Ooh, that looks ghastly! Get out there with a pair of sharp shears, gloves, goggles or glasses and something over your arms to protect them, and cut back everything you can, right back to a sort of lump in the middle, then rake out any dead stuff sitting in the top. Then wait and see if any new growth appears - or even if any is revealed under all that straw!

or burn t f you can safley .

LOL Noseypotter - you and your missing "i". :-)
1 thought the posts you d1d with 1 1nstead of i were s1mply 1ncred1bly 1ngen1ous.

1 must buy a new keyboard 1m st1ll 1n hybernat1on from w1nter and theres more than one way of sk1nn1ng a cat lol beat1e 1 dont know what 1ll do 1f my 1 breaks lol .

I have had success by burning them if it's in an open position. Have a hosepipe ready and damp down any other shrubs as it burns.

Hi Leigh, sorry, I left the question open and only just got back to it before I saw your comment.

thank you everyone, I thought about burning it, but it is right next to a fairly wide Christmas tree, so I think I might have to attack with shears or machette or similar. Seen another one today on the roadside which leads to a village and that was looking exactly the same as mine, just dried and crumpled straw in a heap. Oh well will have a go next week, think the phormiums have gone the same way as well. They are looking decidedly strawy too.

Noseypotter -
"1 dont know what 1ll do 1f my 1 breaks lol ."

You'll pract"eye"ce wr"eye"t"eye"ng l"eye"ke th"eye"s :-)

If you have a hedgie trimmier, cut in a moundi, It's quick and easy to do, then rake off the crap.
Hi NP
I'm not boasting, I got an i, but not an )( or 2ed

You are just being silly now guys, lol. No hedge trimmer 2ndhand, but that sounds like a plan, I will see if I can borrow one from somewhere. thank you everyone.
Beattie have you seen Whistonlass's blog on text messaging? lol. it is very funny and that is just abbreviations. I have no idea what your message is saying to noseypotter. lol.

Thanks Oliveoil, I haven't seen it - only check the blogs when I'm bored (usually) and the weather's been too nice for that.

We burnt up 2 large pampas grasses many years ago and the twin bonfires were quite something! They don't half go!

very good beaty but no worries as "I" am back lol . i got a new keyboard for £4 from tesco so that was a result . hello 2ndhand i hope your well and you doc .

Thank you everyone for your advice, the update, we chopped it back with hedge trimmers and then we had to take the chain saw to it (don't tell Michaella) I didn't do it oh did it for me. The upshot of it all was that it was absoloutely dead as the proverbial dodo. Also the phormiums were gonners too. Not replacing it not spending money on plants that cannot survive the first bad winter we get well maybe it was the second bad winter. Thanks again for all your help.

your more than welcome .

What a pity. Let's hope we don't keep getting such severe winters.