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Help with garden

Evening everyone .
 I’m back again after more advice on my garden if anyone could help 😀
 I’m thinking about hard pruning or is it called coppicing the Right hand side of my garden, it was left to grown wild by the previous owner , which I don’t think is to bad but feel most of the shrubs etc have gone to leggy and are quite sparce and seem to be growing south 🙂, I’m unsure what half of it is , i think there is Hawthorne , cottoneaster and other bits n bobs which not sure on .
  As can be seen by the picture next doors beech hedge has gone very bare due to lack of light etc , so would at least like to cut back below that to allow that to thicken . My question is would it be ok to cut it all down to a small stumps ? 
 I did that with a Laurel at the top of the garden that was massive and that seems to be growing back nicely , there is also another shrub that I cut back to a small stump and that came back too but again don’t have any ideas what that is either? ?any ideas. ?
 Thanks in advance 
 

Posts

  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    edited October 2023
    @Rockhopper As you say you can get away with a hard prune on Laurel.
    It is difficult to see just what you have from the photos. Long term if you are a keen gardener many of these may not be plants you want to keep due to their age?

    I can see ivy growing on the fence not a good combination as long term the fence will break.Remove it and you will be left with marks on the fence so you may need to prep and paint. Also in the first photo you have a plant with no leaves if they have recently fallen it may be a sign it is dieing, if it has been like that for a while check by scrapping the bark in various places to check it is alive.  

    Many deciduous shrubs are pruned after flowering so really the wrong time of year. Flowers would have also given you clues as to what things are but old shrubs sometimes give up flowering.
    Evergreens are best tackled in early May, Cotoneaster can be either but worth saving if not too old.

    You could go ahead on a kill or cure basis but best done in the spring. I wouldn't go back as far as stumps but more half way down, thiining out crossed branches, removing the dead ones and take out some old ones at the base if necessary. Some things may not flower as a result so you may still be waiting to see what you are growing.
    Ultimately you may find you have little worth saving an opportunity to make the garden your own. Keeping old mature shrubs and interplanting with new doesn't always work well either.

    Just to add is your garden only small? You may be spending many hours in the future chopping back the laurel.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • Hi thanks for the feedback .
     I don’t think the ones dropping the leaves are dying everything  was nice and lush green last month , I think it’s the fact autumn is about on us. Saying that one of theme large shrubs had a bare section which I cut out last year it was rotten abit like the fence which also needs replacing most of the garden is lawn but is a fairly large area . 
     We had the fence replaced on the other side of the garden last year , infact I’m just on with digging a narrow trench at the base of the fence to aid cutting the grass .
      Ideally I would like native shrubs / hedging down that side of my garden too but with abit more order but that’s another story , I’m abit unsure what to plant and do I plant in the 8 “ trough I’ve dug or just forward of the trough in the grass to keep it further away from the fence ?
      I’ve got jobs coming out of my ears , I’m by means no Gardner , although I think I’m turning into my dad ,he was abit  of a tinkler haha . That thing in the pot was growing under the front garden hedge and thought Ide try and rescue it . I’m sure it’s a Roman or something , it needs to be in the ground now though 😀
    cheers 
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    @Rockhopper I agree it is important to keep the soil away from the fence to stop it from rotting. I think it is best to leave the 8 inch trough as it is so that you can keep the lawn edge neat. You will get some weeds in the trough but a quick hoe will sort it. Don't be tempted to put gravel here you will damage the mower and the edging shears too. A good garden develops slowly and you often change your mind as your gardening knowledge grows too! It does look like a lovely garden with lots of potential. I am sure you are going to enjoy it very much in the years that follow. Lots of help here if you want to gradually develop it further in the future. Just ask!
    It will be interesting to see what is growing in your pot. Suze
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • Thanks suze 
     Do you think it would be ok to put bark in the trough just to help keep back the weeds ?
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    @Rockhopper Yes you can but you don't want it to rot the fence. Heavy rain can move bark about.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • Gravel or slate would be less likely to cause rot to the fence, tho it may keep the area damp.
    AB Still learning

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