Forum home Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

The jungle in my garden needs to go.

Hi guys and girls.

I have a bit of a problem with the mothers garden which looks very daunting tbh.

As you can see by the picture, its slightly overgrown.

image

 There's actually 2 sheds on the left hand side of the garden too.

I want to try and gut this garden out over the next 2 weeks so what would be the best course of action???

I have a Ryobi multi purpose petrol garden tool which im trying to fix atm, it has a long reach stimmer/cutter so was thinking of using that, but its not looking likely to be up and running for some reason.

This garden gets like this around every 2 years so ideally, I want to kill everything in the garden.

Any ideas ?? I have no idea what is growing in that garden

How much would a local (Warwickshire) gardener charge on average to do it??

Cheers guys and girls.

 

Tony

«134

Posts

  • FatTonyFatTony Posts: 8

    Higher res picture

    http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a199/tonydtiger/Garden.jpg

  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,384

    Looks like it's overrun by brambles, a very tough thing to deal with.  You can either cut them back to about a foot long, then completely dig out the roots, or use a very strong weedkiller, like SBK Brushwood Killer.  I'd advise the latter unless you have a few weeks to spare to properly dig everything out.

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • artjakartjak Posts: 4,167

    Golly! Good luck with it. Perhaps once it is converted to lawn, then you could pay someone to mow it and keep an eye out for weeds so that it doesn't get like this again.image

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,617

    Wasn't there a scheme whereby people with gardens they can't look after are matched with people who want a garden?  it might need nuking first though.

  • FatTonyFatTony Posts: 8

    Thanks for the suggestions guys.

    How long would the weed killer take to do its job you reckon??

    And how far would I have to dig down? I assume how ever far the roots go?

    Thanks again guys.

  • FatTonyFatTony Posts: 8

    How would that scheme work Anne just out of curosity?

  • WintersongWintersong Posts: 2,436

    I suffered this type of garden for ten years until my neighbours were evicted and the council sent in a JCB to level the garden and gut the house.

    There is no excuse for it in my opinion since it attracts rats and whilst I do not judge the owners who may be disabled or just lazy like my neighbours, the council should enforce able-bodied maintenance or else send in their own gardeners to help those who can't do it themselves.

    Of course that doesn't happen in this day and age, even the roadsides and verges are left in a state of disrepair. Last year our road was strimmed once in the spring and then just left to grow wild, yet they are quick enough to take bedroom tax from tenants.

    As a garden lover, I spent many years in tears living next door to the exact image you show,my efforts constantly marred by bramble overspill and invasions of bindweed and what little funds we had only managed a few fence panels to shut it all out, hence why my 100ft garden is only mature for the first 30ft.

    A new family and several skips of garden rubbish later, the brambles were expunged and life became more tolerable. We even got the rest of the fencing done since the council could see we had made efforts in the face of adversity.

    I am now enjoying the expansion of my garden and the family next door are happy with theirs, but such waste does make me hurt and upset for those who would dearly love a garden but haven't got one, or those who have to suffer such a terrible unsightly wilderness living next door.

    I wish you luck but it won't be easy work.

     

  • JcblueJcblue Posts: 42

    If I was you & you have the time, I would get some decent gloves or put 2 pairs on! then I would dig/pull out as many as possible, then cut the rest to about a foot off the ground, leave if a couple of weeks til it's got good leaf coverage then spray it. If you can/are allowed just get a good fire going & burn the stuff as you clear it, could always stick some sasuages in for lunch too! image

    If you just spray straight away they are really really prickley to pull out when they're dead! 

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,617

    Hi Fat Tony,

    I seem to remember Hugh Fernley  Whatsit  promoting a scheme. There are a lot of old people who have a garden but cannot look after it any more, they let someone without a garden cultivate it, and they share the veg etc,   See Landshare.com for details This has sample legal agreements and attempts to pair people up. Like online dating only matching people with land  to people wanting land.

    So old or disabled people don't have to lose their home and garden because they can't look after it any more.

Sign In or Register to comment.