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Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

Original poster

Do you trim your own bushes or get a man in?

52 replies

morningpaper · 24/02/2009 10:54

I have lots and lots of tall hedging and trees and cannot keep it under control - although it is costing me £200 a year to keep it tidy.

Does anyone self-manage their own big bushes and trees? Any tips?

OP posts:
Flightattendant27 · 24/02/2009 19:16

ND privet is awful - I hate it. Had to trim hedge about 5 times a year at old house, it just grows and grows and grows...here we have a copper beech hedge down one side (which the neighbours' gardener just cut!! - it's a slow grower) and a brick wall the other!!

At the front is a cherry laurel which I did today - again not a fast grower. I doubt it'll need more than a trim once a year now.

troutpout · 24/02/2009 19:18

loving this title

Jacksmama · 24/02/2009 19:23

You don't want to know what I thought when I read the thread title

nickytwotimes · 24/02/2009 19:26
KerryMumbles · 24/02/2009 19:28

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

nickytwotimes · 24/02/2009 19:30

Nah, here's one for you!

KerryMumbles · 24/02/2009 19:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

NorbertDentressangle · 24/02/2009 19:42

GentleOtter -I guess the growth retardant would be full of nasty chemicals though wouldn't it?

nickytwotimes · 24/02/2009 19:48

touche!

KerryMumbles · 24/02/2009 19:55

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ABetaDad · 24/02/2009 19:57

Well we are lucky as our landlord has 3 gardeners who come over every few months and trim our hedges bushes and trees.

My wife does nothing but I am a bit a hedging maniac. I used to get sent to do a topiaried privett hedge as a teenager. I still love a to do a bit now and then.

Would not tackle anything that required me to go up a ladder. Neither should any of you - it is too dangerous.

Goober · 24/02/2009 19:58

I thought the point was to get your bush trimmed before the man sees it. How wrong I was....

JollyPirate · 24/02/2009 19:59

Glad I am not the only one with a gutter mind.

nickytwotimes · 24/02/2009 19:59

Damn it! I concede defeat!

princessmel · 24/02/2009 20:06

entertainment.msn.co.nz/img/blog/apr08/blog220408_jesse.jpg

double swoon

nickytwotimes · 24/02/2009 20:07

Though, tbh, he does kind of have 'moobs' in that second one...

pollywobbledoodle · 24/02/2009 20:07

i have a lady trimmer.....she tidies up then leaves a strip of brazilian pau trees down the middle....

princessmel · 24/02/2009 20:10

agree about the moobs, but it was the only gardenery type pic they had.

This is better. Would be EVEN better without Nadine. images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=cm1.theinsider.com/media/0/43/24/jesse-metcalfe-nadine-coyle. 0.0.0x0.400x453.jpeg&imgrefurl=www.theinsider.com/news/509678_Jesse_Metcalfe_Facing_Assault_C harges&usg=_PHvG3HWmmc0LCUvXqNfA4W1Pwk=&h=453&w=400&sz=33&hl=en&start=6&um=1&tbnid=FklGiGuT6nfQJM: &tbnh=127&tbnw=112&prev=/images%3Fq%3Djesse%2Bdesperate%2Bhousewifes%2Bgardener%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%2 6sa%3DN

nickytwotimes · 24/02/2009 20:11

Well, it's somethin gfor the dhs, isn't it!

GentleOtter · 24/02/2009 20:54

Norbert -two years ago I had used a growth retardant on my privet hedges called "Cutless", formerly made by ICI. Now I've been told that this has been withdrawn from sale. Do you know of a substitute growth retardant for privet, please? Pete Blagden, Berkshire There is no replacement and, according to Guy Barter at the Royal Horticultural Society, there is never likely to be one. Just make sure you don't feed the hedge. I used to be able to get away with an annual clip for my privet hedge in London which was planted into worn out soil. If any kind of hedge trimming is difficult for you it might be worth asking for help at a local horticultural society.

Original poster
morningpaper · 24/02/2009 20:58

It's annoying that local horticultural colleges don't rent out attractive young men students cheaply for this sort of thing ...

I spend a lot of time in the garden but I always make a pig's ear of bush trimming so now just admit defeat and get men in

OP posts:
Pannacotta · 24/02/2009 21:03

Love the thread title, but yes I'd also get men in, life is too short to be tending bushes!

NorbertDentressangle · 24/02/2009 21:04

Gentleotter -thanks, will take a look at that.

morningpaper - totally agree, the horticultural colleges should have a catalogue of available attractive young men students for you to peruse

poopscoop · 24/02/2009 21:07

I have 2 men in for the job. One young fit lad to do round the front as it can get very overgrown and needs full attention.

A second man does round the back where it is more sparse and he can take his time.

Poledra · 24/02/2009 21:12

Glad to see I wasn't the only one sniggering childishly.

Am just about to spend close to £1000 getting work done on my trees (rebalance one following a limb loss, deadwood and regrowth removal on 300-year-old ash tree) - would not dream of trying to do it myself, especially as there is a TPO on the ash.

DH always says he's going to trim the other bushes, but never gets around to it, so I got the tree surgeons to tidy them up and now I maintain them ( with big petrol driven tree-strimmer thing )