new project

Itl look even better next Summer San :) U can replant another Tree ? 1 that u & The Birds will like ;) Maybe remove that Slab Footpath2 that way ul have Space 2 plant a New tree & some Nice Plants ??

Exciting San...I love planning a "new project" :)) My advice though would be to wait and see what the area looks like once the trees are down and you've cleared the ground. It's amazing how much bigger it will look, and the difference it will make to the amount of light.

Then, try and decide...
a) What will the area be used for?
b) How much can you afford to spend on it?
c) What plants would grow well in that situation?
d) Is the ground suitable for planting (it may be full of roots..), or would raised beds, or some hard landscaping (paving, gravel etc) be an option?

My initial thoughts would be to make it into a "Secret Seating area"....maybe paved, with a bench or arbour, pots of scented flowers (PINK of course...) and maybe screened off from the rest of the garden with a trellis screen....and oh, don't forget an archway...lol, sorry that's just me getting carried away...:))

thanx jacque your right about the slabs they have to go to, i would like another tree but wasnt sure what as i dont want it to be big ;o)
hi Di, lots to think of here lol, not sure about seating area only because where the tree will be cut down its lots of ground built up amongst it, a reall mess, like you say untill the tree is down i cant begin to think, maybe baz and joe can shift some of the built up ground,, also i have a new pampas grass in PINK to put somewhere lol

Hi Sandra, this area has been bugging you for a while hasnt it, just think by the end of the week the trees will be gone :-)
I would wait until Spring before you decide what to do and it may expose something behind that you want to disguise. May need careful planning.
As for the birds, I find the little ones like shrubs/bushes to sit in before flying over to the feeder. Good luck.

thanx dawn, yes i wont be doing much till spring except cutting all the ivy back to fence and checking for wildlife ,ie hedgehogs under brambles etc before i can put weed killer down, i do have my budleija bush and pampas grass to plant next year so the birds will like them wont they, cant wait to see it when trees down ;o)

Sanbaz the birds should be okay my new next door neighbours leveled the garden when they moved in but the birds just moved into the conifers along the back fence.The blackbirds even raised a second family.

thanx mavis that makes me feel better, yes the people at the back have a great conifer hedge which they nest in so good news, :o)

Its all very exciting Sandra. Are you referring to THE budleija, ha ha. It will love its new home.

yes dawn lol, if it survives through winter and gets new shoots, but i have another one to i got from carboot sale, like Di said an arch of some kind would be nice to, ive lots in my head ;o)

Whooo, you can do the planning through the winter :-))

yes thats what i thought to dawn, its quite a big area once the trees are gone ;o)

There is a goyer here that tell you how to grind the stump down, yourself not sure if it was Fractal, Also you could make a feature from the stumps a plant that would crawl over them. Tell Baz that is cheap, as normally the midlands is cheaper than most part s of the county and they carged my friend 500.00 just for 2 trees not taking the stumps out either. I say wait till spring you might see plants you would like later. I would just prepare the ground now.

Sanbaz it will look so different and bigger at the weekend living with it like that, by spring you will have a clear idea of how you want it to look. My first thought was changing the prospective by bringing the planting of any new tree forward so that the garden continues after it.
Birds do like a tree neat the feeding area to fly to and from. Rowans can be nice with spring interest and berries. Our treesurgeon used a chain on his saw and the trunks are level with the ground.

thanx morgana, yes im just preparing the ground this year, will look at fractal and see ;o) i thought it was cheap to because at my other house was quoted £300 for one tree,

sorry Drc we must have crossed there, i like rowan trees so thats a thought and like the idea of bringing it forward to, thankyou thats a help ;o)

How exciting to have a project Sandra and good for you in taking matters into your own hands. That sounds cheap to me. Husbands always say they'll do things like that themselves and either never get around to it or make a terrible mess of the garden while doing it! lol.
I agree, wait till spring and really think about it. I think I would have a couple of evergeen shrubs amonst other things, maybe a Ceanothus.
Have you dreamed up lots more projects while you've been off work! lol Good luck with it and take some pics on tree removal day!

This is the sort of job whereby you can get stung as Morgana describes ..Dee in Newcastle had a good job done for a good rate.

No not suggesting they travel but if they did would still be cheaper than some !

On the whole not a bad qoute would be more if grinding out stumps.Grinders very expensive to hire out .

If leaving stumps ask them to make cross cuts in stumps to allow stump killer to penetrate quicker ..would recommend a proprietary stump killer available at garden centres.

Agree price is high compared to doing it yourself but how much would a bad back cost Baz if laid up with one ?

