Hello everyone,

I recently bought a house with a 30x90ft garden, which was massively overgrown:

http://imageshack.us/a/img580/1193/gardenold.jpg

I have since spent quite a bit of time pulling out all of the old bushes and trees, burning as I go. As you can see, I've certainly made progress:

http://imageshack.us/a/img27/5903/garden2b.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img6/6974/garden3u.jpg

However, I am now moving towards being in a position whereby:

• There are lots of roots in the ground from the large bushes / small trees
• I have attempted to remove the bramble roots, but not done a great job - lots left in there / hidden
• I want to remove all of this, and then lay grass!

My plan is to hire a mini excavator (it's about 800cm wide - will fit through the door in my garange!) and pull up the remaining large roots (e.g. against the fence on the left, and over on the right).

I plan to use the excavator/digger to pull up the small amount of grass that exists, and also level the ground a bit more.

I then plan to get a heavy duty (13 horse power) rotorator, and use it across the whole area. I hope that this will pull up any roots / weeds / stones which are under the surface, so that they can be easily picked up and removed.

The rotorator should also leave the ground in a good condition to lay grass seed... I hope.

I wanted to check with you guys regarding this - have I missed anything or am I going about anything the wrong way? I am aware a rotivator is going to blitz certain roots (e.g. the brambles), but I am unsure how else to get rid of something dotted hidden across a garden of this size. Obviously the mini digger will identify some bits...

Please do advise / help - I was hoping to get the digger this weekend and do most of the digger work, with the rotivator the following weekend. I can only spend weekends on this due to work, and we have some extra help (probably 3-4 of us each day).

Does this all sound achievable?

On 17/04/2013 14:44, MichaelD wrote:
Hello everyone,

I recently bought a house with a 30x90ft garden, which was massively
overgrown:

[image: http://imageshack.us/a/img580/1193/gardenold.jpg]

I have since spent quite a bit of time pulling out all of the old bushes
and trees, burning as I go. As you can see, I've certainly made
progress:

I'd have probably kept one or two of the better specimen plants in place
and waited to see what spring bulbs came up. YMMV

[image: http://imageshack.us/a/img27/5903/garden2b.jpg]
[image: http://imageshack.us/a/img6/6974/garden3u.jpg]

However, I am now moving towards being in a position whereby:


- There are lots of roots in the ground from the large bushes / small
trees
- I have attempted to remove the bramble roots, but not done a great
job - lots left in there / hidden
- I want to remove all of this, and then lay grass!

Do you have anything against chemical warfare?

The simple way is hit it with glyphosate next decent sunny spell and
wait four weeks. By then it should all be dead and tinder dry. Rake it
up flash burn it off and then leave for another four weeks hitting any
new green shoots with glyphosate again as soon as you see them.

Then and only then indulge in mechanical extraction and rotivation.

If you have the patience to leave it fallow for a year and hit it
repeatedly with small amounts of spot weeding either chemical or
physical then you will get complete control in one season.

My plan is to hire a mini excavator (it's about 800cm wide - will fit
through the door in my garange!) and pull up the remaining large roots
(e.g. against the fence on the left, and over on the right).

I plan to use the excavator/digger to pull up the small amount of grass
that exists, and also level the ground a bit more.

I then plan to get a heavy duty (13 horse power) rotorator, and use it
across the whole area. I hope that this will pull up any roots / weeds
/ stones which are under the surface, so that they can be easily picked
up and removed.

The rotorator should also leave the ground in a good condition to lay
grass seed... I hope.

If you rotivate untreated bramble, nettle, bindweed or ground elder into
the ground then every piece of it will become a new plant.

I wanted to check with you guys regarding this - have I missed anything
or am I going about anything the wrong way? I am aware a rotivator is
going to blitz certain roots (e.g. the brambles), but I am unsure how
else to get rid of something dotted hidden across a garden of this size.
Obviously the mini digger will identify some bits...

Please do advise / help - I was hoping to get the digger this weekend
and do most of the digger work, with the rotivator the following
weekend. I can only spend weekends on this due to work, and we have
some extra help (probably 3-4 of us each day).

Does this all sound achievable?

