What is this?

[Paddingtonthebear]

And is it dead?

No photo!

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

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

Argh can’t post any photos for some reason

Are you new?

No

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.

Here

Here

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.

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

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.

Reckon that’s a dead rhododendron

Some other potentially dead plants

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.

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!

Ok thanks everyone I will give it another month!

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

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.

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

Other side is better

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.

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

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

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