How long to wait before I start ripping things out and planting new stuff

[Ormirian]

Moved house in the summer. From a terraced house with a tiny, overshadowed little patch that didn't grow anything inspite of heaps of compost and mulch. Now we have a bigger, wider garden, south-facing. It has some really boring mature shrubs and loads of cyprus (which I don't care for). My initial impulse was to rip loads out and plant new. I'v already bought two acers with my christmas money and some lovely corms and bulbs. But when I went out to plant some daffs and tulips I realised that there was a lot more to the garden than met the eye - bulbs coming up, interesting looking plants wth green shoots.

Should I leave it till end of summer? I am itching to get moving but should I wait?

Well I would leave it for the first season, to see exactly what comes up and where. Then you can make a note and move these things around to suit you, and plant your own, and get rid of anything you don't like.

Ideally you'd wait a full year, find out everything that's there and really understand how much sun there is and at what angle.

If you're absolutely sure some shrubs are to go, then they can be taken out at any time (but do check you know what they are first - I once destroyed a philadephus after deciding prematurely it was dull).

Where are you? And what are the acers bare root or in pots?

You can dog out plants you don't like now and improve the soil before you put new plants in.
Your garden may have some surprises for you, but you might as well ditch plants you don;t like.

Somerset onimolap. Acers are in pots and only small.

I did actually take out one small cypress - a golden one that has been planted in a big trough. All round the roots were tiny bulbs that were starting to sprout - it made me think that big upheavals at this time of year might be quite damaging.

So quite warm then? And in pots, they can wait until you are sure where to put them.

So this is the time to dream, to sketch, to drool over the Thomson and Morgan catalogue and to get to know your garden. Lucky you!

Is the garden useable as is, or are there changes to the layout that simply have to be done? If so, then getting on with it early might make sense (and you'd never know what you'd missed if something were dug up by mistake).

You might want to throw in some easy annuals, if there are bits you are concerned might look a bit bare. Ornamental veg?

When you do rip something out make sure you have thought about or bought something to replace it with unless you are doing a total makeover with a whole bed. Made the mistake of ripping everything out of most of my garden and it took almost 3 years to get it right and sort of full again.

Another thing, if you don't want to keep big shrubs take cuttings and that way if you change your mind you can replant and start off with smaller shrubs.

I like shrubs rioja - just not these ones! They are all the sort of shrubs they use in municipal plantings - dull dull dull! I don't think the last owners enjoyed gardening much and just shoved on things that were easy to grow.

I have a very nice juniper that is staying, a large jasmine that may need some careful pruning as it's taken over much of the back of the garden, a very beautiful red-berried thing with thick glossy magnolia shaped leaves, a nicely shaped holly tree, an American currant, a fine mahonia that is tucked away at the back of the garden, two willow bowers that I am going to treat with suspicion as they tend to shoot everywhere IME. I also have 3 very boring fuschia, a dicentra (sp) that needs moving and probably won't take it, a sick-looking camellia and some sort of red-leaved shrub that seems to have no other redeeming features. Oh yes, not to mention a ridiculouly huge yellowy evergreen things overhanging the pond. And several other dark cypressy things that look as if they belong in a cemetery. Nothing much else.

I want to take a lot out as there isn't that much space for interesting plants.

In that case definitely take out what you don't like! With the pruning (and this was kind of verified on GQT on R4 today) a lot of gardening is luck rather than judgement with pruning. Cut back as you see fit and if it grows it grows, if it doesn't then you spend a fiver on getting a new shrub but chances are a perennial will regrow beautifully.

If you do prune right back to ground level look out for a frost or snow and fleece or cover with old towel or carpet to keep the frost off the new cutting then when frost has gone just let that sunshine get to it! Give mulch and some feed and hey presto you can shape and mould your shrubs.

I would give it a year, if you can bear waiting that long, and take regular photos so you can see what all the plants "do" at different times of the year.

You could put in some annuals, and things in pots in the meanwhile.