When's the best time to tackle an overgrown garden?

I've inherited a very overgrown garden. Bindwind, ivy, ground elder - you name it I seem to have got it. The garden is pretty large (about 1/3 of an acre) with lots of large flower beds and mature borders. I just don't know where to start! I've been too busy to do anything over the summer and now it just looks like a jungle. When's the best time to tackle it? Should I let it die back a bit over the autumn and try and get on top of it over the winter or is that a waste of time until next spring? I'd also be grateful for any tips on how do I go about starting a job like this. There are lots of beautiful mature shrubs and trees in the garden that I would like to save, so I don't want go down a "scorched earth" route and I'd like to avoid using vast quantities of herbicides etc.

When's the best time to tackle an overgrown garden?
I would get in there now. Much of the foliage is weak but the roots are still growing,





If its very dense, get a mechanical sythe ( old farmers soemtime calll them Allen Oxford Sythes ( an old popular brand ) if you're going to try and borrow one )





You'll need a decent petrol strimmer for your garden.





Put your MP3 player on, ear defenders over the top...you'll be down to ground level in a weekend....then the real work starts !!





We found a garage, 4 ploughs, a tractor, 2 field shelters and a 100 hen chicken house, we filled 2 barns full of sudries from around the place. Oh, we also found a dismantles cottage ( I kid you not ) spread around the garden ( pile of bricks here, load of beams there, 1930s bathroom suite !!! )





Just keep going, you'll love it next year
Reply:1.introduce weeds to the garden


2.Wait for the dry season(summer)


3.Burn the garden down but be careful not to have the fire get out of hand.
Reply:Start now. Autumn is the perfect time to start cutting back overgrown gardens. If you want them back in the spring, just clip low, or (bulb based shrubs) remove totally if you want rid of them. But now is the time to start. Or hire a gardener and have a Lady Chatterly's Lover thing... :)
Reply:DO NOT try to do the whole garden at once!


DO NOT wait another day!


Nature waits for no one - remember Sleeping Beauty?


Pick an area that you would like to have done first and start.


Don't even look at another part of the garden... keep your head down and plough through it. Remember, come spring more than likely you will be rewarded with more surprised in the way of spring bulbs.... so you really do not want to do anything drastic till you get to know your garden and what's in it.
Reply:End of winter. Makes things much easier.





It all comes down to how far are you willing to go to keep you flowers. I would advise advise against keeping them if you don't have to. Most weed killers are pretty good and fast acting - and you don't need alot - so I would strongly advise you to change your mind. Better to clear everything and re-plant rather than clear up. It's much faster and gives better results.





Otherwise your only real option is to attack everything with shears, spade, pitch fork and damned hard work.
Reply:hire a petrol strimmer and blitz the garden. then start anew
Reply:Yes I had a garden a bit like this, its best to leave it to die back over the winter, then early spring before stuff starts growing, clear it out, then be at the ready with the weedkiller when it starts to grow back, it should be easier to keep in check.
Reply:I Would Start now as most of them have finished there summer stint of over growing everything. The ivy is a problem though as that grows like wild fire. find the base and cut it up and dig it out then wait for it to die and clear it
Reply:Flame thrower..





Or a strimmer with a brush cutter attachment.
Reply:dont wait till srping you will really have a mess Just pich a spot a get at it the herbicide thing I,d make my oun use vinager this will kill the annual stuff and save you some cash , I would leave the shrubs for early spring then shape them up that way you wont be so overwhelmed by your task
Reply:Fall is good -- cool weather for you to work in. Keep what you like, get rid of the rest. Easy way to get rid of weeds/unwanted growth and amend the soil: put down a layer of cardboard (lack of light kills weeds, etc.) , followed by 2-3 inches of leaves, then 2-3 inches of rotting straw, topped with a couple of inches of topsoil or compost. It's fast, easy on your back compared to pulling, encourages earth worms, and gives instant results.
Reply:oh i so know the feeling ! we started ours in the autumn when things are naturally dieing back we cut every thing we didn't want to keep down to ground level and then had a huge bonfire we then rented a rotervator and went over it a couple of times we then weed killed it all over with organic stuff and then we let it lie dormant over the winter and spent that time planning what we would plant and where then in the spring we put our plans into action and had a garden Alan Tittmarch would have been proud of A lot of hard work but it beats going to the gym. good tip always plant stuff that will come up each year and get into the habit of asking friends for cuttings saves a fortune Any way best of luck
Reply:now never proscrination is the theif of time
Reply:According to my lawn service, right now is the time to do heavy pruning. It is a mistake to let nature take it's course and allow branches to wither and die randomly.





You can establish the pattern of growth and the look of each plant by timely pruning. You plants will love you for it, and you will love the improved appearance.





Take careful inventory of the appearance of each plant as you go about your project. You may find evidence of fungus, insects, lack of water or food. If you have a question on the best course of corrective action, a leaf sample brought to the local nursery will do the trick.





To remove unwanted weeds and ivy without herbicides, it is important to excavate around the root system sufficiantly to assure the plant will not regrow. This project is generally more succesful in wet soil, where the roots pull out instead of breaking off.
Reply:Enlist the help of friends - a weekend if possible, and have a bbq after. Have the ones who know what's what as supervisors.





A friend of mine brought a house with a large plot of land 16 years ago and had friends over for a weekend and they all planted a tree.





Once it's tidy, then the real challenge comes as you have to keep on top of it!
Reply:Around this time year...maybe wait for a couple od weeks yet, because as the weather turns colder and days become darker plants dont have all the necessary factors to photosynthesis! Therefore if you do it in a couple of weeks it will stay looking trimmed until the new growth of spring!
Reply:I've got this problem too. I asked my Mum if I should start now! She said to leave it until end of october so that there is less chance of a warm period causing a lot of regrowth once it's done.

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