It depends what you are trying to achieve. If your intent is to
propagate bramble and other pernicious weeds it will be highly
effective. Kill them first and then physically remove.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On 2013-04-17 14:44:53 +0100, MichaelD said:

Hello everyone,

I recently bought a house with a 30x90ft garden, which was massively
overgrown:

[image: http://imageshack.us/a/img580/1193/gardenold.jpg]

I have since spent quite a bit of time pulling out all of the old bushes
and trees, burning as I go. As you can see, I've certainly made
progress:

[image: http://imageshack.us/a/img27/5903/garden2b.jpg]
[image: http://imageshack.us/a/img6/6974/garden3u.jpg]

However, I am now moving towards being in a position whereby:


- There are lots of roots in the ground from the large bushes / small
trees
- I have attempted to remove the bramble roots, but not done a great
job - lots left in there / hidden
- I want to remove all of this, and then lay grass!


My plan is to hire a mini excavator (it's about 800cm wide - will fit
through the door in my garange!) and pull up the remaining large roots
(e.g. against the fence on the left, and over on the right).

I plan to use the excavator/digger to pull up the small amount of grass
that exists, and also level the ground a bit more.

I then plan to get a heavy duty (13 horse power) rotorator, and use it
across the whole area. I hope that this will pull up any roots / weeds
/ stones which are under the surface, so that they can be easily picked
up and removed.

The rotorator should also leave the ground in a good condition to lay
grass seed... I hope.

I wanted to check with you guys regarding this - have I missed anything
or am I going about anything the wrong way? I am aware a rotivator is
going to blitz certain roots (e.g. the brambles), but I am unsure how
else to get rid of something dotted hidden across a garden of this size.
Obviously the mini digger will identify some bits...

Please do advise / help - I was hoping to get the digger this weekend
and do most of the digger work, with the rotivator the following
weekend. I can only spend weekends on this due to work, and we have
some extra help (probably 3-4 of us each day).

Does this all sound achievable?

The simple answer is 'no'!
Do you actually want a grass rectangle with no plants in it at all
other than the grass and a couple of trees? I ask because it seems as
if you've pulled out some nicely matured shrubs which probably just
needed a tidy up next autumn! My first comment on this probably
doesn't apply to you, if that is what you're aiming for, but the first
advice usually given to new gardeners/home owners, is not to do
anything until you've seen a year's growing and flowering in your
garden. I would think there is a danger to the fence if you intend to
use an excavator to pull out roots. And the rotavator will chop the
bramble and nettle roots into lots of little pieces, each of which will
re-grow, it will turn over soil but it won't weed for you when you're
talking about large clumps of root. Using it for that purpose could be
dangerous for you and leave you with a large bill at the hire company.
As a general note to other new gardeners, it's usually better to ask
the questions before starting! I'm actually having a bit of a problem
wondering why you've destroyed the garden at all unless, as I say, you
just want a green rectangle without a flower to be seen!

--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

"MichaelD" wrote in


Hello everyone,

I recently bought a house with a 30x90ft garden, which was massively
overgrown:

[image: http://imageshack.us/a/img580/1193/gardenold.jpg]

I have since spent quite a bit of time pulling out all of the old bushes
and trees, burning as I go. As you can see, I've certainly made
progress:

[image: http://imageshack.us/a/img27/5903/garden2b.jpg]
[image: http://imageshack.us/a/img6/6974/garden3u.jpg]

However, I am now moving towards being in a position whereby:


- There are lots of roots in the ground from the large bushes / small
trees
- I have attempted to remove the bramble roots, but not done a great
job - lots left in there / hidden
- I want to remove all of this, and then lay grass!


My plan is to hire a mini excavator (it's about 800cm wide - will fit
through the door in my garange!) and pull up the remaining large roots
(e.g. against the fence on the left, and over on the right).

I plan to use the excavator/digger to pull up the small amount of grass
that exists, and also level the ground a bit more.

I then plan to get a heavy duty (13 horse power) rotorator, and use it
across the whole area. I hope that this will pull up any roots / weeds
/ stones which are under the surface, so that they can be easily picked
up and removed.

The rotorator should also leave the ground in a good condition to lay
grass seed... I hope.

I wanted to check with you guys regarding this - have I missed anything
or am I going about anything the wrong way? I am aware a rotivator is
going to blitz certain roots (e.g. the brambles), but I am unsure how
else to get rid of something dotted hidden across a garden of this size.
Obviously the mini digger will identify some bits...

