, there are already several types of grass visible.
- Add something to the soil (grit, fibrous organic matter,...)?
I can probably keep it clear for a few weeks for seed to establish in spring, by putting a row of canes up if necessary. This means I could dig something in and then resow, if I was confident it would work.
Constraints:
The road is rather narrow, meaning that sometimes crossing the corner of the grass is the only way to get in/out (but doing this slowly with the non-drive wheels doesn't really damage it). I dismissed a potted tree on the worst patch for this reason. The width of the road is also the main reason for parking on it.
The last 50cm (2') strip (so the bit that gets driven on) is our responsibility but not technically our property so there are limits on what we can do to it. In particular we can't plant trees/shrubs on it (it has to be kept clear for visibility) and it can be dug up with no more warning than the pavement outside any other house, to access the utilities running underneath.