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Old 15-03-2012, 08:34 PM
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Default Please someone help me i have no idea what i am doing or what im looking at!

Hi there!

I really need some help as ive literally no idea what im doing or looking at for that matter, but this garden needs sos!!!!

we moved in our first home together in november 2010..the garden was not really up to much at that time but it was obvious that the previous owners had devoted alot of time to it over the years etc. i was pregnant with our first at the time we moved in and our son was born in march...now summer is coming back around and hes toddling i want a nice garden for all his memories. Slap bang in the middle was a greenhouse, filled with what i can only imagine to be rotten tomatoes...anyways we gave it away as to be honest i thought the thing was ghastly and found myself picturing a nice table and chairs sipping sangria summer moments!

Please will someone do me a favour and look at my sorry state of a garden...what is going on here? so far i have identified Ivy, the common weed and daffodils. yay for me.

i have no idea what any of the other stuff is, some blinking rhubarb type plant and this rather crooked looking tree on the right (which actually was kinda pretty last summer since it flowered) but these bushes...in the corners? what the hell are they? what do i do with them?

if im perfectly honest i would love nothing more than to get rid of everything except the crooked tree. i would get rid of that ivy and replace it with something...well...else. ha. i would like flowers everywhere...i mean around the edges im assuming that those piled bricks are raised beds? am i cottoning on a bit more? well i have a vision...and that vision is...poppies. not the remembrance ones...ive actually been looking at Angels Choir type.

what would be great is for someone to kindly tell me what ive got growing in my garden and whats best to do with what ive got i suppose, unless it wouldnt that difficult to pull everything except my tree out and re do it.

thanks in advance

Zoe
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Please someone help me i have no idea what i am doing or what im looking at!-zoesgarden.jpg  
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Old 15-03-2012, 10:26 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
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Location: South Wales
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Default Please someone help me i have no idea what i am doing or what imlooking at!

On Mar 15, 7:34*pm, zoebee87
wrote:
Hi there!

I really need some help as ive literally no idea what im doing or
looking at for that matter, but this garden needs sos!!!!

we moved in our first home together in november 2010..the garden was not
really up to much at that time but it was obvious that the previous
owners had devoted alot of time to it over the years etc. i was pregnant
with our first at the time we moved in and our son was born in
march...now summer is coming back around and hes toddling i want a nice
garden for all his memories. Slap bang in the middle was a greenhouse,
filled with what i can only imagine to be rotten tomatoes...anyways we
gave it away as to be honest i thought the thing was ghastly and found
myself picturing a nice table and chairs sipping sangria summer
moments!

Please will someone do me a favour and look at my sorry state of a
garden...what is going on here? so far i have identified Ivy, the common
weed and daffodils. yay for me.

i have no idea what any of the other stuff is, some blinking rhubarb
type plant and this rather crooked looking tree on the right (which
actually was kinda pretty last summer since it flowered) but these
bushes...in the corners? what the hell are they? what do i do with them?

if im perfectly honest i would love nothing more than to get rid of
everything except the crooked tree. i would get rid of that ivy and
replace it with something...well...else. ha. i would like flowers
everywhere...i mean around the edges im assuming that those piled bricks
are raised beds? am i cottoning on a bit more? well i have a
vision...and that vision is...poppies. not the remembrance ones...ive
actually been looking at Angels Choir type.

what would be great is for someone to kindly tell me what ive got
growing in my garden and whats best to do with what ive got i suppose,
unless it wouldnt that difficult to pull everything except my tree out
and re do it.

thanks in advance

Zoe

+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Filename: Zoesgarden.jpg * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * |
|Download:http://www.gardenbanter.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=14810|
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+

--
zoebee87


Well the rhubarb looking plant is probably Rhubarb, the tree looks
like a badly hacked apple, the flowers soon should tell you, in the
left corner it looks like a Magnolia, but pics taken closer to the
unknown plants would make it easier to tell what they are.
But
I'd say you have an easy garden to look after, If you have been there
a year then you should know what plants are going to come up, dig over
the rest to remove the weeds and plant what you want/like.
David @ the normally wet end of Swansea Bay, now in the 6th day of
drought.




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Old 15-03-2012, 10:51 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
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Default Please someone help me i have no idea what i am doing or what imlooking at!