Please do advise / help - I was hoping to get the digger this weekend
and do most of the digger work, with the rotivator the following
weekend. I can only spend weekends on this due to work, and we have
some extra help (probably 3-4 of us each day).

Does this all sound achievable?




Glysophate is your friend, as others have said, kill it all first before you
spread the roots around the plot. It will take some weeks but it will save
you years of work. If the soil is clay then you will need to incorporate
sand to improve drainage before you plant grass or you will have constant
problems with moss etc.

Shame you didn't come here first as it looks like it was a very well planted
garden just let go for a few years, a good prune would have put it back on
the right track and it would have been back to it's best in a couple of
years.

--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

On Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:44:53 +0000, MichaelD
wrote:


Pruned

Does this all sound achievable?

Without wanting to appear rude, a simple suggestion: "STOP!".

It's difficult to work out from the photos what you've pulled
up/chopped down but you mention brambles and that alone sets a warning
bell ringing. I'd also expect a lot of other perennial weeds around in
neglected ground.

Using a mini digger to remove the stumps and roots in very defined and
contained areas will minimise the risk but using it to "pull up the
grass ... and level ..." worries me - you risk creating a weed and
bramble patch very quickly by dividing and spreading roots. Also,
where something is close against the fence, dig carefully as the
roots will go under the fence and you may end up removing the fence
with the stump! Apologies if I'm stating the obvious but better safe
than sorry.

Using a rotovator as you intend will make matters worse as it won't
pull up the roots; it'll chop them up into even smaller pieces and
spread them all over the place.

I suggest that you take a more patient approach and, if you want to
remove remaining green growth (the grassed area looks recoverable with
minimal effort by the way), you follow Martin's suggestion of chemical
attack with glyphosate to kill off the top growth plus the roots
attached to it before you do anything else. Downside is that you need
to allow time for the stuff to work - the top growth will die before
the roots so you really need patience!

Also, consider how you are going to water a newly seeded lawn in dry
weather (if we get any), particularly the end that's 90 feet away from
the house. You can't walk on the lawn while it's establishing, nor
leave a hose or two lying on it connected to sprinklers that you can
control from the house end. So you may want to consider a pathway up
the middle. If you're going to leave that clothes dryer there, you'll'
need a path to that at least.

If you have children who want to play on the lawn in the summer,
definitely keep the grass you've got! A newly seeded lawn isn't going
to be ready for normal use for at least 6 months, preferably up to a
year!

Although you *can* seed a lawn at almost any time with the right seed,
I'm assuming you don't want to spend the earth and so your spring
sowing window with general purpose seed will only run for about
another 3 weeks. It will be better if you delay seeding until the
latter part of August into early September.

In any event, if you want anything like a decent lawn, and even if
you do rotovate, the preparation with your heels and a rake will take
you some time. Then you should leave the ground to rest for a while to
allow any weed seeds/roots to develop and remove them, then rake etc.,
again. If the soil is heavy you need to think about drainage too!
You'll need to add something to help the grass to establish (if you're
not organic then Growmore will do the job). If you don't do this part
of the job properly, you will end up with something similar to the
grass area you have and which you say you want to remove.

If you have a lot of birds and/or cats in your area, you'll need to
protect the ground from cats using it as a toilet and birds feasting
on the seed. Netting held a couple of inches above ground on some
small sticks maybe?

If you've never seeded a lawn like this before, Hessayon's book "The
Lawn Expert" will be a very worthwhile investment of under a tenner.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling from the East end of Swansea Bay where the
showers of April have arrived!

In article , MichaelD.be45e30
@gardenbanter.co.uk says...

Hello everyone,

I recently bought a house with a 30x90ft garden, which was massively
overgrown:

[image: http://imageshack.us/a/img580/1193/gardenold.jpg]

I have since spent quite a bit of time pulling out all of the old bushes
and trees, burning as I go. As you can see, I've certainly made
progress:

[image: http://imageshack.us/a/img27/5903/garden2b.jpg]
[image: http://imageshack.us/a/img6/6974/garden3u.jpg]

However, I am now moving towards being in a position whereby:


- There are lots of roots in the ground from the large bushes / small
trees
- I have attempted to remove the bramble roots, but not done a great
job - lots left in there / hidden
- I want to remove all of this, and then lay grass!


My plan is to hire a mini excavator (it's about 800cm wide - will fit
through the door in my garange!) and pull up the remaining large roots
(e.g. against the fence on the left, and over on the right).

