Overgrown garden - Where do i start?

toffeecoated

I will be moving to a house next month and the old lady who lived there before had no interest in the garden. She let it overgrow so it looks like a jungle. The front hedge is almost as bad. I have a few plans for it. I would like a large shed and maybe grow some fruit and veg. But first i need to turn it from a jungle into a garden. She was there for seven years and never touched it so you can imagine the state its in. I have never done any gardening work before and i have no idea how to start. What tools will i need? Is it worth buying used tools? How do i level it for a shed (if necessary). All advice and tips gratefully appreciated.

Mrs_Huggett

Firstly, is the front hedge privet? This can be cut back hard without hurting it too much, secondly do you know anything about plants at all? Is there a friend or family member who could come and have a look and advise you and let you know what is worth keeping, there may be nice shrubs and perennial plants that are in situ and would cost a lot to replace! I would get any lawned areas cut as once you have done that you will have a better idea, if there is bramble and bindweed then it will be a case of digging out the former and treating the latter with a good weedkiller.

I have seen decent used tools at boot fairs and general auctions, also high street shops will soon start having sales of any stock they have left (if they haven't already!) If you have no idea about what is a shrub or a bulb or a bedding plant or perennial is or what you do with a hoe or a pair of secateurs then get a good book for beginners (library, charity shops,boot fairs, jumbles) or google questions as and when you come across them and you will find great advice. If you are going to have a shed then really you need to invest time and effort in getting the base right, you might be lucky and find a concreted area under all the weeds lol!!Good luck!!

blossomhill_2

Hi lucky you!
Your new best friends are going to be a tree pruning saw (Google to see one, about £10 or under) and a pair of ratchet loppers (Wilkinson do cheap serviceable ones of both)

Dont be tempted to take everything out - just cut back any bushes/shrubs by a third to start, then after new growth comes in take it back by a further third

This should give the garden some structure while you decide what to keep and what to ditch

You can take the obvious weeds as mentioend above, bramble etc) to ground level then dig out the roots

As you clear and area, cover it with weed supressing fabric otherwise you will have to repeat

PS try to get a copy of a book called "Old Garden, New Gardener" by Gay Search & Geoff Hamiliton - it's excellent for this situation

Ken68

You may need a skip, Toffee, unless you can get debris to the local recycling plant yourself.
Plant growth will start to slow down now, and let you get on with clearing the site.
There are people who advertise to clear gardens, they have the equipment , might be worth checking prices.
Good luck and see you eventually on Gardeners World. Agreat hobby and chance to be self sufficient.

glasgowdan

If your council take green waste for free at the tip, the I would hire a small trailer for the car with cage sides. I would also just hire other equipment. Get a local gardener to come in and spray the weeds as this will give you clear areas such as the drive and paths from which to begin.

Once borders etc have been sprayed, you can hire a rotovator to go over it all. You'll really need powerful hedge trimmers too which you may be able to hire.

This is the way I would approach it all, hire some really tough pro tools and get the job done easily and, overall, cheaply. I'm happy to look at photos if you want specific advice as I do this for a living.

toffeecoated

Thanks everyone. This is the problem i have to deal with.

http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/5678/gardenpp.jpg
http://img862.imageshack.us/img862/2125/hedge.jpg

pawsies

The other thing to bear in mind is to take care with seeds! Don't hack at the weeds with a strimmer as otherwise seeds will disperse and you'll be back to square 1.

Get some shears and cut the weeds and put the seed part in the bin =]

glasgowdan

The way I would deal with the bulk of the overgrowth there is to strim (blade) the weeds, rake up and remove the stuff once cut, and spray weed killer 2-4 weeks later once fresh stuff starts coming back up. The hedge is easy with a tough hedge cutter, hack it back to whatever shape/size you like, it will come back. You'll be into bare wood and it will look rubbish this season, but by the end of next season it will look decent. The most important thing is to ensure you cut it nice and level so in future it becomes an easy-to-maintain even hedge.

pineapple

I can only tell you what I did.
There was a very steep grassed slope at the back. I can't remember which one it was but I sprayed the slope with the sort of killer that lets you re-plant in the same area. I then left the dead grass root in place while I dug up areas inbetween and planted ground stabilising plants and shrubs and the occasional rock!
Further up the hill (yes my garden is mostly hillside) I sprayed all the brambles and weeds with SDK. It is now bramble free (except where I want them). and I maintain with a strimmer.
The most important thing IMO is to have a plan and prioritise. My new neighbour has made a ton of work for himself because he tinkers with one area then starts on another - by which time the first area is back to square one.
Gardens don't happen overnight (unless you are on 60 minute makeover ). So good luck and patience!
Edit: Used tools? There are certain non electrical basics that you might as well buy. As for electrical/petrol strimmers, trimmers and the like it's might be a good idea to borrow, at first, if possible - to avoid an expensive mistake. But I also find it useful to look at product reviews on sites like Amazon.

cyclonebri1

The 1 thing I would say is take a look around the garden and see what you want to save, and just remember how long trees take to grow.

Don't try to Pollard stuff, it looks stupid, keep it or get shut.

Can't get the pics but your local mini diggerman could be your best friend.

cheeswright

did the old lady like a go on the swings then ?

this is not several years untouched - this is maybe a year in this wet weather..
you can still see the grass amongst the weeds here....
if its not huge you cut cut this back with a strimmer - then just keep mowing it which kills just about everything that grows from the top
ie everything thats not grass
treat with weed and feed in the autumn when its raining more
and the privit hedge just needs a trim - hedge trimmer if you want it that height
loppers if you want it shorter - it will re-green -
but dont put the trimmings in your compost, they are poisonous to other plants...

start your veg garden small - think 6' x 4' and when you've conquerd that patch and tried some nice salad stuff - turn over another rectangle.....