Hello everyone,

I moved to the UK in Feb and purchased a house in June.
It has the most lovely English Cottage Garden.

What could be the problem you ask?

There are hundreds and I am lost!

The lady that lived here before just plunked down what ever she bought in
any open space
she could find!

There are over 50 roses and they ALL have rot/mildew/wilt/bugs!
They are in the middle of lilies, under trees, stuck in the shade, the list
goes on and on.

I adore the way it looks as if it was just done with a bit of eccentricity.

Here lies the trouble tho. I am at a loss as to how and sort it!
The Lavender and Rosemary are as huge as trees!
How and when to prune?

The Roses are in BAD condition, Do I just chop them all back now?
What about the climbers that are covering buildings and have about 4 leaves
and those are only on the ends?

There seems to be no way to fix this except to rip it all up.
Tho the weather seems so much milder here than in the heat of the
Mid West back home I am still worried about doing that.

I have raked up the dead leaves and twigs from the roses, dead headed them
as well as done My best not to be to fussy about the layout, knowing
that only adds to how lovely it looks all smushed together but I do
need some help!

I have gone on line to look for some advice on these things but it is a
little like
reading flat pack instructions!

My thought, an English garden would need English gardeners advice.

Thank you in advance,

The US Transplant
Lorri