On Mar 15, 9:26*pm, Dave Hill wrote:
On Mar 15, 7:34*pm, zoebee87
wrote:





Hi there!


I really need some help as ive literally no idea what im doing or
looking at for that matter, but this garden needs sos!!!!


we moved in our first home together in november 2010..the garden was not
really up to much at that time but it was obvious that the previous
owners had devoted alot of time to it over the years etc. i was pregnant
with our first at the time we moved in and our son was born in
march...now summer is coming back around and hes toddling i want a nice
garden for all his memories. Slap bang in the middle was a greenhouse,
filled with what i can only imagine to be rotten tomatoes...anyways we
gave it away as to be honest i thought the thing was ghastly and found
myself picturing a nice table and chairs sipping sangria summer
moments!


Please will someone do me a favour and look at my sorry state of a
garden...what is going on here? so far i have identified Ivy, the common
weed and daffodils. yay for me.


i have no idea what any of the other stuff is, some blinking rhubarb
type plant and this rather crooked looking tree on the right (which
actually was kinda pretty last summer since it flowered) but these
bushes...in the corners? what the hell are they? what do i do with them?


if im perfectly honest i would love nothing more than to get rid of
everything except the crooked tree. i would get rid of that ivy and
replace it with something...well...else. ha. i would like flowers
everywhere...i mean around the edges im assuming that those piled bricks
are raised beds? am i cottoning on a bit more? well i have a
vision...and that vision is...poppies. not the remembrance ones...ive
actually been looking at Angels Choir type.


what would be great is for someone to kindly tell me what ive got
growing in my garden and whats best to do with what ive got i suppose,
unless it wouldnt that difficult to pull everything except my tree out
and re do it.


thanks in advance


Zoe


+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Filename: Zoesgarden.jpg * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * |
|Download:http://www.gardenbanter.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=14810|
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+


--
zoebee87


Well the rhubarb looking plant is probably Rhubarb, the tree looks
like a badly hacked apple, the flowers soon should tell you, in the
left corner it looks like a Magnolia, but pics taken closer to the
unknown plants would make it easier to tell what they are.
But
I'd say you have an easy garden to look after, If you have been there
a year then you should know what plants are going to come up, dig over
the rest to remove the weeds and plant what you want/like.
David @ the normally wet end of Swansea Bay, now in the 6th day of
drought.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


Looking again at your pic and blowing it up I am wondering if what I
think is a Magnolia is infact in nextdoors garden over the wall.
It looks to me as if you have a female dog, remember as you have a
little one who is going to be out in the garden a lot, you will have
to clean up after the dog or make it a child proof area to use as its
toilet, possibly paved so it can be washed down easily.
You will be supprised at the differance a day of clearing, weeding and
geting the grass cut would make.
David @ the normally wet end of Swansea Bay, now in the 6th day of
drought.




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Old 16-03-2012, 10:04 AM posted to uk.rec.gardening
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Default Please someone help me i have no idea what i am doing or what im looking at!

zoebee87 wrote:


Hi there!

I really need some help as ive literally no idea what im doing or
looking at for that matter, but this garden needs sos!!!!

[snip]
what would be great is for someone to kindly tell me what ive got
growing in my garden and whats best to do with what ive got i suppose,
unless it wouldnt that difficult to pull everything except my tree out
and re do it.

+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
Filename: Zoesgarden.jpg |
Download:
http://www.gardenbanter.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=14810|

+-------------------------------------------------------------------+


18 months into our new house and garden I know what we've got but I've
decided that a lot of it is just too mature and needs to be replaced.
That is very possibly true of yours too.

Anyway, with yours, it depends on your budget, whether you want to DIY
or whether you want to "get a man in".

I think there's the remnants of a very nice but small and manageable
garden there but with a toddler I'd be inclined to get rid of all that
paving (hard surfaces, potentially nasty edges) and returf it.

But above all, and this is only my personal opinion, get rid of that
Ivy! Horrible, horrible stuff!

--
Chris
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Old 16-03-2012, 10:27 AM posted to uk.rec.gardening
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Default Please someone help me i have no idea what i am doing or what im looking at!


"zoebee87" wrote in message
...

Hi there!

