Just inherited a garden...

Hello everyone!

I'm new here and am a total gardening newbie: although I used to help my mum and dad when they were weeding, picking apples, digging up spuds and so on in our family garden, my knowledge is limited to the very common things.

I've just moved back to the UK from Paris, where I lived for seven years or more in flats (of course, not being rich!) and have now inherited a garden in front of and behind the bungalow I've rented.

While I'm able to do things like mowing the lawn and spotting dandelions as weeds (yay!), identifying the other plants is way beyond my skill. The previous tenant defaulted on his rent and apparently never even cut the grass, so it's a bit of a jungle (even after hours of work by the owners). I'd like to make it pretty, of course, but I'm a little worried about uprooting a whole bunch of plants that are supposed to be there and have taken years to grow!

So... I have a whole load of photos, marked up ready for identification if anyone is willing to have a peep. Even one or two I.D.s would be great! Be warned, each picture is 200-300Kb and there's a LOT.

Thanks very, very much in advance for any amount of ignorance you can remove from me...

Photo 1:
A: Tree. :D I'm obviously not going to touch this except to prune it if it gets out of hand. No idea what it is.
B: Bluebells! Even I can identify those.
C: This is a half-dead tree/shrub. No idea what it is and it'll probably be hard to tell. Appears on the next photo as well (as item C)

Photo 2:
A: No idea, but it's pretty.
B: These big, grassy things are all over the place (see later!). Personally, I think they're ugly, but I wondered if they have a purpose or not.
C: The shrub thing again.

Photo 3:
A: Same as in previous photo, item A.
B: This is a leafy green thing which doesn't appear to have flowers or whatnot. Helpful, aren't I?

Photo 4:
A: I'm pretty sure these can be considered weeds, but want to check.

Photo 5:
A: This looks like a weed to me, but it's tall and I thought it might not be. I think it's the nettle-form leaves that confuse me.
B: I have NO idea what this is. Its big brother is on the next photo.

Photo 6:
A: Weed or flower?
B: The big brother of Photo 5, item B.
C: These look like possible weeds again, but they have pretty little white flowers and don't seem to be growing out of control. I think they're just small flowers.

Photo 7:
A: That can't be anything but a weed, can it?!

Photo 8:
A: Not pretty, but also maybe not a weed.
B: Another of those grassy things, but a tad clearer in this pic.

Photo 9:
A: Tree. I'm quite proud of myself (pathetic, isn't it?) for having tidied all the dead wood out that was behind this thing, making almost a lattice-work in front of that green/white stripy thing our neighbour has constructed. However, I don't know what the tree is and I'm not entirely sure it's supposed to be all knotted up like that or not. I think it's cool as hell, but if it's bad for the tree...

Photo 10 (a.k.a. The Jungle):
A: This is the hidden corner of the garden. It's a nightmare. This item is a huge, nettle-like thing which doesn't sting (yes, I checked the 'interesting' way!). I don't want to kill it if it's actually a nice plant.
B: Smaller nettley-like things. Being a wuss, I have yet to test whether this one stings...
C: Stringy ground-cover. Weed? I suspect it is.

Photo 11:
A: A weed, right?
B: More of those grassy things.

Photo 12: (welcome to the front garden!)
A: This shrub has a twin. They both seem OK and I'm tidying up under them, but I have no idea what they are. Purely academic interest, really.

Photo 13:
A: An interesting plant that looks like it's going to have some gorgeous flowers. Unless it's some kind of Triffid hybrid, in which case I shall just leave it alone...
B: I'm unsure about these, but I suspect they're not weeds.
C: Do I need to control this before it envelops the entire garden?

Photo 14: (apologies for fuzziness, forgot to switch off the zoom)
A: A little plant that is either a small shrub or a large weed.
B: Tree. No idea what specie. I'm really just wondering if I should prune out the little branches growing on the lower areas of the trunk.

Photo 15:
A: Branch of a white-barked tree (you can see the trunk to the right a ways): should I be pruning this since it's so near the ground?
B: Just to the right of the 'B', if yuo look really closely, you can see the beginning of a holly bush. hehehehehe
C: Dark green leafed shrubby thing, quite twiggy (i.e. woody instead of flowery). I've seen these before, but I don't know how to treat them - and this one's quite squiffy: it has little branches headed all over the place.
D: More weeds, maybe? It's the big-sized pretty leaves that confuse me. (Clearer just to the left of the 'D'.)

