Garden Help

[BettaSplenden]

I'll sort off by explaining I like plants and nice gardens but know NOTHING. I've just moved into my first house and it's gardens are a mess. The back garden isn't too bad - bushes all round the edge that need trimming and waist high grass that I've taken the strimmer to a few weeks ago. I'm not too fussed about that atm as I need to save for new fences etc and so that's going to be next year's challenge. However the front garden is a mess and I need your help.

It's supposed to be a gravel driveway (has dropped kerb etc) but it's basically a meadow. There's no underliner to the gravel. My biggest issues are 3 trees and a massive lavender bush. The trees are Unfortunatly doomed. They are less then 3 ft from the house and blocking the light so I'm going to get rid of those - is happily move them further from the house to the boundary between me and next door for some privacy .

However the lavender bush is beautiful but completely in the way and needs to move so I can use the drive. If I trimmed it right back now would it die? What if I dug it up and moved it out the way?

Thanks for reading x

Lavender bushes do have a habit of dying if you prune them too severely, yes. I've killed a few Especially if you cut back into old wood, so you have to make sure that each branch still has leaves on it after cutting. Don't leave any bare stems.

Early spring would be the best time to move it, but if you can't wait till then, mid September might be ok. That way it has time to establish itself and grow new roots before winter. They like a sunny well-drained spot, but you will need to keep it watered if you move it. Dig as large a rootball as you can possibly manage and put it in a new hole to the same depth as it was before.

Dig up your lavender Bush and divide it up. When you repot it will n needto g0 deeper than before. The soil should cover the bottom green leaves, shake of all the old soil and plant it into compost. If you have cut it back so hard that there are no green bits, then scrape away som to the outer Covering. Keep it watered until the autumn and hopefully you will have several new plants.

The lavender will be hard to dig up and move and it will probably die anyway. If you like it, but some new ones and plant in large containers.

How big are your trees?

Some photos would help if you want more advice. Take some from an upstairs window and a downstairs window as well as from the street .

I just seen that you have not done it yet. So cut it back so that there is about 2 inches of green leaf left. Trim the roots quite well and plant it just above the green. Some of the green should be in the soil and this is where new stronger roots will grow.

Take some photos and post, it might be possible to cut the lavender back without digging it up.

If you Google how and when to transplant lavender, you will discover (I just checked), that I was right the first time.

everything-lavender.com is particularly useful.

Don’t prune too hard! I’ve done it and if you go anywhere near the woody bits it will die! But lavender often only lasts a few years anyway as prone to going leggy (lots of stems and not much flowers) and I’ve just replaced about 4 of my old ones for this reason with 6 new ones. Got mine at a local garden centre for £3 each so not always that expensive.

You might want to get some advice on the trees, depending on size, type and your soil type - removing trees can cause heave if ground they were sucking water out of rehydrates and swells. I'm not an expert, just something I'm aware can be a problem. N

Trees - get a tree surgeon to look at them and advise it would be best to prune them than destroy them!