I really need some help as ive literally no idea what im doing or
looking at for that matter, but this garden needs sos!!!!


thanks in advance

Zoe


+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Filename: Zoesgarden.jpg |
|Download:
http://www.gardenbanter.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=14810|
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+


Try and get into the habit of keeping the grass shorter, it makes getting
out there so much easier!
Looks like you have an ideal garden for a small child as anything you plant
will be safely out of the way.

Ivy on fences nearly always ends in tears as the wood tends to rot under it.
On garden walls it is fine, views on it on house vary, but it can be
destructive if it gets under the edges of the roof

Have a good clear out and tidy this spring then plant stuff you like, get
your self a gardening book, just a small one, it will help with suggestions,
its hard to chose plants for other people, its a bit like asking someone to
chose your wallpaper for you!

Every time you do a bit of gardening, aim to cover the cleared ground
straight away with mulch, around any new plants you put in, you can buy bags
of this at garden centres. if you don't the next time you get out to do more
gardening the first bit will be back to square one which can be a bit
depressing.


--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cvs
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk



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Old 16-03-2012, 12:29 PM
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Thanks for your replies i did think it could be an apple tree...those little horrid crab apples i sometimes find them on my drive way...

we used to have two dogs, a male and a female...both Boxers but we just have the female now but she rarely goes into the main garden as we block it off with the wheelie bins...just the odd time she sneaks in when the bins are out when im busy with housework, we have a large paved area at the side of the house in front of the garage that she uses 99% of the time we're planning on getting a proper gate to block it off. i dont like her going in the main garden because whenever she does...she goes over to the corner on the right and starts pawing as if shes trying to uncover something...if i try and move her away she growls at me a little..its as if she can smell something...before we lost our male they had spotted a hedgehog in the early hours one morning..we had thought the barking was down to there being an actual intruder..when we let them both out to "see it off" Toby came back and dumped this massive hedgehog on the backdoor step! it was gone the morning after but is it possible that its living in this corner? if so...now what do i do?

im not sure about the magnolia..is this the bush with funny brownish petals? if so thats in our garden. if not then i have no clue ha! im so rubbish at this...but i need to get a move on because my nosey neighbour likes to complain about how she doesnt like looking at my messy garden :/

Iv uploaded 2 close ups of the corners if this would make identification easier?

We plan on doing it all ourselves as well honestly we need a project that we can do together away from our mummy and daddy roles and i felt that this was a good way to go about that. Our son goes to his nana's every weekend for a sleep over so this is the best time for us to get cracking...starting tomorrow

i am planning on getting rid of the ivy but im unsure of where its actual roots will be...erm on the far left it looks like at the back of the garage leading onto my neighbours garden...if i spray it and then it turns out to be their ivy thats just taken advantage of my garage walls then im in trouble arent i? but i hate the ivy it just looks very dated and untidy. perhaps i should knock on and ask...hopefully it isnt theirs and i can get rid of it!

Again thanks for your replies ]

Zoe
Attached Thumbnails
Please someone help me i have no idea what i am doing or what im looking at!-zoes-bushes-2.jpg   Please someone help me i have no idea what i am doing or what im looking at!-zoes-bushes.jpg  
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Old 16-03-2012, 12:45 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
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Default Please someone help me i have no idea what i am doing or what im looking at!

Charlie Pridham wrote:

Every time you do a bit of gardening, aim to cover the cleared ground
straight away with mulch, around any new plants you put in, you can buy
bags of this at garden centres. if you don't the next time you get out to
do more gardening the first bit will be back to square one which can be a
bit depressing.


What kind of "mulch" exactly are you referring to?
Bark chips, wood chips, ...?

--
Timothy Murphy
e-mail: gayleard /at/ eircom.net
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College Dublin

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In article ,
Timothy Murphy wrote:
Charlie Pridham wrote:

Every time you do a bit of gardening, aim to cover the cleared ground
straight away with mulch, around any new plants you put in, you can buy
bags of this at garden centres. if you don't the next time you get out to
do more gardening the first bit will be back to square one which can be a
bit depressing.


What kind of "mulch" exactly are you referring to?
Bark chips, wood chips, ...?


Or spent potting compost, or leaf mould, or (on clay soils) sharp
sand from a builder's merchant, or old grey felt bowler hats, or ....


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.
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Default Please someone help me i have no idea what i am doing or what im looking at!


