We're trapped in the house!

[Frequency]

A hedge has fallen in front of the gate and we cannot get out of the front garden. And Amazon cannot get in to deliver the chain saw we ordered a couple of days ago when we noticed the hedge was starting to look a bit out of control and the branches were too thick for the hedge trimmer.

I'm thinking if we use the hedge trimmer on the smaller branches and try a normal saw on the thicker branches we might be able to get it small enough to climb over/through but we cannot start until it is light and it doesn't get light until after DD leaves for school.

I can't tell the school the truth can I? They won't believe DD cannot get to school because she can't get out of the front garden, will they?

Glad you got out op. Chainsaws terrify me so I'm glad you are sending it back. My dh uses one to cut down long branches before chopping for firewood. It makes me feel sick every time

Also glad OP is sending the chainsaw back, they are scary things. Hate it when OH uses one to trim the hedges.

Woo hoo! Well done Op.

Good decision on the chainsaw. I have gardened for 20 years and I can count on one hand the amount of things which have genuinely warrananted a chainsaw but not a tree surgeon. It’s so rare there really is no point owning one and all the gear.

For your shopping list -

SLINKY SAW www.axminstertools.com/japanese-pruning-saw-330mm-107563?glCountry=GB&gclid=Cj0KCQiAiJSeBhCCARIsAHnAzT8r6UEsveC08YDtrfUBYnX1bGGPFDFd27SldEsXvWxwQIo2xGmjBREaAm4wEALw_wcB

LOOPERS www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000PKINEU?tag=ama1721-21&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1

I chose bypass ones for you because they can deal with most things and give a cleaner cut (will mash really big branches but you then clean it up with the saw).

It was the gardener who told me I needed a chainsaw. You couldn't really see what was going on with the bush because all the twiggy/leafy bits covered the main stems/branch thingies.

All I knew is that there were three thick branches jutting out into the path and our usual tools weren't capable of getting through them, hence calling the gardener in the first place.

Looking at what's left now I've pulled the bushy bits away it looks like it wants to grow outwards not upwards and whoever planted it was trying to train it to grow across the fence with a steel cable but as it got bigger it pulled the steel cable out of the fence and that's why it toppled over. I didn't know the steel cable was there because it was covered by the bushy bits. I know they trained the pear tree to fan out across the back fence with steel cable and the rose bushes were tied with steel cable too.

Anyway, it's done now. It's cut right back to the root and the path is clear. I've called someone to come and remove the rest of it from the grass and take it to the tip and DD is at school.

Can we have an after photo @Frequency please?

I am sure even the most stupid of people will have worked out whether they could or could not get through the back.

What I removed on the grass and what's left.

Thanks @Frequency good work!

This is one of the most ridiculous posts I've ever read. You can't get out but you can get an Amazon and a Just Eat delivery?

Maybe keep on top of your hedge maintenance in future... and the drama.

The Gardner told you that you needed a chainsaw. I'm guessing it's for his use then

Why didn't you just call your Gardiner then??

I've been following this thread from the start and enjoyed it! I've got into some borderline ridiculous situations myself, some of my own doing, but nothing actually life threatening or completely insurmountable, like in this post.

People keep trying to make OP learn a "lesson" from this. The lesson I've taken away is that I'm never going to post on MN just to have a casual exasperated moan/laugh. I think specialist garden tools would've been useful for dislodging the stick up some people's parts!

Precisely. At least the OP can see the funny side, even if many posters can't.

This!!! MN seems to be a perfect place to see the finger-wagging "you must learn your lesson" people creep out of the woodwork. Imagine not being able to understand that people don't live perfectly organised and controlled lives and get into unprecedented, amusing situations sometimes. I've enjoyed this for being a light-hearted thread.

“I have gardened for 20 years and I can count on one hand the amount of things which have genuinely warrananted a chainsaw but not a tree surgeon.”

Whilst I definitely agree that the OP’s overgrown hedge did not warrant a chainsaw at all, I think it is safe to say you don’t live in a particularly wooded area either. After every storm we have at least a dozen trees down near us. The need for an urgent chainsaw remedy depends entirely on where the trees fall. We’ve had 2 fall across our lane in one night before. Our neighbours were already out using their chainsaws to grab the free wood before we’d even noticed. Other times if a tree falls on cables, we call the electricity board to let them know as only a fool goes near electric mains with a chainsaw! On a sunny morning after a windy night though, the woods are buzzing with chainsaws - free firewood! Most people have one round here.

Relieved youve cut a pathway without a chainsaw!
The thought of a novice wielding one of those demons makes me twitch badly
i could explain why but its horrific, so will leave the thread lighthearted

By the way I found this www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002D18CU4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 really useful for sawing high up things on my trees. it is not an electric chain saw but a hand one.

Op Has already said someone is coming to take it to the tip

Why do you care?

Oh come on, you demand answers from everyone else. Can't we question you?

Well OP I enjoyed reading your thread and glad it’s now resolved! I didn’t think it was being overly dramatic, plenty of people have posted very similar things in the past and people have offered advice to help and it’s all been a bit more lighthearted, this one went a bit skewiff 😂

I'm fairly certain the neighbour will have already called the council and my LL about my bush so I'll you know if they come to collect it @Wellwell82 . I've called a friend of a friend who has a van and does garden and house clearances. He has no appointments left this week but will fit me in when he has a spare second over the next day or two.

I might go back out tomorrow and chop up some of the bigger branches to bring inside to dry out for the fire pit.

😸😸