Garden advice

jonnyb1978

Been saying every year i will sort the garden out but never do. Its ok once it has had a good clean and tidy but i want something more permanent and less maintance so here come a few questions.

1. We have a mound of compacted soil behind the shed in the corner of the garden. I would like this removed and the shed moved back creating more space. Whats the best way to remove soil baring in mind underneath is all rubble, glass etc that was just thrown into the corner by someone. Its probaly only about 1.5m square so a skip will be a bit of a waste and bagging it is too heavy.. Any other ideas?

2. The above has now been attacked with ivy so looking at getting rid of that and cutting some more down. Whats the best way to remove ivy from site. Can it be shredded or best bagged?
Once cut down can the ivy be trained on a trellis were i can then basically get a pair of hedge cutters and trim the ivy about 2 inches away from the trellis. This to cover the back wall but keep it maintained without the ivy growing wild. Will cut this every time a do the grass or when needed.
Will that work and keep the Ivy 'contained'?

3. I have a border along a wooden panelled fence. Currently filled with red bark for a quick fix but the edges are shot to pieces and i have put two timber fence posts down to stop the bark getting on the grass. The mower is a hover so just blows grass onto the bark. I would like to use the smart edge system or similar http://www.greenfingers.com/superstore/product.asp?dept_id=340&pf_id=LS6101D to straighten the edge and fill the border with stones with some planters sitting on top. How would i fill in between the the edge system and lawn. Would basic top soil and grass seed be enough?

4. Also under the would be trellis on the back wall. On the ground is a big concrete slab (An old shed base) but pretty thick. I was thinking of covering this with stones and putting a decorative bench on it but if im trimming ivy it would be all in the stones. Any ideas of a decent use for a big silly concrete slab?

Should tie my over for this summer along with few other bits and bobs.

thanks

Rotor

1. Skip is probably easiest. Remember soil roughly doubles in volume when it is dug up. Otherwise spread it around and rake and pick through

2. Shredding is fine.
Cutting the ivy should work if you can get both sides of trellis ;just cut as required - few times a year

3. Yes soil will be fine ( not compost as that will degrade away)

4. Stones on concrete may be a bit slidy (is that a word?) - they roll easily. How about laying some decking over it

Nile

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jonnyb1978

Ok started to cut the ivy back but im somewhat lost as what to do.
Basically the Ivy is growing in an adjacent house in another road. Their garden backs onto ours. It has grown quite wild and stems have broken though the wall (concreter gravel boards), so i have quite a few stems growing into our side and also one big stem that has forced its way through and grows up which looks like it may well be the main stem that branches into a lot of the plant. The plant is also at least a foot above the top of the wall.
Its very thick and hangs down rather than clings to the wall. I have cut it from the floor to a few feet off the floor so it is like a canopy. You can stand under it and it acts as a sort of umbrella.

I ideally i would like to either get rid, but its growing in neighbours garden so can not kill it..OR cut it right back to the boundary and put up a sort of trellis and train it down the trellis as mentioned earlier but i was wondering.

1. If i put a trellis up the stems and branches that will grow again that have broken through the wall will just break up the trellis and the will be no way to cut them back as it will all be hidden behind trellis.

2. If i cut it all back to boundary im going to be left with a bare wall and a load of cut branches/stems about a foot above the wall. This will look stupid. If i train to off shoots down somehow how the bigger thick branches grow back.?

3. The big stem that seems to branch off to form alot of the plant has come through the wall into our side and climbed against the wall upwards. As that is actually in our boundary can i cut that legally? Though it might kill off some of the plant..

Sorry for the stupid questions that probably dont make sense. Its horrible stuff uncontrolled....Oh i have a russian vine growing amongst all the Ivy too.....Thats even worse.

Kay_Peel

Ivy is a thug and you have my sympathies. I've seen fences, walls and house brickwork damaged by ivy and it's not a pretty sight. I find those arching ivies are really filthy things too. They harbour all sorts of wild-life (which is a good thing) but I just don't want it near my house or my veg patch.

Just hack, hack, hack at it, right back to your boundary line. That means anything growing over a fence, through a wall, under a fence, and into your soil. In law, you are supposed to offer the cuttings and deliver the clippings back to your neighbour because they are his/her property.

It will spring back to life (unfortunately) because it's nigh on impossible to kill the blighter. I know because I've tried. it may look like bare stems above the wall now - but it won't be long before its green and shooting out all over the place.

Don't get a trellis to tame it and don't 'train it' or anything that might lead to a dispute with your neighbour, at this stage. It's best to take it one step at a time. Your neighbour's ivy is causing damage and invading your land - you are perfectly within your rights to cut it back to the boundary. For the long term, it may be wise to keep your neighbour in the loop and tell them what you are doing and why.

Good luck :beer: