Hi, i hope i am posting this in the right place, this is my first ever post.

I have some bushes that someone started to cut down for me.. (i am now left with a huge pile of sharp, thorny garden waste which im attempting to get rid of one green bin at a time...)

My problem is i have a 3 year old daughter and now am left with 2 rose bushes, three other bushes (no idea!) and what im told is a very small oak tree (about 2ft high, its like a little bush with oak leaves).

Theyve all been cut back as far as my rubbish gardening equipment would allow, but now im left with them like that thanks to my friends help.. what can i do? Theyre literallly no leaves/flowers just sharp or thorny branches!

Am i literally going to have to dig them out one by one to the root? Today i applied some bush killer (similar to round ups bush killer i think) but ive no idea how long ill wait, or if ill still need to dig them all up?

Any suggestions or help would be most appreciated, i am a totaly newbie to having a garden and really just want a little garden with some easy flowers and a veg patch eventually when this is dealt with.

Thanks in advance!
Louise x

On 07/07/2014 16:14, Louise89 wrote:

Hi, i hope i am posting this in the right place, this is my first ever
post.

I have some bushes that someone started to cut down for me.. (i am now
left with a huge pile of sharp, thorny garden waste which im attempting
to get rid of one green bin at a time...)

My problem is i have a 3 year old daughter and now am left with 2 rose
bushes, three other bushes (no idea!) and what im told is a very small
oak tree (about 2ft high, its like a little bush with oak leaves).

Theyve all been cut back as far as my rubbish gardening equipment would
allow, but now im left with them like that thanks to my friends help..
what can i do? Theyre literallly no leaves/flowers just sharp or thorny
branches!

Am i literally going to have to dig them out one by one to the root?
Today i applied some bush killer (similar to round ups bush killer i
think) but ive no idea how long ill wait, or if ill still need to dig
them all up?

Any suggestions or help would be most appreciated, i am a totaly newbie
to having a garden and really just want a little garden with some easy
flowers and a veg patch eventually when this is dealt with.

Thanks in advance!
Louise x


First thing I'd do is to get a different friend, sounds as if you have
more of a problem now than when you started.
As we always say here on URG (where your question has been forwarded so
that Garden banter can get free advice) a picture is worth a thousand
words.
Also your location and soil type if you know it will also help

"Louise89" wrote

Hi, i hope i am posting this in the right place, this is my first ever
post.

I have some bushes that someone started to cut down for me.. (i am now
left with a huge pile of sharp, thorny garden waste which im attempting
to get rid of one green bin at a time...)

My problem is i have a 3 year old daughter and now am left with 2 rose
bushes, three other bushes (no idea!) and what im told is a very small
oak tree (about 2ft high, its like a little bush with oak leaves).

Theyve all been cut back as far as my rubbish gardening equipment would
allow, but now im left with them like that thanks to my friends help..
what can i do? Theyre literallly no leaves/flowers just sharp or thorny
branches!

Am i literally going to have to dig them out one by one to the root?
Today i applied some bush killer (similar to round ups bush killer i
think) but ive no idea how long ill wait, or if ill still need to dig
them all up?

Any suggestions or help would be most appreciated, i am a totaly newbie
to having a garden and really just want a little garden with some easy
flowers and a veg patch eventually when this is dealt with.


This askes more questions ......
Why were the bushes cut down so drastically?
What is the problem with your 3 year old daughter relevant to gardening?
Why are you killing the plants?
What do you want in their place?
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

On 07/07/2014 16:14, Louise89 wrote:
Hi, i hope i am posting this in the right place, this is my first ever
post.

I have some bushes that someone started to cut down for me.. (i am now
left with a huge pile of sharp, thorny garden waste which im attempting
to get rid of one green bin at a time...)

Why were you trying to do this? Roses generally look very pretty at this
time of year and a bit of pruning will normally sort them out.

My problem is i have a 3 year old daughter and now am left with 2 rose
bushes, three other bushes (no idea!) and what im told is a very small
oak tree (about 2ft high, its like a little bush with oak leaves).

At that size it will come out with a decent fork without much trouble.
Depending on how big the various trees were a fork and a spade should be
enough to get the roots out. You might also need a big lopper.

Theyve all been cut back as far as my rubbish gardening equipment would
allow, but now im left with them like that thanks to my friends help..
what can i do? Theyre literallly no leaves/flowers just sharp or thorny
branches!

They will probably regrow nicely again after a drastic cut back.

Am i literally going to have to dig them out one by one to the root?
Today i applied some bush killer (similar to round ups bush killer i
think) but ive no idea how long ill wait, or if ill still need to dig
them all up?

But not if you apply SBK. Roses can be pretty and perfumed and small
children quickly learn not to get caught by the thorns.

Any suggestions or help would be most appreciated, i am a totaly newbie
to having a garden and really just want a little garden with some easy
flowers and a veg patch eventually when this is dealt with.

It might have been worth deciding if any were nice enough to keep.
Garden makeover programmes with the nuclear clearance option followed by
the expensive buy and die strategy have a lot to answer for.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On 2014-07-07 15:14:52 +0000, Louise89 said:

Hi, i hope i am posting this in the right place, this is my first ever
post.

