There doesn't look like much worth saving in that garden.
Don't forget, this is a gardening forum so you might get helpful and at times romanticised horticultural advice but the reality is that this is a 'start again' job. You can put some marigolds on and spend the next 5 years teasing out ivy roots but ultimately you'd be wasting your time.
Personally i'd get a contractor in to grub out the undergrowth, skim off the top 200mm of soil for new (the stuff that contains the ivy roots!), and grade to an acceptable level. Then regularly apply a herbicide over a couple of months to ensure no pernicious weeds emerge.
If you don't know much about gardens then its much better to start with a blank canvas and learn from there. Create a garden that works for you and don't anguish over a mess that you've inherited.
I have been a Professional Gardener for 24 years the advice I give is to do the job properly.
@finnbleK1xeTuT- Thank you for the photo my first thought was you have a big task ahead and if you are not that strong you will need some help. My second thought was what a great space there is so much you can do. If you can accept that your garden has not been touched five to ten years you might find it easier because you need to take off the pressure.
I don't know if you have got as far as discovering what the soil is like? If you have heavy clay and the ground is wet you could compact the soil which will sadly add to your problems and you may need to keep off it.
I would keep the crazy paving use a hardcore or a new path.
Don't look at the instant fixes on programmes like Garden Rescue good gardens evolve.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
Things will look a lot more promising if you can get that central 'lawn' area cleared. Mark out the areas where you think there were nicer plants first. If you need help ID-ing them later, take some pics and ask on here, someone is bound to know
The brambles may look awful but are surprisingly easy to tackle with the right tools. You will need thick gloves, some long-arm loppers and some secateurs. Use the loppers to get in underneath and cut the stems close to ground level, then cut up the long canes into shorter sections to make them easier to handle and dispose of. You can do the same thing on the thick stemmed ivy. Thinner bits pull up more easily, but you do have to untangle them as you go along.
It should then be easier to tackle the grass and other weeds with a strimmer or a good mower. The roots will still be there of course, but many plants will not withstand repeated mowing, so you will only need to attack the ones that keep coming back.
With a clearer idea of what you've got, you will be able to start the fun part, thinking about your garden design
I have been a Professional Gardener for 24 years the advice I give is to do the job properly.
@finnbleK1xeTuT- Thank you for the photo my first thought was you have a big task ahead and if you are not that strong you will need some help. My second thought was what a great space there is so much you can do. If you can accept that your garden has not been touched five to ten years you might find it easier because you need to take off the pressure.
I don't know if you have got as far as discovering what the soil is like? If you have heavy clay and the ground is wet you could compact the soil which will sadly add to your problems and you may need to keep off it.
I would keep the crazy paving use a hardcore or a new path.
Don't look at the instant fixes on programmes like Garden Rescue good gardens evolve.
Perhaps OP can hire a gardener. I reckon theres at least 24 years worth of weeding to be done there!!!
I agree dont EVER look at Garden Rescue or any of those other awful programmes that look to devalue my trade.
I think we'd pretty much agreed that the OP needs help with clearing the site - it's been mentioned a few times earlier on. No point in killing yourself if it's too tough to tackle. A completely unused site is often easier than sorting an overgrown one
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
For me this is a forum for me to get serious advice, and where if I think I know something - to offer it in a straightforward way. Not a "friendly" chat site.
Suze: My remarks were meant to cover the mainstream of untrained, inexperienced jobbers. A bit like the prejudging remarks one makes about used car salesmen or estate agents.
finn: What sort of budget could you think of. With a garden like that you must have enjoyed a discount on the purchase price. If not, caveat emptor.
location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand. "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
@bede said: "For me this is a forum for me to get serious advice, and where if I think I know something - to offer it in a straightforward way. " ...and people get that.
"Not a "friendly" chat site. " Putting it in a friendly way is surely the best way to do that though, so, again - that comment is a bit unnecessary, and not relevant to the thread in any way. Why do you dislike people being friendly to others on this forum?
@McRazz I am pleased to say it wasn't all weeding! Although I did work in three NGS gardens and needed to be vigilant with the weeding. My favourite job was a long empty border to plant up. I could never draw it on paper but standing in front of it I could picture it complete. I still walk past some front gardens that I have planted up and they make me smile.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
Posts
It will quickly look good. The crazy, crazy paving will soon be a terrace.
I got rid of brambles by one season of mowing.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
Don't forget, this is a gardening forum so you might get helpful and at times romanticised horticultural advice but the reality is that this is a 'start again' job. You can put some marigolds on and spend the next 5 years teasing out ivy roots but ultimately you'd be wasting your time.
Personally i'd get a contractor in to grub out the undergrowth, skim off the top 200mm of soil for new (the stuff that contains the ivy roots!), and grade to an acceptable level. Then regularly apply a herbicide over a couple of months to ensure no pernicious weeds emerge.
If you don't know much about gardens then its much better to start with a blank canvas and learn from there. Create a garden that works for you and don't anguish over a mess that you've inherited.
Best of luck!
Remember professional gardeners are not motivated to do a long term job. They like repeat weeding, rather then sorting the problem properly.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
@finnbleK1xeTuT- Thank you for the photo my first thought was you have a big task ahead and if you are not that strong you will need some help.
My second thought was what a great space there is so much you can do. If you can accept that your garden has not been touched five to ten years you might find it easier because you need to take off the pressure.
I don't know if you have got as far as discovering what the soil is like? If you have heavy clay and the ground is wet you could compact the soil which will sadly add to your problems and you may need to keep off it.
I would keep the crazy paving use a hardcore or a new path.
Don't look at the instant fixes on programmes like Garden Rescue good gardens evolve.
I agree dont EVER look at Garden Rescue or any of those other awful programmes that look to devalue my trade.
Definite restart this one.
No point in killing yourself if it's too tough to tackle. A completely unused site is often easier than sorting an overgrown one
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
For me this is a forum for me to get serious advice, and where if I think I know something - to offer it in a straightforward way. Not a "friendly" chat site.
Suze: My remarks were meant to cover the mainstream of untrained, inexperienced jobbers. A bit like the prejudging remarks one makes about used car salesmen or estate agents.
finn: What sort of budget could you think of. With a garden like that you must have enjoyed a discount on the purchase price. If not, caveat emptor.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
"For me this is a forum for me to get serious advice, and where if I think I know something - to offer it in a straightforward way. "
...and people get that.
"Not a "friendly" chat site. "
Putting it in a friendly way is surely the best way to do that though, so, again - that comment is a bit unnecessary, and not relevant to the thread in any way. Why do you dislike people being friendly to others on this forum?
@Buttercupdays and @GardenerSuze have given advice in a very appropriate way IMO.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
My favourite job was a long empty border to plant up. I could never draw it on paper but standing in front of it I could picture it complete. I still walk past some front gardens that I have planted up and they make me smile.