What is this?

[Paddingtonthebear]

And is it dead?

[brizzlemint]

No photo!

[RaffertyFair]

Not sure if it's dead but it appears to be invisible

[brizzlemint]

It's the latest evolutionary version of the triffids, they added invisibility in v2.41

[Paddingtonthebear]

Argh can’t post any photos for some reason

[brizzlemint]

Are you new?

[Paddingtonthebear]

No

[brizzlemint]

That's odd then. I was going to say describe it but not if it's a bunch of twigs in which case, yes, probably dead.

[Paddingtonthebear]

Here

[Paddingtonthebear]

Here

[brizzlemint]

It looks like it has some buds on it at the end? The wood is like the colour of ash/alder but it's the wrong shape.

[Paddingtonthebear]

Yes some buds but it’s very crispy and dried out.

House was empty for the last two years and I think last years heatwave has killed half the garden

[brizzlemint]

The size of the buds makes me wonder about some sort of magnolia. It looks dead to me but keep watering it and see what happens - I had a buddleia that looked dead for years and then suddenly sprouted last year.

[Trethew]

Reckon that’s a dead rhododendron

[Paddingtonthebear]

Some other potentially dead plants

[SeventhWave]

Just wait a while... it's too soon to tell with a lot of shrubs. Same with the sad brown humps of leaves, there night be rather nice perennials under there.

[ATowelAndAPotato]

I’ve just dug something similar up out of my garden. It was on its last legs when we bought the house so I saw enough of it before it died to call Rhododendron!

[Paddingtonthebear]

Ok thanks everyone I will give it another month!

[TournamentBattle]

To be honest I normally do the following:

1- check whether the stalks bend.
2- snip one and check if there is any kind of green.
3- dig around the base a little to see if anything new is sprouting.
4- leave it a month

[brizzlemint]

The long spindly sticks need to be cut down to the ground but have a look at the base as there will probably be a plant growing happily there.

[Paddingtonthebear]

This whole area needs sorting. Someone grew lots of things once by the looks of it but it’s not been looked after for a few years and I don’t really know where to start. It’s also a rented house so I don’t want to make any big or expensive changes

[Paddingtonthebear]

Other side is better

[wowfudge]

The first thing that came to mind was an azalea. I agree with PPS about leaving it a month and seeing if it's still living.

[Paddingtonthebear]

Well you weren’t wrong , it’s all go out there now

[Paddingtonthebear]

It was a dead rhodendron bush though, so it was pulled out

[Beebumble2]

I expect you’re really pleased. Isn’t nature wonderful, once she wakes up.