"Timothy Murphy" wrote in message
...
Charlie Pridham wrote:

Every time you do a bit of gardening, aim to cover the cleared ground
straight away with mulch, around any new plants you put in, you can buy
bags of this at garden centres. if you don't the next time you get out to
do more gardening the first bit will be back to square one which can be a
bit depressing.


What kind of "mulch" exactly are you referring to?
Bark chips, wood chips, ...?

--
Timothy Murphy
e-mail: gayleard /at/ eircom.net
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College Dublin


Absolutely anything organic, what ever you can lay your hands on, it just
needs to be weed free (ie not animal manures) but bark is fine, I use garden
shreddings and lawn mowings but the posters garden is too small to produce
enough so they will have to buy it in

--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cvs
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk

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Default Please someone help me i have no idea what i am doing or whatim looking at!

On 15/03/2012 19:34, zoebee87 wrote:
Hi there!

I really need some help as ive literally no idea what im doing or
looking at for that matter, but this garden needs sos!!!!

we moved in our first home together in november 2010..the garden was not
really up to much at that time but it was obvious that the previous
owners had devoted alot of time to it over the years etc. i was pregnant
with our first at the time we moved in and our son was born in
march...now summer is coming back around and hes toddling i want a nice
garden for all his memories. Slap bang in the middle was a greenhouse,
filled with what i can only imagine to be rotten tomatoes...anyways we
gave it away as to be honest i thought the thing was ghastly and found
myself picturing a nice table and chairs sipping sangria summer
moments!

Please will someone do me a favour and look at my sorry state of a
garden...what is going on here? so far i have identified Ivy, the common
weed and daffodils. yay for me.

i have no idea what any of the other stuff is, some blinking rhubarb
type plant and this rather crooked looking tree on the right (which
actually was kinda pretty last summer since it flowered) but these
bushes...in the corners? what the hell are they? what do i do with them?


if im perfectly honest i would love nothing more than to get rid of
everything except the crooked tree. i would get rid of that ivy and
replace it with something...well...else. ha. i would like flowers
everywhere...i mean around the edges im assuming that those piled bricks
are raised beds? am i cottoning on a bit more? well i have a
vision...and that vision is...poppies. not the remembrance ones...ive
actually been looking at Angels Choir type.

what would be great is for someone to kindly tell me what ive got
growing in my garden and whats best to do with what ive got i suppose,
unless it wouldnt that difficult to pull everything except my tree out
and re do it.

thanks in advance

Zoe


+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Filename: Zoesgarden.jpg |
|Download: http://www.gardenbanter.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=14810|
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+



It's very difficult to id what you've got from that image. What can be
seen is a lovely small garden, requiring moderate maintenance.

You really need to tackle that lawn first. Give it a rough mow and see
what state its really in. In your position, I would lift the
ex-greenhouse slabs and relay them patio-style in one corner of your
lawn, so your son can ride a scooter around later. It will also make
the lawn easier to mow. You may wish to patch the lawn where it is
bare. If you can afford it, turf would be quicker and more useful with
a crawling child around. There is likely to be a hosepipe ban very
soon, so you will need to (safely!) collect water so that you can keep
the turf alive until it knits in to the surrounding turf and ground.
Then concentrate on keeping the lawn mowed and the raised beds weeded.

Keep your camera handy so you can post pics of individual plants
(including weeds) that you needs to identify. Most of us enjoy doing
this, but we need a bit more to go on than your initial pic. Flowers
and close-up shots of leaves are helpful, but we need to see the entire
plant, too, as growth form is often a useful indicator.

I'm not going to tell you to get rid of anything (except, perhaps, the
ivy) until you know what you've got and if you want it. Good mature
shrubs can be very expensive to buy, so it's worth waiting to see how
yours perform and if you like them.

If you want plant suggestions or relevant gardening advice, it would
help us to know where you are, what your soil is like (sandy, loamy,
clayey, also neutral, acid or alkaline (chalky)). You may need a soil
testing kit to determine the latter. These can be bought cheaply in
most garden centres or hardware stores. Just follow the instructions.

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay


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Old 16-03-2012, 02:48 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
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Default Please someone help me i have no idea what i am doing or whatim looking at!

On 15/03/2012 19:34, zoebee87 wrote:
Hi there!

i have no idea what any of the other stuff is, some blinking rhubarb
type plant and this rather crooked looking tree on the right (which
actually was kinda pretty last summer since it flowered) but these
bushes...in the corners? what the hell are they? what do i do with them?


