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Bricks in my border…

sabeehasabeeha Posts: 344
edited August 2022 in Problem solving
Hello

I wanted to dig up an area to improve it and add soil conditioner to prep for putting a few small shrubs down etc but I came across a brick… after I dug it out I realised there must be a whole later or something underneath!

What could these be? Was there some sort of structure there before which the previous owners just put top soil over? 

More importantly will any shrubs flourish?  There is a small tree (totally forgotten name!) nearby which has never really flourished - is this why?

Not sure what to do… I’m not in a position to take it all up.. I’m not even quite sure how deep the layers go…

☹️

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  • sabeehasabeeha Posts: 344

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    You need to dig out what you can as plants can't root in bricks.

    We have a similar problem here but with natural stone from demolished farm buildings.   As we have no clue where the stones are buried till we start digging a new bed it can feel like quarrying sometimes.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • sabeehasabeeha Posts: 344
    I thought I might have to ☹️ I was wondering why the previous owner hardly planted anything there, only saw bluebells or muscari there!


  • sabeehasabeeha Posts: 344
    I might just have to rethink my planting scheme… perhaps look into shallow rooting plants?
  • Simone_in_WiltshireSimone_in_Wiltshire Posts: 1,073
    @sabeeha If it were my garden, I would dig a bit beyond the ones from the image and see if I get one lifted. Then try to find out what is underneath. If there is just soil underneath, then take out the next one. 
    It might be that a previous owner had a brick path.
     If there is no structural requirement to have bricks, don’t bin them but put them aside. There will always be a reason to need or to use bricks. 

    I ♥ my garden.

  • sabeehasabeeha Posts: 344
    Thank you @Simone_in_Wiltshire

    I guess I felt really disheartened at the idea of the potential task ahead! I can only potter about here and there as I’m quite busy with the kids, one of whom is a hugely boisterous toddler! I will have to take it one thing at a time!
  • Bee witchedBee witched Posts: 1,295
    I'd get the kids digging up the bricks then ..... make it a fun task .... buried treasure, that sort of thing.

    Bee x
    Gardener and beekeeper in beautiful Scottish Borders  

    A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
  • shazza 3shazza 3 Posts: 197
    You won't know how deep they go or how many are there until you try. I moved to this property in 2001 and I'm still finding glass shards/old cement bags and other rubbish that previous owners buried here. I am baffled why they did that because we are only 10 minutes away from the council tip and they owned vans so could have taken the rubbish over there or even hired a skip. Some people are just bone idle. I wish you luck that there are only bricks buried there.   
  • sabeehasabeeha Posts: 344
    Bee witched said:
    I'd get the kids digging up the bricks then ..... make it a fun task .... buried treasure, that sort of thing.

    Bee x
    Actually that is a brilliant idea! I have a teenager who may be up to this task - didn’t even think of this 🙂
  • sabeehasabeeha Posts: 344
    shazza 3 said:
    You won't know how deep they go or how many are there until you try. I moved to this property in 2001 and I'm still finding glass shards/old cement bags and other rubbish that previous owners buried here. I am baffled why they did that because we are only 10 minutes away from the council tip and they owned vans so could have taken the rubbish over there or even hired a skip. Some people are just bone idle. I wish you luck that there are only bricks buried there.   
    Thank you - hopefully! Only weird thing I’m finding is what I thought was obsidian but it crumbled away when I put pressure on it - maybe the remains of a bbq!
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