I have just moved into a property that has a small garden. All the plants
appear to be dead, but how do I know if there or not ?

"Craig & Audrey" wrote in message
...
I have just moved into a property that has a small garden. All the
plants
appear to be dead, but how do I know if there or not ?


Well it is nearly wintertime, so some of the plants may be annuals
that die off in winter and need replacing every year.

Or they might be perennials that die down in winter and come back up
in springtime.

You can check things like shrubs with twiglike stems by gently
scraping the twig near it's base with your fingernail. if you see
green underneath the bark, then the shrub is probably alive and
kicking and just dropped its leaves for the winter. If however the
twigs are brown underneath and break of very easily, then it may be
dead.

Your best approach is probably to wait until spring and see what comes
back up !
Or maybe a gardening friend, neighbour might be able to give you a
hand in deciding what's what.

Could you perhaps get some photo's online. that way we could see what
you have inherited:~)

Jenny

In article , Craig &
Audrey writes
I have just moved into a property that has a small garden. All the plants
appear to be dead, but how do I know if there or not ?

Green insides to stems = alive
Brown = dead

If you want to trim things back, do so cautiously, and don't cut back by
more than half way anything which is green inside. But there's no
problem (other than aesthetic) in just leaving everything.


--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/garden/

Begin ,
quote...
In article , Craig &
Audrey writes
I have just moved into a property that has a small garden. All the plants
appear to be dead, but how do I know if there or not ?

Green insides to stems = alive
Brown = dead

If you want to trim things back, do so cautiously, and don't cut back by
more than half way anything which is green inside. But there's no
problem (other than aesthetic) in just leaving everything.


Thinking of some of the stuff that gets into gardens with a bit of
neglect and the way some annuals end up. A tap on the stems to see if
they're hollow could yield results of things that can at least be
trimmed to ground level to tidy things up, cautiously obviously.

Some photos on a website would be great though. A test for all those
here to play spot the plant when greeted by twiggy forms and will likely
yield a fair number of hits on wilting leaves too.

Warwick

On Sun, 17 Nov 2002 12:09:39 +0000, Kay Easton
wrote:

In article , Craig &
Audrey writes
I have just moved into a property that has a small garden. All the plants
appear to be dead, but how do I know if there or not ?

Green insides to stems = alive
Brown = dead

What about peonies and many other herbaceous plants that die back
to the ground in winter?

At this season, it's perhaps wiser to think something is may
still be alive, even though the stems are brown.

If you are tidiness minded, better to just clip off the dead
topgrowth now. In spring the ones that are still alive will
reappear.


--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

In article , Rodger Whitlock
writes
On Sun, 17 Nov 2002 12:09:39 +0000, Kay Easton
wrote:

In article , Craig &
Audrey writes
I have just moved into a property that has a small garden. All the plants
appear to be dead, but how do I know if there or not ?

Green insides to stems = alive
Brown = dead

What about peonies and many other herbaceous plants that die back
to the ground in winter?

Yes, I wasn't clear enough - I meant the stems were dead and could
safely be cut back, not that the plant should be dug up!


--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/garden/