The garden, part 1

Kitchen yard with tree still in place

One thing that came with this house was a garden. Which had always been tended lovingly by the lady who lived here, but in the end dementia got her down and the garden with it. So, even though you can still see the remnants of a good garden, it is severely overgrown and not what I would like to do with it. 

The tree removed, but still very much overgrown

It needed cutting back. Yes, that would mean taking away the lovely places to live for frogs, snails, slugs and all sorts of other creepy crawlies, but I am planning to give back, so don't worry. The first bit I tackled was the kitchen yard (the bit outside the kitchen, alas no direct access). When I first got the keys, there was a large fir tree there as well, but that had already been removed by the housing association's landscapers. 

You can see the creeper behind the blue (paper) bin

The hedge however is still there. Part laurel and part something other, it is way too wide: about two meters I think. It needs a really good close trim. Close as in close to the ground. I will be cutting it down to about 50 cm from the ground. It will then take about 2 years for it to come back, but then I can keep on top of it much easier. And not let it grow out of proportion. 

The hedge

The first bit was done yesterday. By the time I had removed about one twentieth, the wheelie bin was full. Unless somebody comes with a trailer and a big saw, it will take some time. Never mind. I also removed some dead wood (containing a live froglet) and some creeping plant that even popped up in the shed and will most likely need to be removed for the next ten years.

Any difference?

My plans for the front yard are varied. On the one hand the plan is to keep the hedge and make sure the three wheelie bins I have have enough room, on the other hand the plan is to remove the hedge altogether and make a different entry into that yard. Also put up some large poles, fix wire mash, plant some nice climbers/vines and have enough room for the wheelie bins. That second option is my favourite, it is also more expensive.

The creeper has mostly been removed, but the roots...

And that is just the kitchen yard. The front yard is about five times bigger and although it does not have a hedge, it has the remains of the laurel tree that is already starting to sprout again after being cut down, conifers that are partly dead, a large blackberry bush (the freezer is filling up nicely, prior to making jam), a elderberry tree (will be picked as well and made into jam), a Chinese Rose, a Common Lilac, grass that is way too high and a massive attraction to cats to poop in. A bit of work needed I can tell you!

On the left you can see a tiny bit of hedge cut off.
And I removed the holly.

The plan there would be to remove the conifers and continue the poles/wire mesh/vines and climbers. The Chinese Rose needs trimming, the Common Lilac needs trimming, the grass needs cutting and of course edibles need to be planted. Berry bushes, perhaps an apple or a plum tree. Some of it will and can be done this year, other things will most likely be a long term project. Which is fine. I am not moving any time soon!