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HELP! How do tackle my overgrown garden
melissa.ayse
Posts: 3
Hello All,
I moved into my property last year to a garden that (as I found out from my neighbours) hadn't been touched in over 5 years. As you can imagine it was a mess. Everything was overgrown, I had foxes who had well established the back of my garden as their home and one hell of a job ahead of me.
A year on and I've tried to clear what I can however I've reached a point where there is still so much and I just don't know how to tackle it. I have attached some photos so hopefully you can see things more clearly.
My problems are:
1. This is my first garden so I have absolutely no idea how to start.
2. As you may see from my picture, ivy has somewhat taken over and grown everywhere.
3. Where the garden was previously landscaped have many built up areas which mean I can't simple cut through whatever is there.
4. The ground is uneven and in some cases has big holes from where the foxes used to be (I got rid of them)
5. I have very little gardening equipment and don't know what is best to buy.
I'm not sure if and how to proceed or whether to get myself a gardener in to help (although am less keen on this idea) and am also really scared of all the worms and bugs and things out there. I would be really grateful for any advice on how to proceed or what tools/ help I will need.
Thanks in advance.
I moved into my property last year to a garden that (as I found out from my neighbours) hadn't been touched in over 5 years. As you can imagine it was a mess. Everything was overgrown, I had foxes who had well established the back of my garden as their home and one hell of a job ahead of me.
A year on and I've tried to clear what I can however I've reached a point where there is still so much and I just don't know how to tackle it. I have attached some photos so hopefully you can see things more clearly.
My problems are:1. This is my first garden so I have absolutely no idea how to start.
2. As you may see from my picture, ivy has somewhat taken over and grown everywhere.
3. Where the garden was previously landscaped have many built up areas which mean I can't simple cut through whatever is there.
4. The ground is uneven and in some cases has big holes from where the foxes used to be (I got rid of them)
5. I have very little gardening equipment and don't know what is best to buy.
I'm not sure if and how to proceed or whether to get myself a gardener in to help (although am less keen on this idea) and am also really scared of all the worms and bugs and things out there. I would be really grateful for any advice on how to proceed or what tools/ help I will need.
Thanks in advance.
0
Posts
First thing to do is decide what you want from your garden: a play space for children and/or pets? A chilling and entertaining space for grown-ups? A wildlife sanctuary? Fruit and veg? Next thing: how much time and effort do you want to put in? There is no upper limit, but if you're not keen and just want it to look tidy, there are ways of achieving that with less effort.
Next, before we can advise you further, we need to know what conditions you've got. Are you in the UK, and what's your weather usually like? What compass point does your garden face? Pick up a handful of soil, moisten it if it's dry, and see if you can mould it into a ball. If it holds its shape, you've got clay: tiny soil particles which retain water and bake hard in warm, dry spells. If you can mould it but the ball falls apart, you've got the ideal soil: loam, a mix of different sized particles. If you can't mould it at all, you've got sandy soil, mostly large particles which are free- draining but may need watering in summer. Soils can be acid, neutral or alkaline, and some plants are fussy which one they grow in. You can buy a testing kit for about £10, but if money is tight, ask around among your neighbours, preferably those with well-tended gardens! All of these factors will influence which plants are likeliest to thrive.
I'm afraid those mini-beasts you so dislike make an immeasurable contribution to the health and fertility of our gardens. There's no getting away from them if you're going to be a serious gardener. Some of them are out and about when it's dark and damp, so you can avoid going out there. Apart from bees and wasps, most of the mini-beasts you'll encounter in UK are harmless to humans. Unless you're one of the few people who are allergic to them, a wasp sting, in my experience, is not that big a deal. (I've never been stung by a bee.) I think, if you learn to identify some of these little critters, and get to know about their lifestyles and how they contribute in the overall scheme of nature, you will learn, if not to love them, at least not to be afraid of them.
When you've thought through all of the above, come back to us and we can start thinking about how to tame your jungle and turn it into your own little bit of paradise.
I started at one side just with a spade and fork and mattock dug my way across to the other side digging up dandelion roots that I couldn't circle with my hands.
Another house was all brambles so that had to be cleared again with just a spade, fork and mattock.
Terrific exercise!
There doesn't seem to be much worth saving so start in back corner and clear a section at a time.
I would say that the very first thing you should do is to sort out all that wonky fencing, you will probably have to save up and get somebody in to do it for you unless you've got some friends/relatives who could help. The newish panels could probably be saved.
I think the best thing for you to do is to pick a section, probably a bit nearest to your back door, and start there. That way, as you step outside you can see progress . It is a big thing to take on, especially as it's been neglected for some time, but try not to get too downhearted.
I would start by making a list of what you would like to have, as has been suggested above. You may not be able to have it all, but write it down anyway.
Next, draw up a plan. You don't need to be good at drawing (trust me, l'm useless), if you are computer literate, there are apps etc. you can use.
As Josua says, the way the plot faces will affect what you can grow, but get the groundwork done first, if you'll pardon the pun.
If you like come back here and post your plan, and you will get advice as to what will and won't work.
With regard to worms and suchlike, l suggest you invest in a pair of gardening gloves. I always wear them.
As for tools, what have you got at the moment ?
Finally, remember real life isn't like Garden Rescue or Love your garden with big budgets and magical transformations within a few days, it takes time. It's worth it though !
They're all really helpful so thank you.
@josusa47 in answer to your questions:
I live in Bromley, kent so that should give you a fair idea about my weather. My garden is an east facing garden I believe, so I have sun there in the morning. My soil does fall apart after I mould it (apart from by my apple tree where it stays in a ball).
For now I just want to get it tidy. The first picture is a bit of a mound as there used to be a shed there. I'm not sure how to dig through the remains of a shed! My neighbour told me this afternoon. I also had about 12 tree stumps at the back which I had taken out. As for worms etc. I know they are needed but some of them are huge!!!