Hi Nicky and welcome to GoY - idiot the idiot answering your question above... hopefully having flagged him the boys will delete. Either of the shrubs/trees will impoverish the soil and this is why the plants nearest to the trees have not thrived. The problem is the trees/shrubs take all the goodness and water from the surrounding soil so plants can't get enough of either. If you want to grown plants near to trees and shrubs you need to heed the soil well and also keep well watered.

haha - subtle! I've recently moved into my boyfriends house - he bought it 2 years ago from a divorced fella - so this is my first attempt at "gardening" - have to admit, i've hacked back the holly a bit - the pyracantha in the front is going next!.... But would the holly and forsythia suck the life from the 1970's builders soil in the back??

Nickynook, take no notice of the answeres from this troublemaker. He is deliberatly talking garbage and I have flagged him to the moderators.

Moon - thanks for that, your note popped up whilst i replied to the other! You lot are quick off the mark - i like this! thanks again!

Thanks bulbaholic! sorting the wheat from the chaff already!

With holly and forsythia you have 2 plants that are hard to get rid of even if you want to because their roots will be enormous. If you want to try and clear the garden and make a new start you can reduce them in size and be a ruthless as you like with these two

I think i will - thanks! :)

Nicky, Verbena and Nemesia need sunny positions to thrive. If they're in the shadow of your shrubs, they won't like it. That may be the answer.

I've flagged the idiot, too, by the way. We do try to help!!l

I did too, hopefully the boys will blast him out and ban him soon!

Don't be worried about bombarding this site with questions, no matter how simple or how complicated they are. Someone normally has some sort of answer .

Hi and welcome, I'm new round here too x

Thanks all - hopefully i'll delve into this site a bit more this weekend! :)

Welcome from me too Nickynook, its a great site for gardeners. I have flagged him too

Oh dear! Does the pyracantha have to go? They are such lovely plants, and so colourful in winter. Maybe a violent bit of pruning to discipline it a bit?

I'm taking a slightly different view - if the forsythia and holly are enormous, and haven't been pruned for a long time, then prune them hard during winter this year. Soil is meant to have plants growing in it, and there's nothing particularly draining of nutrients in these two plants, any more than any others. Recommend you improve the soil by digging in humus rich materials such as composted animal manure or soil conditioning compost - this is how the soil gets replenished, whatever is growing in it. You can do this in autumn, or in spring - if you can't dig for any reason, apply as a mulch in early spring, (tip the bags over the ground and spread to about 2 or 3 inches thick, in between plants) when the ground is damp and the weather has been over 10-12 deg C during daylight hours for a couple of weeks.
If you had the recent hot spell, likely your small annuals you planted suffered from the heat as much as anything.

If you plant to cut back the forsythia and keep it don't be surprised if you get no flowers next spring because it flowers not on last years wood but the wood made the year before that. the best time to prune it is immediately after flowering when you can cut out the branches that have flowered and still leave time for new ones to grow.

Thanks all! I think i want to remove the holly as it is positioned as such that it isn't really visible, plus i'm taking the view that its not too kiddie friendly, plus i think the garden is too small for it... I have trimmed back the forsythia, and i'm considering removing it totally, as again, its a bit too overbearing in the little space i have to work with - i have picked up a neglected patch, so perhaps after the summer annuals have gone i can give everything an overhaul!
Thank you all for the useful tips and advice - i reckon facebook has gone right out of the window now and that this place will be my first port of call! :)

This site is much easier to use than Facebook, has people who know pretty well what they are talking about, and you get a better class of humour, too......! Best of luck with everything. Could you maybe take some photographs so we can see and share and enjoy the progress you are making?
They say you should live with a garden a year before making radical changes - you never know what you may have in there that you may regret losing at a later date. I do hope you have more than just 1970's builders' soil out there - that sounds desperate! Welcome to GoY from me, too.

You're right - photos may be good!