I plan to use the excavator/digger to pull up the small amount of grass
that exists, and also level the ground a bit more.

I wouldn't; it's not a very good tool for digging out roots and the
weight will compact the soil (making it harder for plants to thrive).
I'd save the hire fee to invest in some permanent assets; a mattock
and saw or spade. Then you can dig round each root, saw off some to
loosen the plant and lever it out.
A mattock is also very good for extricating bramble roots.


I then plan to get a heavy duty (13 horse power) rotorator, and use it
across the whole area.

If you rotovate that healthy tussocky grass much of it will grow back.
I would mow the grass, giving yourself a temporary usable lawn this
summer, then spend summer clearing the roots and brambles as described
and get that bare soil really clean.

By then you will have a good idea which parts of the garden are
sunny/shady/ breezy/sheltered , best for sitting out, hanginglaundry
etc. Which neighbours to block out ...

Take your time and don't rush. Successful gardens are not made in
a few days, or even a season. By taking your time you will realise
what's practical and desirable , and save your back. If you rush to
instant results, a few months later you'll be re-doing it all over again
the way you wish you'd thought of before.

See, ripping/hacking out all those shrubs is something you might
regret when you eventually find out what they were, and that some
treasure took years to reach that size and would have flowered...

Janet.

On Wednesday, 17 April 2013 14:44:53 UTC+1, MichaelD wrote:
Hello everyone,



I recently bought a house with a 30x90ft garden, which was massively

overgrown:



[image: http://imageshack.us/a/img580/1193/gardenold.jpg]



I have since spent quite a bit of time pulling out all of the old bushes

and trees, burning as I go. As you can see, I've certainly made

progress:



[image: http://imageshack.us/a/img27/5903/garden2b.jpg]

[image: http://imageshack.us/a/img6/6974/garden3u.jpg]



However, I am now moving towards being in a position whereby:





- There are lots of roots in the ground from the large bushes / small

trees

- I have attempted to remove the bramble roots, but not done a great

job - lots left in there / hidden

- I want to remove all of this, and then lay grass!





My plan is to hire a mini excavator (it's about 800cm wide - will fit

through the door in my garange!) and pull up the remaining large roots

(e.g. against the fence on the left, and over on the right).



I plan to use the excavator/digger to pull up the small amount of grass

that exists, and also level the ground a bit more.



I then plan to get a heavy duty (13 horse power) rotorator, and use it

across the whole area. I hope that this will pull up any roots / weeds

/ stones which are under the surface, so that they can be easily picked

up and removed.



The rotorator should also leave the ground in a good condition to lay

grass seed... I hope.



I wanted to check with you guys regarding this - have I missed anything

or am I going about anything the wrong way? I am aware a rotivator is

going to blitz certain roots (e.g. the brambles), but I am unsure how

else to get rid of something dotted hidden across a garden of this size.

Obviously the mini digger will identify some bits...



Please do advise / help - I was hoping to get the digger this weekend

and do most of the digger work, with the rotivator the following

weekend. I can only spend weekends on this due to work, and we have

some extra help (probably 3-4 of us each day).



Does this all sound achievable?

MichaelD

Could I ask for the benefit of others finding themselves moving to a new house with a mature garden - Just why did you reset the calendar to the year zero?
A couple of years of care and observation would have put you in a nice mature garden that will now take a good few years (and some considerable expense) to produce.

Rod

On 17/04/2013 14:44, MichaelD wrote:
Hello everyone,

I recently bought a house with a 30x90ft garden, which was massively
overgrown:

[image: http://imageshack.us/a/img580/1193/gardenold.jpg]

I have since spent quite a bit of time pulling out all of the old bushes
and trees, burning as I go. As you can see, I've certainly made
progress:

[image: http://imageshack.us/a/img27/5903/garden2b.jpg]
[image: http://imageshack.us/a/img6/6974/garden3u.jpg]

However, I am now moving towards being in a position whereby:


- There are lots of roots in the ground from the large bushes / small
trees
- I have attempted to remove the bramble roots, but not done a great
job - lots left in there / hidden
- I want to remove all of this, and then lay grass!


My plan is to hire a mini excavator (it's about 800cm wide - will fit
through the door in my garange!) and pull up the remaining large roots
(e.g. against the fence on the left, and over on the right).