I have some bushes that someone started to cut down for me.. (i am now
left with a huge pile of sharp, thorny garden waste which im attempting
to get rid of one green bin at a time...)

My problem is i have a 3 year old daughter and now am left with 2 rose
bushes, three other bushes (no idea!) and what im told is a very small
oak tree (about 2ft high, its like a little bush with oak leaves).

Theyve all been cut back as far as my rubbish gardening equipment would
allow, but now im left with them like that thanks to my friends help..
what can i do? Theyre literallly no leaves/flowers just sharp or thorny
branches!

Am i literally going to have to dig them out one by one to the root?
Today i applied some bush killer (similar to round ups bush killer i
think) but ive no idea how long ill wait, or if ill still need to dig
them all up?

Any suggestions or help would be most appreciated, i am a totaly newbie
to having a garden and really just want a little garden with some easy
flowers and a veg patch eventually when this is dealt with.

Thanks in advance!
Louise x

If you have a gardening neighbour, you could ask him or her to come and
have a look for you. I don't quite understand why you want to kill off
roses, but wonder if these are roses? If they are, they should be
flowering now, not be bare stems. It sounds as if the 'someone' who
cut all this down has created more of a problem than they have solved.
Are you able to have bonfires in your garden, watched over carefully
and with a hosepipe to hand. If not and the mound of rubbish is that
high, there are people who will come and take it away but there will be
a charge, obviously. If you're goiing to use the chemicals you
describe I think you need to know why you're doing it and what you're
doing. Some of thosse things are very dangerous to small children, so
make sure yours is clearly labeled and locked out of your daughter's
reach.

But I would certainly say your first move should be to find someone who
can help you with free information. Most gardeners are very happy to
share and pass on expertise and information and if you're really lucky,
you may find a few free plants or seeds coming your way. In the
meantime, look at the range of Expert Gardener books by Dr Hessayon.
They're easy to follow and really helpful if you're just starting out.
Good luck with your garden!
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

This askes more questions ......
Why were the bushes cut down so drastically?
My friend was supposed to cut them back for me as they were getting wild, he went too far and i ended up with branhes rather than bushes.

What is the problem with your 3 year old daughter relevant to gardening?

The sharp thorny branches are about the same height as her, meaning I cant let her in the garden to play properly because she could really hurt herself.

Why are you killing the plants?
The state of them now, i dont want to leave them as they are for the rest of the summer and wait for them to grow back. Also as a full time, working, single parent and uni student, I dont have much free time to maintain a garden so something smaller with less pruning would suit me better.

What do you want in their place?

See above.

--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK[/quote]

In article , Louise89.e31aa26
@gardenbanter.co.uk says...


Bob wrote

What is the problem with your 3 year old daughter relevant to
gardening?

The sharp thorny branches are about the same height as her, meaning I
cant let her in the garden to play properly because she could really
hurt herself.

Ridiculous and unnecessary overprotection. IME you are causing far
more lasting damage by not letting a 3yr old out to play in the garden.

Janet

"Louise89" wrote


This askes more questions ......
Why were the bushes cut down so drastically?
My friend was supposed to cut them back for me as they were getting
wild, he went too far and i ended up with branhes rather than bushes.

What is the problem with your 3 year old daughter relevant to
gardening?

The sharp thorny branches are about the same height as her, meaning I
cant let her in the garden to play properly because she could really
hurt herself.

Why are you killing the plants?
The state of them now, i dont want to leave them as they are for the
rest of the summer and wait for them to grow back. Also as a full time,
working, single parent and uni student, I dont have much free time to
maintain a garden so something smaller with less pruning would suit me
better.

What do you want in their place?

See above.


These ex-plants are best removed manually, killing them just does that and
you will end up with very tough spiny branches that will not take prisoners,
it also means poison in your garden! However after you have killed them you
can cut them off at ground level, I would leave three weeks for the poison
to work. The alternative is to dig them out and burn/dispose of.

I used to prune my Mothers rose bed before I was 10 so I understand how
roses hurt, I used to get torn to shreds and it put me off them for 40
years, but I think you are being a bit overprotective, kids are not stupid
and learn by trial and error (if they aren't killed).

Nasturtiums are pretty and good for ground cover and they are edible, so not
a poisonous plant, and they grow quite fast which is brilliant for kids.
That said, do train your little one not to put plants into their mouth in
the garden unless you say so.

These links may be of interest to you...

http://www.garden.org/howtos/index.php?q=show&id=1309

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/gard...ly-garden.html

http://uktv.co.uk/home/item/aid/616591
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

In article ,
Janet wrote:
In article , Louise89.e31aa26
says...
Bob wrote

What is the problem with your 3 year old daughter relevant to
gardening?

The sharp thorny branches are about the same height as her, meaning I
cant let her in the garden to play properly because she could really
hurt herself.

Ridiculous and unnecessary overprotection. IME you are causing far
more lasting damage by not letting a 3yr old out to play in the garden.

