Post by tigerlily on Mar 13, 2009 17:24:14 GMT
I've decided to document the progress of clearing the plot at the back, and also taken some other photos of the garden in general. There are a few things that need dealing with beside the ivy and general detritus that has built up, and I would really love some advice as to how to improve the way things look out there.
The lawn is a real problem. It is totally infested with moss, and most of the grass is dead as a result. What grass does grow comes up in isolated clumps, interspersed with weeds.
We have a lilac down at the end of the garden, and there's also another smaller conifer growing there, too. We can't dig around too much underneath all that, because there are three or four cat graves down there (Spot's being the most recent). There are also a couple more graves under the 'lawn' further out from where the lilac is.
This is most of the corner that's been cleared so far. The two highest areas are clear all the way to the path I was standing on; there are two more beds further down.
I was very surprised indeed to find a further row of the concrete planters! I had no idea they were down there under all that ivy at all, nor that one or two of the shrubs in the garden are growing in them.
As you can see, I've made inroads in clearing away the ivy, but it is a case of getting to the other side of the planters to clear the rest, which may be easier said than done due to the huge conifer and the other shrubs/trees that are down there.
This is the far side, down by the fence between us and next door (Frau Schadenfreude and her husband - she hates AH with a passion, and barely condescends to grunt at me should we meet in the street). They do have a very lovely garden - their house is set forward of ours - the houses alternate so that one is further forward, one back, one forward, one back and so on. We are set further back, so have a longer front garden than the houses on either side of us, but a shorter back garden.
This is the corner all that ivy originated in - I'm not sure whether it starts on our land or comes from next door, it's almost impossible to tell.
The view underneath the conifer down - you can just see more planters and part of the third raised bed. The garden is terraced at the back, more so on this side - on the other side there is just a row of planters at the top of the grass with a slope down onto the lawn.
Last two for now - this is the area where I've planted the two roses - the honeysuckle is in the far left hand end nearest the fence in the corner.
And finally - could someone please tell me if these are weeds or plants of some kind? I'm thinking from the leaves they might be some kind of lily, but I'm not sure - they look familiar, though, and they were hardy enough to survive underneath several layers of ivy!
The lawn is a real problem. It is totally infested with moss, and most of the grass is dead as a result. What grass does grow comes up in isolated clumps, interspersed with weeds.
We have a lilac down at the end of the garden, and there's also another smaller conifer growing there, too. We can't dig around too much underneath all that, because there are three or four cat graves down there (Spot's being the most recent). There are also a couple more graves under the 'lawn' further out from where the lilac is.
This is most of the corner that's been cleared so far. The two highest areas are clear all the way to the path I was standing on; there are two more beds further down.
I was very surprised indeed to find a further row of the concrete planters! I had no idea they were down there under all that ivy at all, nor that one or two of the shrubs in the garden are growing in them.
As you can see, I've made inroads in clearing away the ivy, but it is a case of getting to the other side of the planters to clear the rest, which may be easier said than done due to the huge conifer and the other shrubs/trees that are down there.
This is the far side, down by the fence between us and next door (Frau Schadenfreude and her husband - she hates AH with a passion, and barely condescends to grunt at me should we meet in the street). They do have a very lovely garden - their house is set forward of ours - the houses alternate so that one is further forward, one back, one forward, one back and so on. We are set further back, so have a longer front garden than the houses on either side of us, but a shorter back garden.
This is the corner all that ivy originated in - I'm not sure whether it starts on our land or comes from next door, it's almost impossible to tell.
The view underneath the conifer down - you can just see more planters and part of the third raised bed. The garden is terraced at the back, more so on this side - on the other side there is just a row of planters at the top of the grass with a slope down onto the lawn.
Last two for now - this is the area where I've planted the two roses - the honeysuckle is in the far left hand end nearest the fence in the corner.
And finally - could someone please tell me if these are weeds or plants of some kind? I'm thinking from the leaves they might be some kind of lily, but I'm not sure - they look familiar, though, and they were hardy enough to survive underneath several layers of ivy!