Overgrown Garden
Hi there,
We have just bought a house with a very, very overgrown garden. In it's day it would have been beautiful but now it is a tangled mess of ivy, virginia creeper, jasmine and honeysuckle. Oh and four (yes FOUR) ponds. I think it probably has at least a decade of more of less being left to do what it likes.
The vines have killed nearly all of the trees/made them grow very tall and spindly and the soil is completely filled with roots. There is also a huge amount of dead honeysuckle/jasmine on top of everything causing even more issues (particularly on the roofs of sheds and outbuildings). When we arrived it looked quite beautiful in a kind of magical way but now we have started to cut things back it looks like the aftermath of a tsunami. I even found a complete dog skeleton today!
I am overwhelmed and not sure where to start! There is a system of three ponds, each on a different level, that flowed into one another so it's more complicated than just filling them in as that would leave a strange raised area. That being said, the different levels/areas in the garden are lovely visually so I don't really want to just flatten everything! I don't want to keep the ponds as we have small children and want to be able to use the large amount of space they occupy.
We need a landscape gardener really but don't have any budget at present. We can easily get the ponds filled with hardcore however I'm not sure if that's the right thing to do and don't want to fill them if we end up for example levelling the garden.
Does anyone have any advice about how to tackle this kind of problem? And do you think things have gone too far and need to be taken back to the beginning? ie does the whole thing need to be demolished. There are some really pretty plants but they are all intergrown with other things so almost impossible to prune properly and let them get enough space.
Thank you.
Posts
Hi and welcome Hellotreacle
Don't worry - it'll all come right. Can you take lots of photos of the garden and the individual areas and the problematic areas and post them on here - that will give us an idea of your options and the best order to tackle them in.
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If it doesn't work give us a shout
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
hi
wot Dove said basically! but also, what sort of garden do you like? this time of year makes it easier to clear things, dont worry about getting it all done as soon as possible, little by little it will come good, i bet there are some beautiful plants hiding
Hi
I know how you feel. When I got my garden (sounds a lot smaller than yours) it was very similar - a magical kind of neglected paradise! had a lovely, romantic feeling but was basically completely overgrown. It can seem overwhelming but you will be able to get on top of it - you will need to prioritise and it sounds like the ponds are probably number one. Good news is, this is a good time of year to "sort stuff out" as you will be able to hack things back before they put on lots of growth. Could you turn your ponds into bog gardens perhaps? drain the water, fill with soil and plant up? That said, Dove's suggestion is best - put some pics on the forum and you will have lots of advice
hi
think about what you want from your garden. thumb through lots of mags and make a scrap board.
keep focused on what you want to achive.
live with the garden for a couple of years trim plants and pull weeds so it doesn't get any worse.
re visit your plan try not to be seduced by the current trends most pass within a couple of years and then you have the problem of changing things again.
do a few soil tests across your garden in a w shape
make note of wind direction cold spots hot spots etc.
you'll find that things will emerge naturally.
take photos and share your ideas and things will come together.
also Read and read then make lots of lists they may not help but they will give you something to do!
Goodluck
Thanks everyone. I thought it would email me when I got responses but it didn't! I assumed the post must have been buried!
Yes have taken lots of pics. Here goes...
This shows the upper level with two ponds that fed into one another and a bog garden with bamboo and caster. There is a large wall behind here, the boundary of the garden. Also a very rickety fence down the left. Behind that huge palmy type thing (remind me of a bird of paradise when it's in flower) is little covered seating area which is sadly rotten.
Patio area here that gets the sun in the late afternoon. To the left of the pond as you stand with your back to house. Also pigeon houses again, sadly completely rotten. We'd like to keep chickens but also this would make a lovely bbq/seating area and don't want the two together!
Here you get the full view of the garden (excuse my boys looking v random!). The raised bit is the ponds and the steps go to the above picture.
Same view but what it was like the day we moved in. Much more beautiful than it is now!
Looking back at the house. War zone!
So this is the right hand boundary fence/ hedge. It was leylandii but most of it has died because of the ivy/jasmine/honeysuckle! We cut the tree down (not sure what it was) as it's been dead a long time.
Where my FIL has trimmed back (this whole bed was hidden). The soil is entirely roots. You can't dig into it at all. This is the workshop but again rotten because the vines above hold the water on the roof.
This one just show you more of a couple of pics ago.
This is the fourth pond which is immediately as you come out of the side of the house - adjacent to the workshop. I think that's some kind of japanese maple - I hoping I can save it. Everything is grown into each other.
Thanks for your help!
bump .
Can you do a photo from an upstairs window, so we get the whole thing?
It is going to be a very interesting and ultimately rewarding project and this really is a good time of year to make a start. You won't be stuck indoors at the weekends this winter!
This doesn't seem that overgrown to me although I know you've already done some tidying, it's just a mature garden. If you have any evergreen hedges, like conifer you can trim them lightly now to keep them neat over winter. Your can aerate and top dress your grass and prune back shrubs that are really stressing you out but you may risk losing next years flowers if they are an early flowering variety. Really that is all you should do now unless you want to gut the whole thing but that would be pretty pointless at this time of year anyway because it will leave you with an empty quagmire over winter. Wait until spring is underway properly and you will see if you have any dead trees/shrubs or limbs that need removing. This will also help us/you identify what you have in there and the best time of year or way to prune it. That small leaved thing next to your acer (I don't know the name) but it can be tight clipped to allow some more light in. Honeysuckle, virginia creeper and ivy can al be cut back hard and they've survive, that can be done now too.
blimey
looks wonderful a few really nice specimens
big clean up this afto then!
seriously though l really am looking forward to seeing the progress
your boys look asimular age to my two girls they are great at moving rubble pulling up weeds and planting bulbs and cheep too all that for an icecream
good luck batten down the hatches for the next couple of days
I, too, moved into a very neglected and overgrown garden in May but have found that clearing it one section at a time has been the most satisfying and rewarding process.
Just choose a small area, maybe even just one shrub and start cutting. If you are not sure, put a good photo of the plant on here and someone will tell you how much you can cut it. Most shrubby things can be cut quite hard and will grow back all the better for it. You might have to sacrifice some flowers in the short term but the long term rewards will be worth it and you will learn about your plants in the process.
My best advice would be to find someone who collects and takes away garden green waste for you. I found a local garden services company who leave me big builders sacks to fill with my prunings. When they are full he takes them on his trailer to the council recycling place about 10 miles from me for ??15 a bag. So far I have filled about 20 bags in the last few months but it has been money well spent as I don't have to keep finding time to shove it all in my car and take it myself. Also no chance of all the mini beasts escaping into my car. I imagine that with those two small boys, you have precious little time for trips to the tip.
Good luck! I'll be watching your progress too and hopefully having the support from the people on here will help keep you going. Keep taking pictures as well It's a great way to record your progress!