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inherited garden - can you help?
Hello, I'm new to the forum and to gardening. I've moved in to a rented house that has gardens front and back. It's obviously not been tended to for a while. There are numerous plants that I don't know how to care for or even what some of them are!
I was hoping you lovely people could help me 
I think this is a tall dog rose? How/where would you recommend pruning?
This lavender is very woody looking, is it beyond saving?
Is this sad looking rose worth saving?
What are these?
1)
2)
two bushes growing in to eachother
3)
4) how would you recommend pruning this clematis?
Thank you!!
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Hi Holls and welcome. In answer to your questions :
I would cut the rose back hard next spring as it's all top growth so unbalanced. Prune just about an outward facing bud about 12inches from the ground.
The lavender is woody but will survive. If you don't like the woodiness you could replace it with a fresh one as you can't cut into old wood to rejuvenate it. So the base will now always look like this.
That's up to you. It's very spindly but again if you prune hard next spring you would rejuvenate it.
1. is a buddleja
2. the picture is really small but it looks like a spirea
3. is an astilbe (the small plant) with a phormium (the spiky one)
The clematis is also spindly. Prune this just above a bud about 8-12 inches from the ground next Feb and encourage lots of growth to spread over a framework rather than one spindly stem.
Good luck!
I clicked on the tree and pasted the link in, is there a better way?
One thing I didn't say is make sure you check with the owners before you do anything drastic. You'll be expected to look after and maintain the garden of a rented property but they may not like you changing things or cutting plants back hard. I'm sure you're already aware of this but I just wanted to say be careful and check first to avoid any disagreements when you move out.
I would think that any landlord would be grateful of someone caring enough to look after the garden! Anyway, as Jekylletc said, check first. Buddlejas and roses can look really good when planted in together. The astilbe should be deadheaded. It will then die back completely for the winter...needs watering well in the spring. I agree with (nearly) all that Jekylletc. said. When you cut back the clematis, feed it early spring with tomato food, ensure the roots are well covered from the sun and it will repay in spades! I'd replace the lavender, they are so cheap to buy. I'm not sure that that is a spirea though; the stem looks a little too woody to me and even when overgrown, they don't normally topple over.
Lydiaann I just thought if the OP was planning on hard pruning or renovating it would be worth checking as the landlord may like everything as it currently is. Gardens are very personal - the landlord might like top-heavy roses or the way the clematis grows. I certainly wouldn't pull out the lavender, or any plant for that matter, without checking first.
Holls, each plant will have it's own needs regarding feeding/pruning etc. Once you know what each plant is then perhaps ask about them one at a time so that you have a clear idea of what is required? And I agree with Lydiaann, that may not be a spirea, but without a larger picture it's hard to tell. Good luck in your new home.
The buddleia may not have been planted at all and has probably sprung up from a wind-blown seed - they grow like weeds around here. You can transplant it to somewhere with more room if you want to keep it.
Here is the mystery plant in a bigger picture. It's too bushes, one growing forward in to the other
The landlord actually sent an email requesting we keep on top of the garden, which seemed a little unfair because we had only just moved in 6 weeks ago and there was clearly years of unkempt growth. We've already had some professional gardening done to cut back the bigger bushes. I think I will ask before I take the lavender out though.
If I prune back the rose to 12 inches above ground, that will mean taking off that whole long branch that holds all of the flowering plant? Will it really grow back? I'm very new to pruning and it's a bit scary!
Much better photo. Not sure of the second plant but the one with the sort of 'florets' of leaves is a choisya.
I'd love to get my hands on that rose! Do a bit of research before pruning it if it gives you more knowledge and confidence but I usually find that roses respond well to being cut back. You'll improve the shape and have flowers at a better height.
We rented once. Took on a very, very neglected garden. Tried to keep it 'under control' during our stay as that was what the contract told us to do but when we moved out the landlord said we had to tidy everything up if we wanted our deposit back! Thankfully I enjoy gardening but tidying up a long neglected garden on top of paying the rent was a bit cheeky I thought.
I don't think they were expecting a gardener, they more commented that the garden had become unruly and the bushes were poking through fences etc, which they were when we moved in. We've had it mostly back now and they were happy when they inspected it last week (or at least the agent was happy!).
I'm just looking in to how I can improve it as a project/hobby
We're not there anymore but the contract asked us to 'maintain the house and gardens' which we did. But there were brambles everywhere and bindweed so unless you really got stuck in to the neglect maintaining it was difficult. Hence my reservations for Holls. Our landlord claimed we'd let weeds grow amongst the patio stones and that the cotoneaster had become more invasive along a path. It really was incredible but I'm not confrontational and, as I said, I enjoy gardening but I did think that if the landlord wanted a certain standard he could have used a small portion of our rent to pay someone to keep it to his satisfaction. Anyway enough moaning - sorry Holls!