I think gardener has destroyed my garden. will it recover

[meddie]

I recently had a shoulder op so asked a garden maintainance company to come do cut and trim back of my garden then 2 weekly maintainace. I have come home today to a back garden where all the ivy has been cut back to the wood, no foliage, my strawberry bed and my borders look like they have been attacked with a strimmer, all my lavender plants, ferns and fuscia plants are stumps in the ground like 2 inches high. they have basically flattened the whole garden and borders. I had a large patch of crocosomia which was 12 inches high and you cant even see where it was sprouting. It looks bloody awful. Is this normal. I have never hired anyone to do my garden and now it looks like a bomb has hit it. Not a single plant has survived. I have a beautiful clematis that had already spread up the trellis and would have flowered soon and they have cut it back to a 6 inch stump it looks horrendous

Oh I'm so sorry!

I suspect the ivy will rally quickly, and it's the right time to cut fuchsia, so they should make it.

Oh dear that doesn't sound right at all and I'd be asking for my money back. Hopefully things will all grow back though some, like the clematis, might not flower this year if it was pruned at the wrong time

Jesus I'd be asking for one of the managers to come and show me exactly what they expected to flower or fruit in its current state.

A proper gardening firm? That's terrible.

Fire them.

Lavender should never be cut down to old wood. Crocosmias are corms, if cut down they will not flower this year.

They do not have a clue what they are doing, and you would be foolish to entrust your garden to them.

I once had a garden cleared and it sounds from your description like they went a fair way towards doing that to yours. How awful! I don't normally complain but this would have got me straight on the phone canceling their future work and asking for plants to be reimbursed as well as the bill cancelled. If they use any feedback sites take pics and post your feedback.

I,m really upset about it. I never asked for clearance , I wanted grass cut, beds weeded and ivy trimmed back. Its a hack job. will try post some pics tomorrow when its daylight.

Don't have them back.

Where do you live if your crocosmia are 12" high already ?

That's awful. I'd be expecting compensation from the company. You must be so upset.

God, I'd expect them to come back and replant the garden. Did they misunderstand your instructions? They can't have thought shearing everything off with a strummer was proper garden maintenance!

Watching for the pictures.
I would be devastated OP.

That's appalling.
So sorry OP.

Don't worry too much though. You may not get the lavender back but everything else should recover in time.

In the north west. The crocosomias are the Lucifer variety and look gorgeous when they flower, all hot red spikes. Have them in a shaded part of the garden and they seem to love it there. Not the best gardener in the world but they were thriving

Thanks for explaining. The plants won't be dead as they are bulbs and they may still flower this year but later.

I'm assuming that your clematis is spring flowering so it shouldn't have been cut back at all . It will come away again and hopefully will flower next spring.

It sounds like they have strimmed everything

I was about to ask if you lived in Australia, where every gardener of the maintenance variety I've encountered has been an incompetent butcher of plants.

Time to get medieval on their ass.

I would be absolutely devastated if this happened to my garden, I'm so sorry this has happened to you.

I'm not an expert gardener, just a novice who treasures all the plants in my garden (thank you for not dying on me!) and I would be so furious at the people that did this.

Our crocosmia is about 12/14 inches high too already op and is one of the highlights of the garden later in the year - I really hope yours rallies round and comes back.

I think you should ask the company for compensation so that you can go and buy a few things to put in pots so you have something to enjoy this year.

my previously 6 foot high clematis full of foliage, which had already been cut back ready for spring.
The wall of tumbling ivy that covered the fence that I thinned out every year.
The patch of crocosomia that was already 12 inches high.

The highlight. A patch of strawberries, you can even see where they strimmed the green separator down to the ground.
A mutilated bush that was around 4 foot high, they have cut the main stem and left lots of little shoots, which look like they have been hacked with a machete

Yes get the manager in and get them to replace the now dead plants.

This is why good gardeners charge a decent rate, because it takes years to know what plants are and what they need.

Bloody hell. That's shocking. They are clearly completely clueless. I agrees with getting the owner down to view the carnage.

That's MUCH worse than I expected .

I'm so sorry . I hope they respond - I wonder if refund and compensation might be better than them replanting ? They clearly have no green fingers or love for plants .

Do you have any pictures of what it was like before? (For evidence)

That's shocking! Id be on the managers case insist they come out and explain themselves!!!

Oh no how upsetting.

I've had some 'gardeners' butcher my grass and ivy last year. Was horrible to come here me to. IME lots of people offer gardening services but have no clue about plants and just hack back willynilly.

I would complain and ask the to refund and cover costs of any replacements.