Clearing the garden

[eggofmantumbi]

We bought our house from a retired couple who had a lot more time to take care of the garden than us.
They called it a country garden. Basically it has now got overgrown, some with weeds, some with 'proper'plants.... But we'd like to just kill it all and start again. Can we just put weed killer on everything?

Also it has a small veg patch.... So we need to be careful what we use on there if we want to grow on it again?

Weed killers come in different types. It is best to chop it back first, then use the weed killer. For the heavier shrubs you will need a different type. Something like Resolve or stump killer.. It will take a good few weeks before it starts to work . This stuff is not cheap so it might be worth contacting a few garden clearance companies for a. Quote.they will dig the whole lot out in a few hours. This will be cheaper if you then dispose of the stuff yourself.

You need to check how long the weedkiller stays in the ground if you want to replant. And be careful not to get it in the lawn or on neighbours plants.

Why not weed and tidy, see what comes through in the spring and what it's like and just get rid of what you don't like then.

Plants, especially decent sized shrubs and bushes can be expensive so it would be a shame to remove stuff and end up with bare bits. And weed killer isn't nice stuff. Better to only use it if you have to.

And I speak as someone who took on a massive allotment last year that had 6ft high nettles, hundreds of meters of brambles and a lovely bindweed infestation.

There are serious cancer concerns around weed killers, please don't unleash a load all round your home.

You can get someone to rip everything out for peanuts, if you really want. But why buy a house with a garden if you just want to kill it all?

Thanks for the advice! Really it's having a baby that's stopped me from getting out, but she's nearly one now, so can at least sit out in the garden with us sometimes.

I'd really hesitate to chuck loads of weedkiller around,for health reasons but also personally I hate using any chemicals in the garden unless absolutely necessary for the sake of the ecosystem of bugs,frogs toads etc if you're lucky enough to have any as they will hoover up slugs that may decimate any plants you do want to keep,or plant.It's not easy with a little one,but if you can get to do some clearing and tidying up you may find it strangely enjoyable -I do! Just had done few hours in the garden for the first time in weeks as a nice day,and whilst it seemed a bit daunting at the start with so much to do it's actually been relaxing.Some me time .

Please dont kill the garden if you are not ready to redo it, you will just end up with different weeds growing back.
Can you get a gardener in - one off - I know it costs, to advise you what things you can keep that are low maintenance.
Garden is precious and good for the soul

It sounds like our garden!

Beautiful when we moved in but we absolutely do not have the time to dedicate to it. I am going to try and get out there shortly!!!

Thanks everyone- you've convinced me to give it a go myself. As the weather breaks we'll get more opportunities too I suppose!

Oooh, good luck! I got stuck into our jungle when I was long term sick, it really is good for your head.

The trouble with winter is that a lot of gardens look rubbish, but there will be so much waiting to come through. At least pot the established plants, so they can be reused. And think of the wildlife too.

We have a woodpile in our garden for our wood burner and discovered the most amazing peacock butterfly hibernating yesterday.

Things like honeysuckle and clematis will just look like they are dead now, but amazing in two months time.

If you have decided to go down the route of doing it yourself, I would advise against doing the whole garden at once. I would draw a grid and divide the garden into 8.

Look at each section and if there is a particular nasty area clear that first. If you are planning to grow vegtables you will need some polinating insects. So flowering shrubs that you already have will do the job for no expense, If any shrubs look ok, not too woody or overgrown, pot them up and cut them right back. Alternatively just replant the, temporarily I. The are you have cleared. In a few weeks shoots will appear. You can post pictures and someone here will tell you what they are.

Any plant that is on the boundary that looks like it could be fence cover might be worth keeping. You can cut them back to the ground and hopefully you will be rewarded with a good back of border that is no work and low maintenance.

The secret here is not to make too much work for yourself or to go to unnecessary expense. As each section gets cleared, you will be able to get a good perspective of what will look good

I think really we need pictures.

That should read “plant them temporarily in the area you have cleared”.

It might be a good idea to create a compost heap for your waste material.

My garden today, and last May.

It sounds like it could be lovely. I second getting a gardener in. It seems such a shame to kill it and start again. Plants cost a fortune! Gardens always look rubbish this time of year too. I've just spent the whole weekend clearing mine and cutting back but can now leave it for everything to grow back. Once it all starts growing again you will start to love it. Mine in winter and summer...

Wow Denman!

From what I can see in the phot you have a lot of nice plants which will be back in growth soon.
The tall purple balls are alliums which grow from a bulb so that will be back this year.
The dead brown things are sedums( green in last years photo) they will come back again this year. I would remove the dead brown bits now just to make it look better.
The low lying purple flowers are root geranium and they too will be back.
From the photos I can’t make out what the orange is but I would say you have a good chance of it coming back as well as it does seem to be a bed of perennials.
I think I can see a bit of molis coming through as well.
That is a nice bed and worth keeping. A lot of bee friendly plants and quite low maintaince.

None of those pics are OP's garden! Although I think we all know nothingworks has her pants on fire as clearly her garden works beautifully!

Just the nicknames weren’t working, and I’d tried 10 by then!

Lots of planning, effort and love to get there. Though I am itching to get rid of the leaves right now, they are giving a good blanket to things starting to poke through.

That is the nicest part of my garden, I can show you some shocking bits all year round, especially my patio that just grows weeds 😫

This is the first bit of our jungle I tackled. It was full of brambles and bindweed.

And the border after the first clearance!

Brambles are generally known as bastards in my garden. Been swearing about them a lot this weekend!

MrsBert and FFS, your gardens are lovely! I love the transformation

I know. They were so entrenched in that bed I was pulling out roots as long as my arm. Next door were treated to some epic swearing!

Ffs, Denman and Bert your gardens are fantastic! I'm envying Denman in particular as my garden is a similar format and doesn't come close to your beautiful display! I do love tending to my lawn

OP so much wonderful advice on this thread! I echo dividing the space up and tackling one section at a time (generally the bits closest to where you want to sit out/ whatever's in your direct eyeline from the kitchen window etc). Post more with photos in May and everyone can help you out with what to keep/ discard. This board gets busy with people trying to ID their random/ inherited plants, it's fun

Perennials divide really well after flowering so you can get plenty of 'free' plants to fill gaps in beds of things you particularly like. Just bear in mind their sun/shade requirement so that you don't lose out.

Also if you have enough 'good' plants they should outcompete the weeds once growing season gets underway. As pp have said, gardens that look a state right now will look entirely different in 2-3 months It might be tempting to rip everything out but the empty beds are a beacon for weeds until you get round to planting up which never happens as quickly as one intends.

If I was dealing with a particularly unkempt garden I might install an arch with trellis either side (even as a temporary measure) and concentrate on improving the garden between the house and the arch first, then tackling the space beyond the arch in due course!

There's a saying "Want to know which plants in your garden are the weeds? Remove them all, the ones that regrow are the weeds."