On 10/06/14 14:38, sacha wrote:

Pure guesswork - Boring Shrub might be a Weigela which is anything but
boring when it flowers. Fluffy bush is ringing bells but not loud
enough! "Dead" shrub is a horribly badly treated climbing Lonicera
(honeysuckle). Tree or big bush looks like a Syringa (lilac) Nice tree
looks as if it has cherry type fruits. "Ground stuff" looks like
something I can't remember the name of but it has a rather acrid smell,
I think. If this house is new to you, some might have flowered and the
flowers have gone. Others may be starved of light and nutrients so
either haven't flowered or won't this year but probably will next year
now they're getting some tlc. To id plants, I don't think you can beat
this newsgroup! We have members/lurkers from all over UK and some from
abroad. Between the lot, it's rare for a plant to go unidentified for long.
Sacha

Thanks muchly Sacha!

With these suggestions (and gogo's) I can "work forwards" and look them
up on google and see if the rest of the attributes match.

Weigela's do look nice if the flower - OK it gets to live... Done well -
it was cut to the ground when I had an old fence removed. Sadly a rather
nice bush next to it (poss rhododendron) did not survive.

"Fluffy" is actually fast growing and seems to pop out of the ground at
various random points near to the main bush.

"Syringa" - that's actually the name of the house next to mine - curious...

Ground stuff needs a sniff then. I was hoping it might be something nice
like chamomile (but it does not look right for the chamomiles google is
pulling up, though it's soft leaves seem a little similar). Not seen it
flower - might just be a weed.

Cheers!

Tim