I plan to use the excavator/digger to pull up the small amount of grass
that exists, and also level the ground a bit more.

I then plan to get a heavy duty (13 horse power) rotorator, and use it
across the whole area. I hope that this will pull up any roots / weeds
/ stones which are under the surface, so that they can be easily picked
up and removed.

The rotorator should also leave the ground in a good condition to lay
grass seed... I hope.

I wanted to check with you guys regarding this - have I missed anything
or am I going about anything the wrong way? I am aware a rotivator is
going to blitz certain roots (e.g. the brambles), but I am unsure how
else to get rid of something dotted hidden across a garden of this size.
Obviously the mini digger will identify some bits...

Please do advise / help - I was hoping to get the digger this weekend
and do most of the digger work, with the rotivator the following
weekend. I can only spend weekends on this due to work, and we have
some extra help (probably 3-4 of us each day).

Does this all sound achievable?

Makes me think you have been watching to much "Homes under the hammer"
and are trying to get everything done "Yesterday" ready to sell on.
In which case just level, slap down some turf, sell and let the next
person clear up your mess.
You say you want to get a 13 hp Rotavator to clear roots etc,
If you've never used one before. then my advice is DON'T.
Get someone in to do the job, it will be cheaper in the long run.
They are not the machine for an amateur to play with on rough ground.
Hit a good root and they can take off, jumping 10 ft or more before you
get it back under control, It happens to me, and I've been using them
for over 50 years, The root doesn't tell you where it is.
I agree with the others, you look to have hacked back some nice shrubs.
David @ the dull end of Swansea Bay

On 17/04/2013 16:55, Bob Hobden wrote:
Shame you didn't come here first as it looks like it was a very well
planted garden just let go for a few years, a good prune would have put
it back on the right track and it would have been back to it's best in a
couple of years.


I've helped people with much more overgrown gardens get them back fairly
easily by a bit of judicious pruning and taking out any self sown tress
and stuff. You'd be surprised how shrubs that look way beyond
salvageable respond to a bit of room and feeding. You'vbe probably taken
out or destroyed some really nice things!

A lawn needs far more attention than a shrubbery or border, and will
give a lot less interest and enjoyment.

--
Janet T.
Amersham

"MichaelD" wrote in message
...

Hello everyone,

I recently bought a house with a 30x90ft garden, which was massively
overgrown:

[image: http://imageshack.us/a/img580/1193/gardenold.jpg]

I have since spent quite a bit of time pulling out all of the old bushes
and trees, burning as I go. As you can see, I've certainly made
progress:

[image: http://imageshack.us/a/img27/5903/garden2b.jpg]
[image: http://imageshack.us/a/img6/6974/garden3u.jpg]

However, I am now moving towards being in a position whereby:


- There are lots of roots in the ground from the large bushes / small
trees
- I have attempted to remove the bramble roots, but not done a great
job - lots left in there / hidden
- I want to remove all of this, and then lay grass!


My plan is to hire a mini excavator (it's about 800cm wide - will fit
through the door in my garange!)

I bet it won't. Unless you've got the mother of all garages.

Steve

On 2013-04-17 23:06:08 +0100, shazzbat said:

"MichaelD" wrote in message
...

Hello everyone,

I recently bought a house with a 30x90ft garden, which was massively
overgrown:

[image: http://imageshack.us/a/img580/1193/gardenold.jpg]

I have since spent quite a bit of time pulling out all of the old bushes
and trees, burning as I go. As you can see, I've certainly made
progress:

[image: http://imageshack.us/a/img27/5903/garden2b.jpg]
[image: http://imageshack.us/a/img6/6974/garden3u.jpg]

However, I am now moving towards being in a position whereby:


- There are lots of roots in the ground from the large bushes / small
trees
- I have attempted to remove the bramble roots, but not done a great
job - lots left in there / hidden
- I want to remove all of this, and then lay grass!


My plan is to hire a mini excavator (it's about 800cm wide - will fit
through the door in my garange!)

I bet it won't. Unless you've got the mother of all garages.

Steve

The more I think of this and read of the wasteland that's been created,
the more I wonder if this is a wind up. Who on earth would do that to
a well-planted garden, creating huge bare areas which allow the
neighbours to look into the house and garden where, before, they had
privacy and mature planting? I think it's a reverse posting, if you
see what I mean. Or at least, I hope it is. That scene of devastation
is pitiable. Imagine doing that to any garden and then writing about it!
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

In article ,
says...