Photo 16:
A:The plant that grows up the side of the letter 'A': it looks like it's unwelcome.
B: Tree. Again, a question of specie and possible pruning.

Photo 17:
This confuses me. I was weeding in the front garden and I keep finding whole batches of these. Now am I going mad, or is that a spring onion?! What's that doing in the front garden? Does the smell keep bugs (and insurance salesmen) away or something?

Photo 18: (the driveway)
A: Is that a fern of some kind or something I want to kill before it eats the cat?
B: Another leafy thing. I have no idea if it's supposed to be - or is welcome - there.

And finally...

Photo 19:
This is how many of those grassy things are planted here, all along the driveway!

 

Hi Spike,

Sorry, I'm useless with any plants except grass, so the only advice I can give is to buy a strimmer, but something tells me you probably worked that out already.

Nevertheless, thank you for the most entertaining post I have read here

 

I figured that I needed to cut the grass when the cat went out for a wander and, crossing the lawn, looked more like a panther on the prowl for gazelle in the savannah than a crossed Persian wanting to chase spiders.

Strangely, today, the leafy plant just above 6b (somewhat buried by all those grassy things and diagonally NW of the Japanese Maple I planted (that looks unhealthy)) suddenly sprouted orange flowers! I had hardly even noticed it was there, but it's produced a couple of lovely little blooms.

Edit: Just seen another plant that has begun flowering since I cleared the weeds around it. I think it's a white lilac or something - one of those bulb thingies.

[ May 12, 2005, 06:06 PM: Message edited by: SpikeTheLobster ]

 

Welcome back to the UK
Ive heard 'Paris is lovely in the Spring'. Certainly must be nicer than this jungle :eek: .

I can help with some of them but not others.

Here goes.

1A A shrub not a tree but cant tell what tho.

2A Cranesbill?
2B Suspect that this an ok grass but if you dont like it bin it.
2C Is it a fallen down climber of some kind?

3B Spring flowering bulb i recon.

4 Weed

5A Nettle (Bad)
5B Hosta (Good)
5C Chick weed (bad)

6A Weeds
6B Hosta
6C weeds

7A nettle

8A Willowherb (Bad)
8B ?

9 Not a tree its a shrub and it is fine(Buddleia maybe)

10 Yep, all weeds

11A Pull a bit off and try to stick it to your jumper. If it sticks it is a weed. (Cleavers or sticky willie as we call it up here)

11B Looks like crocus leaves. Dig a bit up and if there is a bulb on the end it isnt grass. Everything to the right of it is a weed.

12 not clear but could be a heebie.

13A Paeony (good but could do with some support)
13B Flower i suspect but dont know what
13C Combination of creeping buttercup and ground elder. Kill them if you can.

14 A &B Dont touch either till you know what you are dealing with.

15A Silver Birch C looks like privet. Chop off any bits that are looking untidy. D Think it is another creeping buttercup. (bad)

16A Weed B Cant tell.

17 Allium. You get vegie ones and ornamental ones. You probably have ornamental ones in the front garden .

18 Not 100% but think weeds.

19 Aargh!!

Rather you than me. Good luck.

 

Very interesting photos Spike - looking forward to the post-weeding photos - I would remove the red letters as I don't think they are going to flower!!
My missus agrees with most of Mrs Cloudys analysis - me I'm just a lawnmower, you can tell me by the way I walk!!

 

Aye, it was a bit of a shock when, after we'd settled a little, I went and looked at what was actually there. Now, I understand that some folks believe in filling all the gaps in a garden so that there's undergrowth and so on (a.k.a. wildlife style), but this is just... difficult. Of course, it's not my garden, so I'm wary of uprooting and killing stuff I'll have to pay for when we stop renting here!

Paris is, indeed, lovely - at any time of year. It's nice to be in a quieter place by the sea now, though. Even a beautiful place like Paris can become horrid if you're under enough pressure every day.

Thank you SO much for that - at least some are much clearer now!

2B is one of those "If I remove this any they actually bought the plants... oh, dear" items - especially given how much of the damned stuff there is. There's also the question of what the heck to plant under trees and so on where there's little water or sun.

2C looks like it was a shrub/climber or something that was hacked back from being out of control. I'll try to get a better pic of the leaves or something.

