Clearing a garden and maintaining it.

[Deleted User]

lokz said:

Thanks every one for your messages. All the messages made me think hard and I had gone quite  . I  had few quotes in the mean time from local gardeners. 

As couple of above messages suggested, we now know what we want to do ( I mean which trees to keep and which needs to go )

I got quotes for the below work

1) cutting the big tree ( by the side of garden shed)  down to ground level.
2) Clearing the compost.
3) Digging out and clearing the small weeds .
4) Removing most of the plants on the drive way with roots.

5) Clearing away the waste from the work above.

Almost every one suggested to keep 2 plants on the drive way. Only one of them guaranteed he will remove the plants along with the roots ( He has very good reviews ) , except the big tree on the back garden.

Others mentioned its difficult to get the roots off from the ground on the driveway as it might be going under into the neighbours land . They said they will use weed killer once they cut the plants to the ground.

2 quotes at around  £400 ( one of the quote was the guy who guaranteed removing the roots ) . 2 quotes around 700 and One gardener ( Hobbyist )  quoting at 20 £ per hour for his work.

I decided to keep couple of plants on the drive way but get others off.

This is our first home.  Regarding doing work on my own, Its definitely a no at this point of time due to various reasons.

Apologies for going on silent after my first post, it was mainly due to me processing the messages and wanted to get some quotes before I follow up.

I definitely wanted the big tree to go in the back garden.  ( Is this a bad idea ? )
My mind wanders between getting the work done in one go or get a gardener and gradually get the work done over few months.

Also does weed killer kills of the roots of the plants as well? I mean will those roots die and get decayed underneath?

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

That big tree is just a shrub that's not been pruned, it can be reduced in height and width, better to have something covering the wall and fences rather than staring at bricks or wooden panels. 

Depends on your budget and how desperately you want to the no greenery, stark look.

Systemic weedkiller kills off roots, non systemic just does the greenery, once the roots are dead there's no 'decaying' as you describe it, what was once the living organism just turns to dust/compost/soil in the ground it once existed in.

Emmia

Getting rid of all the larger more mature plants, will mean you'll be looking at the fences / walls etc behind them and/or completely removing any privacy you have in the garden (and your future neighbours may not like that too). Your garden will look soulless too.

Buying replacement plants gets expensive, if they're big enough to offer privacy instantly, or take time to grow to the size you want

Personally, I'd give everything a good hard prune (or get the gardener to do it) and live with it for a year - perhaps doing some pots for colour (hang onto the compost for that, as you'd be astonished how much you'll need for some pots) on the patio / concrete.

Apodemus

Yes, I'd go with the hobbyist gardener at the £20 hourly rate rather than the one-off, clear-the-lot-for-£400 option.  I'd be betting that you will have a better result from one 8-hour day at £160 than you will get for your £400 from the hit-squad.  Better still if the hobbyist is doing a couple of hours a day over a longer period. 

As Catsacor says, a systemic weedkiller will kill the roots, but not if "they will use weedkiller once they have cut the plants to the ground" or indeed if the job waits until the leaves have dropped for winter.  The plant needs to be actively growing for the weedkliier to reach the roots.

Woolsery

Frankly, I wouldn't do much to that garden yet. Some of the plants will perhaps make good 'bones' for what is to come, but until you have lived with it, watched the changing track of the sun, noticed the annoying habits of neighbours etc, you won't have all the data to decide what to do for the best.

The stand-out to me is the crappy concrete. It's going to spoil whatever you do, but again, knowing how to replace it will depend on whether you're going to stick with the location of hard surfaces or move them. Some, like the path to a gate, may have to stay, but not necessarily exactly where they are now.

By all means get the cheap chappie in to do some tidying, then take time to decide on what works or doesn't work for you. While you do that, save up for some tools, because the cheap chappie may look expensive in a couple of years from now!

J63320

Apodemus said:

Yes, I'd go with the hobbyist gardener at the £20 hourly rate

Woolsery said:

Frankly, I wouldn't do much to that garden yet …

If I were you, I’d get the hobbyist gardener in to remove the brambles and weeds and prune some of the shrubs - with some of them, it won’t be the right time of year to prune, as you will lose next year’s flowers, which won’t help you decide whether or not to keep the plant. And also, if he is willing and you have the time, I’d work alongside him. If he’s as interested in the plants as he is in making money from his hobby, he will give you lots of advice, tell you what the plants are and how to look after them, etc. This isn’t something you can expect from a lot of so-called “gardeners”. As far as I can see you have some lovely things there that are worth keeping and won’t be hard to maintain once you know how. And as Woolsery says, you can do more later, once you’ve lived with it for a year.

lokz

Thanks every one for the replies. I have decided to go with the Hobbyist gardener and see how it goes.