And in mine. Mine were let loose in a garden with some extremely
thorny and some fairly poisonous plants by the age of two - with
appropriate warnings and lessons, of course. And, if you have to
prick her hand to show her that thorns hurt, that's what parents
are there for.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 08/07/2014 19:08, Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
Janet wrote:
In article , Louise89.e31aa26
@gardenbanter.co.uk says...
Bob wrote

What is the problem with your 3 year old daughter relevant to
gardening?

The sharp thorny branches are about the same height as her, meaning I
cant let her in the garden to play properly because she could really
hurt herself.

Ridiculous and unnecessary overprotection. IME you are causing far
more lasting damage by not letting a 3yr old out to play in the garden.

And in mine. Mine were let loose in a garden with some extremely
thorny and some fairly poisonous plants by the age of two - with
appropriate warnings and lessons, of course. And, if you have to
prick her hand to show her that thorns hurt, that's what parents
are there for.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

You are forgetting elfin safety

On 08/07/2014 17:38, Janet wrote:
In article , Louise89.e31aa26
@gardenbanter.co.uk says...


Bob wrote

What is the problem with your 3 year old daughter relevant to
gardening?

The sharp thorny branches are about the same height as her, meaning I
cant let her in the garden to play properly because she could really
hurt herself.

Ridiculous and unnecessary overprotection. IME you are causing far
more lasting damage by not letting a 3yr old out to play in the garden.

Janet


3 Years of age is a good time to start your daughter gardening, if you
are going to do anything with the garden then give her a little plot of
her own, some easy to grow plants and some fast growing seeds such as
radish that she can sow, harvest and eat in just a few weeks.
Tools for her?
http://www.plantmenow.co.uk/tools-eq...utm_medium=cpc

On Tue, 8 Jul 2014 14:09:31 +0200, Louise89 wrote:

What is the problem with your 3 year old daughter relevant to
gardening?

The sharp thorny branches are about the same height as her, meaning I
cant let her in the garden to play properly because she could really
hurt herself.

She'll soon learn. You can't keep 'em wrapped in cotton wool, in fact
doing so is probably detrimental as they haven't had the lesson(s).

If she gets a few scratches, give her a cuddle, and
quietly/unobtrusively check the scratches are clean, if they need a
clean gently with warm water on a bit of clean cloth/cotton wool. Dry
and let her immune system and healing processes go to work, no need
for plasters etc. Keep an eye on them for a day or two and apply a
bit of Savlon if they get "red and angry", the first hours being the
time to keep a closer eye.

Your reaction will have a greater affect on your daughter than
anything else, stay calm, be quiet loving and gentle, don't make a
great fuss.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On 08/07/2014 13:09, Louise89 wrote:
This askes more questions ......
Why were the bushes cut down so drastically?
My friend was supposed to cut them back for me as they were getting
wild, he went too far and i ended up with branhes rather than bushes.

Roses will normally respond to a severe pruning by throwing up new
vigorous branches fairly quickly. You lost their flowers this year.

Given you want rid though you will have to dig them out manually and
then deal with any suckers until the root stock gives up the ghost.

What is the problem with your 3 year old daughter relevant to
gardening?

The sharp thorny branches are about the same height as her, meaning I
cant let her in the garden to play properly because she could really
hurt herself.

Rose thorn scratches hurt enough to discourage going too near them a
second time. Same with nettles they teach respect. More important is to
check that you don't actually have something deadly poisonous about.

Why are you killing the plants?

The state of them now, i dont want to leave them as they are for the
rest of the summer and wait for them to grow back. Also as a full time,
working, single parent and uni student, I dont have much free time to
maintain a garden so something smaller with less pruning would suit me
better.

Digging them out is the way forward. But you have basically just made a
much larger mess of dead stuff and a lot of work for yourself.

What do you want in their place?

See above.

??? You haven't said what you want beyond a smaller garden and I don't
see how you can achieve that without a lot of hard landscaping effort.

Low maintenance gardens require a very high input to set them up in the
first place to prepare the ground get it weed free and then planting
stuff through weed proof membrane. Heathers, strawberries, raspberries
and dogwoods would be things you might want to try.

Nasturtiums and calendula grow pretty fast from seed. Bit late now to
grow sunflowers but they are fun for a small child growing very fast.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

In article , david@abacus-
nurseries.co.uk says...

On 08/07/2014 19:08, Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
Janet wrote:
In article , Louise89.e31aa26
@gardenbanter.co.uk says...
Bob wrote

What is the problem with your 3 year old daughter relevant to
gardening?

The sharp thorny branches are about the same height as her, meaning I
cant let her in the garden to play properly because she could really
hurt herself.

Ridiculous and unnecessary overprotection. IME you are causing far
more lasting damage by not letting a 3yr old out to play in the garden.

And in mine. Mine were let loose in a garden with some extremely
thorny and some fairly poisonous plants by the age of two - with
appropriate warnings and lessons, of course. And, if you have to
prick her hand to show her that thorns hurt, that's what parents
are there for.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

You are forgetting elfin safety

Effin sanity trumps elfin safety.

Janet