I had a bit of a hunt and it looks like a hosta tardifolia at a guess. Just recently, I heard that lilies are poisonous to cats (specifically a starburst or something): I hope to God this one isn't, or I'll be out there dessicating it asap.

Ah, that's good news. I'm surprised it's a shrub (like I'd know the difference..!!), but I'm glad it's OK. The poor thing looked like it had about 20kg of excess dead wood hanging off it. It'd also started growing in through the roof of the garage..!!

Aha... I may have just found the location for a compost heap, then! I'll admit to being surprised at the size of 10A if it is indeed a weed - the thing's almost as tall as me! Eep!

It's juvenile, I know, but that sentence had me chuckling for ages. :D

That other plant that flowered today was a crocus, I think (white thing). It's very similar. That's good news: they're nice, if badly placed where they are.

Erm, a 'heebie'? I don't know what that is. This does, of course, mean I can name them 'Heebie' and 'Jeebie'...

By support, you mean a stick or something to help it stand upright?

I have a silver birch in my garden?! Wow, that's so cool...

I really am a dodo, aren't I? "I think I've seen it before," he says. Yeah, every time you pass a hedge... doh!

Hmmm. They don't look very ornamental: little blueish flowers at the top which are all hard and not very pretty, and lots of skinny green leaves that lie on the ground. I'll leave some in, but considering I've seen about 250 of them so far...!!

I can offer you a free apartment in Paris for a romantic weekend if you dig 'em all out for me...

I was hoping for a decent crop of alphabet soup.. I'm disappointed now!!

Once things are cleared, I'll take photos again. Unfortunately, given my gardening skills, I have a feeling there will be a lot of blank space and failed flowers to look at instead!

Thanks again for your help, all!!

 

2b is carex pendula it can be bought but also grows wild and self seeds.
5a is a weed 5c is bitter cress (also weed)best to pull it up before it sets seed as the pods burst when touched and fling seed all round the garden
Photo 4 mostly weeds but there'e some holy at the back.
photo 8 there a welsh poppy next to B(carex pendula again)
13b could be yellow loosestife/lysimacia punctata supposedly a flower, it is pretty, but it wants to take over the world.
15a only prune it NOW if you want to kill it (I think birches are weeds cant stand the sticky things)
15c look more like cotoneaster than privet to me.
17 Grape hyathinth definately (bit like a mini bluebell,yours are spanish bluebells by the way)there are lots of them because they too want to take over the world, but the're soooo pretty.
18a might be toad flax which either is or isn't a weed depending on wether or not you like it
18b looks like rosebay willow herb
19 Wild flower Meadow? I bet the birds love it which will keep your cat entertained.
I have a lot of docks,brambles and black thorn to dig out and as soon as I do I get sticky willy to replace it I know what you're going through.

 

Ah, OK. I think I'll get rid of some of it, then, but leave a little between those two shrubs round back - it'll shield the view of the neighbour's green-and-white-thing and ensure there's still some around. Yes, I'm paranoid of being stung for tons of cash when we move out in the future, as it's happened before!

Oooh, neato! I shall keep that, then!

I think shall leave it to grow and see what it looks like.

Well, either way it's quite nice: I'll let it grow, but keep an eye on it in case it grabs the postman!

Oh poop. I've binned a whole load already! Still, from a little description of the hyacinth I found, it's supposed to have leaves that "come up straight and curve over": these have wimpy, wussy leaves that just lie flat with no apparent intention of getting out of bed. Just double-checking before I re-plant a whole bunch!

:D

Since that's all down the side of the driveway, I'll probably leave it and just keep it trimmed back a bit.

Thanks for the answers! At least I didn't dig up ALL the flowers in the garden and leave the weeds...

 

This is probably a bit late but here's my attempt at your identity parade!

1A is a cotoneaster - very nice
1B British bluebells - would you believe some people rate them as weeds!

3A something akin to Black Eyed Susan - sweet
3B ?crocosmia (AKA Montbretia)

4A looks to me like a varient of Mind Your Own Business which I would love to have in my garden but some people regard it as a pest

6C (& 18A) a thug of a weed - stay on top of it!

9 definitely a buddleia in need of some pretty enthusiastic pruning!

11B looks more like muscari (grape Hyacinth) to me

15 is box - trim it regularly, it will love you right back!!