The more I think of this and read of the wasteland that's been created,
the more I wonder if this is a wind up. Who on earth would do that

Someone did. The before and after pics prove it.

I've seen far worse happen to suburban gardens IRL, either by
energetic new owners who were inexperienced beginners or by some paid
clueless jobbing "gardener/landscaper".


Janet.

On Wednesday, April 17, 2013 2:44:53 PM UTC+1, MichaelD wrote:
Hello everyone,
I recently bought a house with a 30x90ft garden, which was massively
overgrown:
[image: http://imageshack.us/a/img580/1193/gardenold.jpg]
I have since spent quite a bit of time pulling out all of the old bushes
and trees, burning as I go. As you can see, I've certainly made
progress:
[image: http://imageshack.us/a/img27/5903/garden2b.jpg]
[image: http://imageshack.us/a/img6/6974/garden3u.jpg]
However, I am now moving towards being in a position whereby:

- There are lots of roots in the ground from the large bushes / small
trees
- I have attempted to remove the bramble roots, but not done a great
job - lots left in there / hidden
- I want to remove all of this, and then lay grass!

My plan is to hire a mini excavator (it's about 800cm wide - will fit
through the door in my garange!) and pull up the remaining large roots
(e.g. against the fence on the left, and over on the right).
I plan to use the excavator/digger to pull up the small amount of grass
that exists, and also level the ground a bit more.
I then plan to get a heavy duty (13 horse power) rotorator, and use it
across the whole area. I hope that this will pull up any roots / weeds
/ stones which are under the surface, so that they can be easily picked
up and removed.
The rotorator should also leave the ground in a good condition to lay
grass seed... I hope.
I wanted to check with you guys regarding this - have I missed anything
or am I going about anything the wrong way? I am aware a rotivator is
going to blitz certain roots (e.g. the brambles), but I am unsure how
else to get rid of something dotted hidden across a garden of this size.
Obviously the mini digger will identify some bits...
Please do advise / help - I was hoping to get the digger this weekend
and do most of the digger work, with the rotivator the following
weekend. I can only spend weekends on this due to work, and we have
some extra help (probably 3-4 of us each day).
Does this all sound achievable?


Most has been said already.

Lawn weeds: Close to everything clears from repeated regular mowing. What little doesnt flowers beautifully before the grass needs mowing.

Brambles: Cutting them won't get rid of them. Apply glyphosate to above ground growth. The more leaf area there is, the more glyphosate gets into the roots. Blackberries are yum, if you don't mind hacking them back annually you could let a patch
grow somewhere out of the way in half sun - but never neglect to keep them in check.

Lumpy ground: A roller works wonders.

Grass: Rotivating would kill any bulbs, and isnt needed.

Plants: if you want to reinstate what you removed elsewhere, cuttings from it may be still good.


NT

On 2013-04-18 00:32:01 +0100, said:
snip

Plants: if you want to reinstate what you removed elsewhere, cuttings
from it may be still good.


NT

I doubt very seriously that taking cuttings is a skill that has been
acquired by that garden owner, as yet! The 'scorched earth' policy
would rather argue against the likelihood!
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

In article ,
says...

On 2013-04-18 00:32:01 +0100, said:
snip

Plants: if you want to reinstate what you removed elsewhere, cuttings
from it may be still good.


NT

I doubt very seriously that taking cuttings is a skill that has been
acquired by that garden owner, as yet! The 'scorched earth' policy
would rather argue against the likelihood!

There are many plants so easy to root that the most ignorant beginner
can poke sticks in the soil and some will produce a new plant. He's got
nothing to lose by trying. That's how most of us learnt to make
cuttings. Most experienced gardeners learned everything by trial and
error, by being impatient and ambitious and working ourselves to a sweat
soaked frazzle. I still do all that after 40+ years.

That's all he'd done; and far from being a total disaster it's the
harbinger of real energy, enthusiasm and determination which are the
mark of a future gardener who will make himself a great place and
treasure it.

It will be his very own, and just the way he likes it, until some
blinding inspiration strikes and he realises how much better it would
be if we just move this bed over here and that over there...why did I
ever plant that there...

I still do that, too.
Janet.