Brook side garden
Mitchbo1
Posts: 15
Mitchbo1 says: Hi
i moved into a property 3 years ago which has a brook running through an unregistered plot of land. Having applied for first registration of the land I now have this area to landscape. at the moment it's overgrown with brambles, common hogweed and Himalayan balm - challenging to say the least. One side is sloped the other is flat, measuring 40sq metres approx and is north west facing but Gets sun from mid afternoon due to size
My questions are:
1)Does anybody hsve have advice on Landscsping/gardening/maintaining this type of garden?
2) best way to get rid of the hogweed and Himalayan balm (ive had quotes of £500+ to cut it Back)?
3) low maintenance planting ideas And best use of such an area?
4) cheapest and easiest fencing options to construct (single woman doing on own!).
Thank you you for any advice.
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As a single woman doing it on my own I told them to stick their £500 where the sun doesn't shine and invested in a lightish weight petrol strimmer with brush cutter attachment, a mask and some earplugs!
It'll take me a whole lot longer but I'm getting to know my ground/land close up and personally and when it comes to planning and planting I will be so much more knowledgable as a result. I know where the springs are and where drainage and water courses run and can plan accordingly.
It's VERY hard work and my climatic conditions are challenging to say the least but I'm thoroughly enjoying getting to know my garden....and the people on here when I come to a "dodgy" bit.
Start with item 2 on your list and see what you have underneath all the "stuff" and take it from there.
You might even have to hire a mini digger if you're lucky!
Himalayan balsam is an annual, so you can just rip it up. It seeds everywhere though. The hogweed might need weedkiller (glyphosate would work) - or you could just keep strimming it like Plant Pauper. Wear protective clothing though.
How strong are you? We had an area covered in brambles and you can use weedkiller, but my husband dug it up using a pickaxe, which clears the soil as well as destroying the plants. It is hard work and not for those with a bad back, but you don't have to do it all at once and the results are excellent.
As another woman on her own (
) I can mainly advise about the fencing as I've done a fair bit of it in my time.
I'd agree with the strimming though - I've also had a property with a wild area and if you want to cultivate it a bit, you need to see what you have before you have what you want
Measure the total length of the area you need to fence. Find a supplier of heavy duty fencing timber (most builder's merchants) then work out how many posts you need, and what height. They come in 3 or 4 inch size (75 or 100 mm) You need to sink them in about a quarter to a third of the eventual height. Timber is sold by the metre, but usually comes in 3.6 metre lengths, so plan your posts accordingly. If you do them at 1.8 metre distances, one plank will cover two 'spaces'. Decide how you want the fence to look and then go from there. A decent merchant will also help you with that. Most of mine is double sided - the inside planks cover the gaps on the outside planks. It helps with filtering wind. The front garden is just a single plank as I have a hedge there as well.
You'll need concrete - use the Postcrete stuff if you're not able to mix your own, although it's a much dearer way of doing it. You need a spirit level and some extra bits of timber to hold the posts in place if you don't have another pair of hands to help get them in.
You need decent screws and a screwdriver (battery) or nails, depending on how you want to fix them. Again, another pair of hands helps, but you can manage it yourself using bits and pieces to support the planks.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Sisters are doing it for themselves......we're off again FG!
I chopped my brambles down to a couple of inches and no pickaxes or backs were harmed in their removal.
I have a cordless drill rather than a screwdriver but whatever you get make sure it has two batteries. One for using and one for charging. Don't make the mistake either of buying wee girlie tools, you want something substantial that'll do most of the work for you.
Even if you can get someone "to hold the other end" it'll be a big help but you can definitely do it by yourself. It's all very exciting!
Just to say there are a lot of different options for fencing, depending on whether you're just marking a boundary, or aiming to exclude wind or neighbouring livestock or the local youth. As Fairy says, a decent builder's merchant will be able to advise.
(I think your fencing method should be adopted more often, Fairy; we called it "hit & miss" fencing in Northumberland where I had my gardening business. Great for filtering wind, and if you get the gaps between the timbers right, the scallies can't get their feet in to climb over...
)