17 More muscari - some people think these are rather thuggish but I love'm

19 looks like an ornamental grass gone wild!

Isn't it fun finding out what you've got, though! When I moved in to my present abode, I too was finding heaps and heaps of little white bulbs everywhere - they turned out to be snowdrops and when I stripped a 6'x3' flower bed of them, I had one of those big black buckets full to the brim! They're now in the back garden where I can see them from my kitchen. Loverly!

Good luck

 

Hi spike
You have a lovley garden underneath the rubbish. Some of my answers will be differant to the ones you have, some of the pics aren't to clear but Those that I answer are definate.

Pic 1 a)forsythia
b)blue bells
c)fuchsia

Pic2 a)?
b)Carex Pendula
c)fuchsia

Pic3 a)?
b)montbretia

Pic4 a)Chick weed (get rid)

Pic5 a)rose
b)Hosta (good)

Pic6 a)fat hen (weed)
b)Hosta (good)
c)bitter crest (weed)
The plant that bloomed just above the hosta is a poppy.

Pic7 a)nettle

Pic8 a)willow herb (weed)
b)weedy grass

Pic9 laural. you could cut it down by half its size and it will bush out . But if you like it just the way it is then why change it.

Pic10 a)It is a nettle. if you grab a nettle hard they don't sting they only sting if you stroke them.
b)weak rasberry cane.
c)chick weed

Pic11 a)?
b)Carex Pendula

Pic12 a)definatley a Hypericum and looks to be a variety called Gold penny.

Pic13 a)Peaony
b)weed
c)weed

Pic14 Unclear

Pic15 a)silver birch
b)unclear
c)cotoneaster
d)butter cup

Pic16 a)Type of sow thistle (weed)
b)Viburnum bodnantense dawn (shrub)

Pic17 a)blue bell bulb

Pic18 a)type of euphorbia?
b)willow herb (weed)

Pic19 Arrgh) Is a lovley well established bed of Carex Pendula. (I wouldn,t want that much in my garden.

Good luck with what ever you choose to dowith it.
Weed puller

 

I have to disagree with Michaelmasdaisy about the nationality of the bluebells. On my computer they look much more like spanish bluebells. I'm not racist and happily grew them in my last garden but they are far more vigorus and easily out compete our native bluebells. This isn't a problem in urban areas but in you live in the countryside like I do it's good to be aware that spanish bluebells are cross pollonating with english bluebells creating hybrids that compete with our already scarce natives.
The differences are that English bluebells ussually have a dark blue bell with violet hints which droop from the stem and have a deep bell. It has narrower foliage than the Spanish bluebell and the foliage lies flatter,there are far fewer bells per stem but the fragrance is amazing. I'll try and put a photo on of a local bluebell wood but photobucket doesn't like me much.

 

English bluebells! The site was good but the smell was fantastic. The thought of these beatiful flowers disapearing gives me the shudders.

 

Ok - here's my two pennyworth

1a) possibly forsythia
1b) spanich bluebells
2a) cranesbill
2b, could be a red hot poker, looks more like that then carex to me
2c) fuchsia
3b) If its what I think if it is should produce starry white flowers.
4 chickweed - prolific annual seeder - get rid
5a nettle and a form of elder - get rid of
5b)hosta
6a) weed, prolific annual seeder, that I don't know the name of
b) hoster
6c) shepherds purse - prolific annual seeder get rid of
7 - as 5a
8a) weed, old mans beard, prolific self seeder
b) weed
9 ?Forsythia
10a) nettle, b) bramble c) chickweed
11 a) weed, but it has a very pretty mauve flower, watch the sap though can be an irritant.
11b) carex
12 - not sure what this is
13a) peony b)??? c)????
15a) weepting birch b) ??? c) cotoneaster, d) weed creeping buttercup
16
17 grape hyacinth (muscari) spreads easily
18a) as 11a) b) loostrife
19 Carex - prolific self seeder - be really tough on it but wear gloves.

 

Absoluely right, Revin Helen! My aplogies. Should have looked more carefully!

I agree that the threatened disappearance of genuine British b/b is awful. I got my bulbs from a friend whose bungalow was built (years ago)on land formerly covered with bluebells and he's digging them up as fast as he can as he hates them, would you believe!!!

And your photo was gorgeous! What a wondrous sight!

 

Wow, lots of replies. The latest pics and what's changed are in the gallery, here.