A pretty good guide is if in doubt do nowt. Wait until they flower and
*then* decide if you like them or not. Most things can be pruned back
just after they flower without much risk of damage. Prune back hard or
remove the things you really don't like at all after seeing them flower.

if im perfectly honest i would love nothing more than to get rid of
everything except the crooked tree. i would get rid of that ivy and
replace it with something...well...else. ha. i would like flowers
everywhere...i mean around the edges im assuming that those piled bricks
are raised beds? am i cottoning on a bit more? well i have a
vision...and that vision is...poppies. not the remembrance ones...ive
actually been looking at Angels Choir type.


Simplest thing to do for now is cut the grass regularly and rearrange
the paving slabs to get either a patio and a path to it or rid of them
entirely. Then work around pulling up the more obvious weeds doing a bit
at a time. Be useful to know which way is North too. I am guessing from
the algae on walls that the camera is facing ~NW.

If it was mine I would probably run a path down the left hand wall and
put a small block patio where it catches the evening sun top right. The
moss and algae suggest there isn't a lot of direct sunlight. I'd plant
hydrangea petiolaris against the N facing wall slow growing but pretty.

You might want to consider pressure jetting the paths and flags to make
it look neater.

Plenty of easy to flower annuals available as cheap seeds from the likes
of Wilkinsons or similar. Sorts of plants where you can sprinkle the
seeds on bare soil and have a decent chance of seeing flowers this year
include calendula, antirrhinum, californian poppies, opium poppies, love
in a mist. None of them are too invasive for a small garden. A spring
bulbs would brighten things up at this time of year.

And you don't want anything too toxic with a toddler about so foxgloves
and various other toxic plants are definitely out of the question.

what would be great is for someone to kindly tell me what ive got
growing in my garden and whats best to do with what ive got i suppose,
unless it wouldnt that difficult to pull everything except my tree out
and re do it.


Closeups of plants in flower would help with ID. The garden isn't at all
bad. You just need to spend a bit of time neatening it up and it will
look a lot better. Do it now before the weeds really get going!

An hour a day will make a big difference...

--
Regards,
Martin Brown
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Old 16-03-2012, 04:50 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
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Default Please someone help me i have no idea what i am doing or whatim looking at!

On 16/03/2012 11:29, zoebee87 wrote:

im not sure about the magnolia..is this the bush with funny brownish
petals? if so thats in our garden. if not then i have no clue ha! im so
rubbish at this...but i need to get a move on because my nosey neighbour
likes to complain about how she doesnt like looking at my messy garden
:/

Iv uploaded 2 close ups of the corners if this would make identification
easier?


The middle evergreen one coming into red/pink flower now is a skimmia.
The other two are still lacking enough foliage to recognise. The one on
the right could perhaps be honesty but the photo is still rather dire.
You need take a shot from half this distance.

i am planning on getting rid of the ivy but im unsure of where its
actual roots will be...erm on the far left it looks like at the back of


I would concentrate on clearing the soil beds first. You may not like
the ivy but you don't know what else it is hiding...

And physical removal using secateurs is as good at anything for ivy. No
need to spray to kill it first.

the garage leading onto my neighbours garden...if i spray it and then it
turns out to be their ivy thats just taken advantage of my garage walls
then im in trouble arent i? but i hate the ivy it just looks very dated
and untidy. perhaps i should knock on and ask...hopefully it isnt theirs
and i can get rid of it!


Spraying ivy is not likely to be very rewarding. Small ivy seedlings are
waxy enough to survive direct application of glyphosate. I expect the
full grown plant to be even more resistant.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown
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Old 16-03-2012, 05:33 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
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Default Please someone help me i have no idea what i am doing or whatim looking at!

