Well well i think i may end up being very unpopular here,
First things first, Sort the cause out before the solution,
Moss is caused by poor drainage and very damp conditions plus the lack of sun can come into the facts,
I myself have in every home we bought had poor Gardens and the Lawn are the number one to be mistreated the most
Mainly because of ( if the lawn was anything like lucky it had the grass cut and that was about all, hence the cut would more than pull blade cut that a sharp lawn mower blade cut and this will cause moss etc to spread, plus Lawns need feeding and the use of Lime to improve the soil PH)
What to do?
Well you have two choices, The first is to know the problem, I have already said your Area is in very poor lack of drainage, you can see this not only by the Moss, But look at the type of weeds you have ? They are short rooted but wide spread roots sort of weeds and these grow on wet lands, (because the roots do not have to search for water unlike tap roots that have to go down deep in the soil for water hence these roots spread rather than dig)
If your willing to do the work yourself ??? Then you need to remove the top layer of 3inch and then turn the soil over and lime the soil and leave it for a few weeks (Feb/March ) If April is on the dry side and you can rotatory the ground a few times until you can get a nice crumble type off soil and then rake the area and roll it, and then rake a fine tillage, It is now the grass seed is sown,
Before you know it you will be seeing a little green haze (that's your reward for all the hard word) But it gets better as the grass continues growing and thickening you can now plan the garden, If you think of your garden like an Artist plans his painting of a beautiful garden !! The lawn is the back ground, Now you can learn from the mistake your previous owner did and care for the lawn by airing the grass by using a fork pressed into the Lawn in a close fork spacing to enable the drainage to happen, give the Lawn a feed, learn when to spread light sand over the lawn,
Read read & read again, you will be glad you did?
Stage two
You can lay Pre-cut turf Rolls on the Prepared area (Keep in mind how the moss took over in the first place !!!
It is no good laying fresh turf on an area that has not been sorted regarding drainage And a very good point to think of here is this climate change ? The rain scale is greater now than it has ever been, "Are you in an area with more rain than it once had ?
If you decide to use the turf method you need to be ready for the rolling out of the turf so it will have a chance to grow,
Again once the turf is down it need attention both by watering and drainage spiked to help the turf roots take and not have pools of water sitting on the turf,
Well i have been honest and i have sown many a Lawn both my own and clients and as i have said many times
gardening for me is a pleasure but it can be hard work,
The Bonus is you get all the rewards if you do it right and that """what have i done if you do not do it right""
