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Mayors Tail & Landscaping costs!
Hi
I'm a very inexperienced gardener, but enjoy having a go! We've recently moved into a house where the garden is nothing short of a mess. We need a patio removed and an area that is overrun with a combination of weeds/plants removed. It's too big a job for someone as inexperienced as we are, does anyone have any idea of what this may cost before I make enquiries...also, when is the best time to get it done. 2nd question, I have privet hedges down both sides of the garden, the bottom of which is overgrown with a weed that I'm told is called Mayors tail. I've tried to dig it out but can't get in because of the hedge roots, anyone got any ideas on how to get rid of it, it's even coming up through the grass and is everywhere in the patch that I mentioned above. Thanks in advance for any help! |
#2
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In article , mandyp writes: | | We've recently moved into a house where the garden is nothing short of | a mess. We need a patio removed and an area that is overrun with a | combination of weeds/plants removed. It's too big a job for someone as | inexperienced as we are, does anyone have any idea of what this may | cost before I make enquiries...also, when is the best time to get it | done. Don't be intimidated - it is easier than you think to clear ground, if you have the right tools (NOT necessarily expensive power ones). How big is the area, what is it overrun with, and what do you want to do with it? Having a normal patio removed is cheap. Get several quotes from local builders (ones with permanent addresses or recommendations, not cowboys that leave cards through the door). | 2nd question, I have privet hedges down both sides of the garden, the | bottom of which is overgrown with a weed that I'm told is called Mayors | tail. I've tried to dig it out but can't get in because of the hedge | roots, anyone got any ideas on how to get rid of it, it's even coming | up through the grass and is everywhere in the patch that I mentioned | above. Horsetail or Mare's tail (Equisetum). That area is damp. To a first approximation, you can't get rid of it. It's been around for 300 million years and will outlast the human species. It's not unattractive, so you could try living with it at the end and mowing it in the lawn. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
#4
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In article ,
mandyp wrote: My incorrect spelling certainly explains why I couldn't find anything when I did a google on it!! Think of it as extending the language - look up the origin of the word butterfly sometime :-) The slabbed area is about 7 ft X 8 ft. There are also bits of path that are crazy paving in concrete and the area full of Mare's tail (correct spelling!) and a variety of plants/bushes and trees is about 9 ft X 9 ft. It was our intention to grass this as the opposite side of the garden gets the sun, so we'd like a patio there. To be honest, it's as much a time issue for paying someone to do this, I attempted to dig out weeds and spent a day trying to clear an area about 3 ft square! You're probably right, tools would help, I was working with a shovel and fork. It looks daunting and in light of the time I spent I thought it'd be easier to get someone in. Get a grub-axe (pick-mattock) from any good agricultural merchant, rural hardware store or whatever. That is a pickaxe with one side being a blade 4" wide at right angles to the handle. It makes one HELL of a difference when clearing rough ground, and you don't need to be a navvy to use it - swing it up and its weight will bring it down again. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
#5
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The real "Nick Maclaren" wrote in reply to Mandy P | 2nd question, I have privet hedges down both sides of the garden, the | bottom of which is overgrown with a weed that I'm told is called Mayors | tail. I've tried to dig it out but can't get in because of the hedge | roots, anyone got any ideas on how to get rid of it, it's even coming | up through the grass and is everywhere in the patch that I mentioned | above. Horsetail or Mare's tail (Equisetum). That area is damp. To a first approximation, you can't get rid of it. It's been around for 300 million years and will outlast the human species. It's not unattractive, so you could try living with it at the end and mowing it in the lawn. We have Mare's Tail on both our allotments and I agree with Nick, it's virtually impossible to eradicate especially as it has a skin that weedkillers simply can't penetrate and black roots that go down to Australia. When it first arrived marching across the site like a slow wave it went berserk and grew thickly, but as the years progressed and with hoeing etc, it has settled down to a few here and there and isn't a problem, just another weed to hoe. In your case grassing and mowing the whole area will ensure it doesn't get too bad. Bad luck. An experienced gardener may have gone elsewhere. Please tell me none of your neighbours have Leylandii hedges. :-) -- Regards Bob In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London |
#6
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Bob Hobden wrote:
The real "Nick Maclaren" wrote in reply to Mandy P 2nd question, I have privet hedges down both sides of the garden, the bottom of which is overgrown with a weed that I'm told is called Mayors tail. [...] Horsetail or Mare's tail (Equisetum). That area is damp. [...] We have Mare's Tail on both our allotments and I agree with Nick, it's virtually impossible to eradicate especially as it has a skin that weedkillers simply can't penetrate and black roots that go down to Australia. [...] Highly appropriate, if we'd been able to ask my father: his unfavourite uncle was mayor of Brisbane, and I reckon my old Daddy would have loved the idea of Mayor's tail, especially if you could have added a pair of cloven hooves! Mike. |
#7
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"mandyp" wrote Hi I'm a very inexperienced gardener, but enjoy having a go! We've recently moved into a house where the garden is nothing short of a mess. We need a patio removed and an area that is overrun with a combination of weeds/plants removed. It's too big a job for someone as inexperienced as we are, does anyone have any idea of what this may cost before I make enquiries...also, when is the best time to get it done. You could have a 'garden party'. Ask friends, rellies etc round for a days clearing. Provide lots of grub and booze when the jobs done :~)) 2nd question, I have privet hedges down both sides of the garden, the bottom of which is overgrown with a weed that I'm told is called Mayors tail. I've tried to dig it out but can't get in because of the hedge roots, anyone got any ideas on how to get rid of it, it's even coming up through the grass and is everywhere in the patch that I mentioned above. Thanks in advance for any help! mandyp I think you mean Mares Tail. You could try nuclear warfare on it............. Or learn to love it :~)) Makes a good foliage plant in flower arrangements :~) Jenny |
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