Grass trials

For anyone who has visited our garden over the years they will know that we have stuggled with grassy path ways.Either it has been drought and too dry to get grass started or it has been wet and muddy. The fact of the matter is that we like trees and like a shady garden and most of the original grass prefers sun. We are also very thrifty and have not wanted to spend money on turf.
But in our usual style we have stumbled upon a solution. Our brother in law Ian who has experience with golf courses suggested we purchase a small amount of turf (Sir Walter)and cut it into squares and plant these so they will eventually send runners out and this worked well. We also were given a few pots of( Sweet smother) by Ron Treloar and this has been successful too.
The main issue has been that when large numbers of visitors walk around the garden areas of grass do get thin.Our solution has been to barrow small sized gravel as paths on the most used patches. Now there is grass growing through and over the gravel and we are back to lawn in most areas that can be mowed.The gravel seems to have enhanced the growth of the grass and it feels firmer under foot. I think that it would be a good idea in any garden to start with a gravel base on the pathways as I think it gives the grass some protection in the early stages and perhaps the texture of the gravel helps to scouer the soil and make it more friable for the young roots. Kyleigh