On 16/03/2012 11:29, zoebee87 wrote:
Thanks for your replies i did think it could be an apple tree...those
little horrid crab apples i sometimes find them on my drive way...

we used to have two dogs, a male and a female...both Boxers but we just
have the female now but she rarely goes into the main garden as we block
it off with the wheelie bins...just the odd time she sneaks in when the
bins are out when im busy with housework, we have a large paved area at
the side of the house in front of the garage that she uses 99% of the
time we're planning on getting a proper gate to block it off. i dont
like her going in the main garden because whenever she does...she goes
over to the corner on the right and starts pawing as if shes trying to
uncover something...if i try and move her away she growls at me a
little..its as if she can smell something...before we lost our male they
had spotted a hedgehog in the early hours one morning..we had thought
the barking was down to there being an actual intruder..when we let them
both out to "see it off" Toby came back and dumped this massive hedgehog
on the backdoor step! it was gone the morning after but is it possible
that its living in this corner? if so...now what do i do?

im not sure about the magnolia..is this the bush with funny brownish
petals? if so thats in our garden. if not then i have no clue ha! im so
rubbish at this...but i need to get a move on because my nosey neighbour
likes to complain about how she doesnt like looking at my messy garden
:/

Iv uploaded 2 close ups of the corners if this would make identification
easier?

We plan on doing it all ourselves as well honestly we need a project
that we can do together away from our mummy and daddy roles and i felt
that this was a good way to go about that. Our son goes to his nana's
every weekend for a sleep over so this is the best time for us to get
cracking...starting tomorrow

i am planning on getting rid of the ivy but im unsure of where its
actual roots will be...erm on the far left it looks like at the back of
the garage leading onto my neighbours garden...if i spray it and then it
turns out to be their ivy thats just taken advantage of my garage walls
then im in trouble arent i? but i hate the ivy it just looks very dated
and untidy. perhaps i should knock on and ask...hopefully it isnt theirs
and i can get rid of it!

Again thanks for your replies ]

Zoe


+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Filename: zoes bushes 2.jpg |
|Download: http://www.gardenbanter.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=14814|
|Filename: zoes bushes.jpg |
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The shrub with yellow raggedy petals is probably a Forsythia.
The rounded evergreen just about to break into flower is Skimmia, a
lovely shrub.
The other I'm not sure of; I thought hydrangea, but the flowers look
relatively large for that, but it's still possible.
All of them are good shrubs when looked after. You can cut the
Forsythia back quite hard now (after flowering, in other words). The
wood it then puts on will flower next year, so don't prune it again
until after next spring's flowers.
The Skimmia shouldn't need pruning. Just snip away any damaged bits.
If the last shrub is a Hydrangea, you can cut it back now to just above
a strong pair of buds on each branch. Any dead growth can also go.
If you don't want the ivy, pull or dig it out of the ground your side,
then continue to remove growth attached to your fence. There will still
be growth on the other side if it's their plant (ivy is perfectly
capapble of rooting both sides, so ownership can be hard to
distinguish). If it isn't theirs, it's none of their business.

By all means have a friendly chat with your neighbours. They may even
be able to help you identify plants.

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay
  #14   Report Post  
Old 16-03-2012, 08:12 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
Registered User
 
First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Feb 2007
Location: South Wales
Posts: 2,409
Default Please someone help me i have no idea what i am doing or what imlooking at!

On Mar 16, 4:33*pm, Spider wrote:
On 16/03/2012 11:29, zoebee87 wrote:



Thanks for your replies i did think it could be an apple tree...those
little horrid crab apples i sometimes find them on my drive way...


we used to have two dogs, a male and a female...both Boxers but we just
have the female now but she rarely goes into the main garden as we block
it off with the wheelie bins...just the odd time she sneaks in when the
bins are out when im busy with housework, we have a large paved area at
the side of the house in front of the garage that she uses 99% of the
time we're planning on getting a proper gate to block it off. i dont
like her going in the main garden because whenever she does...she goes
over to the corner on the right and starts pawing as if shes trying to
uncover something...if i try and move her away she growls at me a
little..its as if she can smell something...before we lost our male they
had spotted a hedgehog in the early hours one morning..we had thought
the barking was down to there being an actual intruder..when we let them
both out to "see it off" Toby came back and dumped this massive hedgehog
on the backdoor step! it was gone the morning after but is it possible
that its living in this corner? if so...now what do i do?


im not sure about the magnolia..is this the bush with funny brownish
petals? if so thats in our garden. if not then i have no clue ha! im so
rubbish at this...but i need to get a move on because my nosey neighbour
likes to complain about how she doesnt like looking at my messy garden
:/


Iv uploaded 2 close ups of the corners if this would make identification
easier?


