Introduction. Beginner with a huge garden!

I haven't put the bad pictures up yet!

 

This is the top of my garden. The grass doesn't even grow up here because of the surrounding trees:

 

You could maybe start a new thread about it in the beginners garden development section.

 

This is my patio area. There's a prickly purple bush that snapped and is being supported by planks of wood! I don't really know what to do with it!

 

That's just the common old regular bramble, of the wild blackberry type unless I'm very much mistaken.

There are incredibly deep rooted. Repeat treatments with RoundUp will sort it, but you need to make sure that the RoundUp (or any glyphosate based product) stays off your other plants, as it kills ALL types of plants, and make sure it doesn't go into the pond because although glyphosate is harmless to most animal life, it is harmful to aquatic creatures.

 

The shady area at the top of your garden will be a bit more of a challenge then. There's a lot of shade in my garden as it has a northern aspect but personally I like the challenge of finding plants that will grow happily in these conditions.

 

For the shady bit, have a walk in your local woods for inspiration. Rhodedrons grow in the shade of larger trees, but they need acid soil. Wild garlic is gorgeous, but needs damp ground. All manner of flowers will grow there. In our local woods wild strawberries thrive. Hostas and ferns are happy in shade too.

 

Thank you Clueless!! Thankfully it doesn't grow near my pond but it is growing just about everywhere else! I'll try roundup. Hopefully that'll sort it

Yes, the top of my garden has a very woodland feel to it. I know the soil is very dry there but I don't now much about what type of soil it is..

 

I know its standard advice, but be sure to read the instructions. It is harmless to you, but its like anthrax to plants. If you have a lot of brambles to treat, you can save yourself some money by buying the RoundUp concentrate rather than a ready mixed one. Just like cordial, you dilute it to use it and you get a several gallons of the stuff out of one small bottle. If you do that though, make sure that whatever you use for spraying it from is ONLY used for that purpose. Don't do the common mistake of rinsing the sprayer after use then using it to mist seedlings

 

Welcome to GC Europa!

 

Thank you, Ellen

Clueless, I will read the instructions carefully, I wouldn't want to kill everything in my garden haha! I like your idea about Rhodedrons at the top of the garden too...I never thought of that!

 

I have a few more photos of my garden that I'd like to share with everyone. You all seem really helpful and you respond so quickly! I think I'll take Fern4's advice and post in a project forum because I need some ideas about what to do with this!:

 

If anyone would like to respond to the photo above here is the link to the new thread!

http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/threads/what-could-i-plant-here.52734/

 

Its the Adjuvants that are mixed with the Glyphosate that are toxic, rather than the Glyphosate itself (which is almost non-toxic to both humans, wildlife and aquatic creatures too).

The latest formulations of Roundup [NOTE: Roundup Pro Bio, which has just replaced Roundup Pro Biactive - that's bound to confuse folk!!] (i.e. as produced by Monsanto, rather than any generic brand Glyphosate) include adjuvants that themselves are almost non-toxic. I think I'm right in saying that the latest Roundup products have no Hazard symbol on the label as a consequence. I've switched to using only Monsanto brand Roundup (the commercial grade product, don't know that the Amateur product has caught up as yet) because I figure that if the product is almost non-toxic to fish and animals then it will be to me too!

I think the instructions only warn against pouring concentrate Roundup into pools where fish/aquatic life is, and that spraying near water courses (and I think weeds in the water) is fine.

 

Wikipedia Glyphosate "Glyphosate toxicity
Glyphosate has a United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Toxicity Class of III (on a I to IV scale, where IV is least dangerous [III=slightly toxic]) for oral and inhalation exposure"

Roundup previously included the surfactant POEA (polyethoxylated tallow amine), which has been found to be highly toxic to animals and to humans. My understanding is that this is still used in generic Glyphosate products.

Monsanto site is "down" for me, some info here: http://www.nomixenviro.co.uk/index....:roundup-probio&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=18