We plan on doing it all ourselves as well honestly we need a project
that we can do together away from our mummy and daddy roles and i felt
that this was a good way to go about that. Our son goes to his nana's
every weekend for a sleep over so this is the best time for us to get
cracking...starting tomorrow


i am planning on getting rid of the ivy but im unsure of where its
actual roots will be...erm on the far left it looks like at the back of
the garage leading onto my neighbours garden...if i spray it and then it
turns out to be their ivy thats just taken advantage of my garage walls
then im in trouble arent i? but i hate the ivy it just looks very dated
and untidy. perhaps i should knock on and ask...hopefully it isnt theirs
and i can get rid of it!


Again thanks for your replies ]


Zoe


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|Filename: zoes bushes.jpg * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *|
|Download:http://www.gardenbanter.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=14815|
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The shrub with yellow raggedy petals is probably a Forsythia.
The rounded evergreen just about to break into flower is Skimmia, a
lovely shrub.
The other I'm not sure of; I thought hydrangea, but the flowers look
relatively large for that, but it's still possible.
All of them are good shrubs when looked after. *You can cut the
Forsythia back quite hard now (after flowering, in other words). *The
wood it then puts on will flower next year, so don't prune it again
until after next spring's flowers.
The Skimmia shouldn't need pruning. *Just snip away any damaged bits.
If the last shrub is a Hydrangea, you can cut it back now to just above
a strong pair of buds on each branch. *Any dead growth can also go.
If you don't want the ivy, pull or dig it out of the ground your side,
then continue to remove growth attached to your fence. *There will still
be growth on the other side if it's their plant (ivy is perfectly
capapble of rooting both sides, so ownership can be hard to
distinguish). *If it isn't theirs, it's none of their business.

By all means have a friendly chat with your neighbours. *They may even
be able to help you identify plants.

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


Let's start with the first picture, the RHS of your garden
The main shrub is Forsythia(Yellow flowers) and it looks as if a few
twigs of your apple tree are also showing,
I would say that the last occupants planted a variegated Ivy 90% or
more of which has now reverted to green, not worth keeping,
Now the second picture LHS of the garden
Another Forsythis (Yellow flowers) planted in front of a Skimmia (this
will have clusters of small white flowers) The other twigs I wouldn't
like to say at this stage.
The flowers in the background still intrigue me.
I am supprised that no one else picked up on your Bitch, the burned
patches of grass are a giveaway and the dog droppings as well.
As for her wanting to dig in the corner, I wonder if they burried a
dead cat or something in that corner and she can still smell it.
David @ the normally wet end of Swansea Bay, now in the 7th day of
drought.

  #15   Report Post  
Old 17-03-2012, 10:08 AM posted to uk.rec.gardening
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Jul 2007
Posts: 2,520
Default Please someone help me i have no idea what i am doing or what im looking at!


"zoebee87" wrote in message
...

we have a large paved area at
the side of the house in front of the garage that she uses 99% of the
time we're planning on getting a proper gate to block it off. i dont
like her going in the main garden because whenever she does...she goes
over to the corner on the right and starts pawing as if shes trying to
uncover something...if i try and move her away she growls at me a
little..its as if she can smell something...before we lost our male they
had spotted a hedgehog in the early hours one morning..we had thought
the barking was down to there being an actual intruder..when we let them
both out to "see it off" Toby came back and dumped this massive hedgehog
on the backdoor step! it was gone the morning after but is it possible
that its living in this corner? if so...now what do i do?


i am planning on getting rid of the ivy but im unsure of where its
actual roots will be...erm on the far left it looks like at the back of
the garage leading onto my neighbours garden...if i spray it and then it
turns out to be their ivy thats just taken advantage of my garage walls
then im in trouble arent i? but i hate the ivy it just looks very dated
and untidy. perhaps i should knock on and ask...hopefully it isnt theirs
and i can get rid of it!

Again thanks for your replies ]

Zoe


Don't worry about the hedgehog it won't hang around with dogs bothering it
and they don't seem to come to much harm being carried around by them, ours
used to do that too! Having a hedgehog in a garden is considered a good
thing.

Dont waste time and money spraying the ivy, cut it near the base and dig the
roots out, if no roots then cut as low down as possible your side but I
suspect it is your side and may well have been deliberatly planted.

And I think the shrub with the brown flowers is a Hydrangea


--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cvs
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk

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