Certainly agree with those who suggest waiting .. would you like a seat a small pond or water feature etc etc quite a few possibilities even in small areas .

hi lily thanks for your input and i will look up that shrub you mentioned, ive had lots of time for thinking while off yes, and lots of things in my head lol
hi ray/jane im happy with price as i know it can be alot more with some, and baz has calmed down now lol, the bloke said he would cut into stumps ready for us to put stump killer on them, he doesnt do this because it costs so much to have a licience to carry these chemicals, which i understand, i would love a small pond but if i do its going to be where my half barrel water feature stands at the moment, thats already a plan i have in mind :o) and i will be waiting till spring to get things done after cutting back ivy, putting weed killer down and clearing area, my son will help with digging and leveling out the area

Sanbaz I expect you know the recommendation is to apply stump killer ASAP - within 48 hours also you cover the stumps after application. Also weedkillers some you cannot plant in for 6-12 months? I more thing glocophophates (spelling) are not recommended if you have/want hedgehogs.

thanx Drc yes i knew about weedkillers but i didnt know you have to apply stump killers in a set time , i did one once and remember i did cover the stump after. i will check with the weed killers though

Well Sandra we still have quite large off cuts of expensive butyl liner cant bring myself to throw it out ! Large enough for a small pond if you decide on one ..

Yes I m not supposed to remove garden waste as meant to be a licensed waste carrier .. for grass ? Please .. then sue me lol

thanx ray thats kind of you but i do have some myself which i bourght intending to do a small pond but never did, its liciences for breathing soon ray, i doubt your the only one, lol thanx again :o)

Night Sandra x

nite ray x sleep well

Hi San, that area looks to be about 12 ft by 6 -8 (looking at the slabs!) and personally I would make a veggie bed but then you knew I would say that Lol. I think your going to have a great time deciding on what your going to do with it. Will you take some before/during and after shots all from the same spot so we can watch the transformation?

Hi San whatever you do with it, it will be your creation and you will be mighty proud of it. But don't forget to post the pictures :o))))) Be careful with the creosote though, I would probably try and use Jeyes fluid at first to kill off the tree roots, neat it should do the trick.

hi ian i thought you would say veggie bed lol, i have so many things going on in my head i didnt sleep lastnight heheh, i know i do want a tree and as Drc suggested bring that forward as then i will be able to continue the garden behind it, and i do like rowan trees for the birds, ummm
hi bob thanyou and yes my grandad use to use creosote to do all his fencing when i was young, gloves and a eye shield were always worn, i love the smell though, i have jeys fluid so thats an idea,:o)))

Yes Sandra I know what you mean, my Granddad always used creosote, but in my younger days there was no alternative, I always get nostalgic when I smell it and I love the smell also.

:o))) happy days bob

Creosote, ha ha. I can still smell it now and feel the burn of it too, ha ha.

lol dawn,, think im going to use jays fluid recomended by bob :o)

Hi Sandra, hope you're OK. You can get a product to put on tree stumps that will go down the roots and kill the whole thing off - called something, funnily enough like: Stump Out.

hi dawn fine here are you? yes im sure we used that before on another and popped a plastic bag over then left it for quite a while, glad you reminded me, will look :o)

Fine Sandra, thanx. John cut a tree down a few years ago now and we didnt treat the root and then fungii appears ... you dont want that

no defenatly not, the last one seemed ok and thats where my raised border is, im hoping when these trees are done i can work round to level the ground out ,then decide where to go next with it all, a bit nervous about it turning out ok

Baz might think this is expensive but it costs a fortune get rid of rubbish/trees now! It's only the cowboys who do it cheaply then they usually dump it on the roadside!

exactly paul would have cost almost a hundred for a big skp to put it in so not bad at all, he`s ok with it now, and knows better to tell me lol,its going to tranfrom my garden for the better :o))

Yes, overgrown trees or trees in the wrong place can be a real nuisance. My neighbour's have just recently had their, 22ft high, Conifer hedge removed and I've got so much more light in my back garden now!!!

yes they do bloke light if to close paul, luckerly these are being taken down as old and messy so i can transform the area, im happy with my back neighbour having their conifer hedge as its giving privercy to me, my garden is about 70 ft long so they dont bloke any light for me, im sure they bloke their own light though cause they only have small garden, but thats their choice isnt it lol,

Yes, I donn't understand why people would want big plants like that towering over their garden. My neighbours didn't plant them. They inherited them when they moved here about 3 years before we did. But I suppose it was just a big job that they didn't get round to before.
I'm pleased because I need the light on my veg patch and these were blocking the sun in the morning!

well i wouldnt want the light bloked thats for sure paul, and as for you, its not fare when it stops your plants getting the sun, especially veg which needs the sun to help them grow to their best. maybe you could have a friendly chat with your neighbour about the trees

No, they have gone now Sandra. My neighbours had rented their house out for a year and the occupants during that year wrecked the house and the garden so now our original neighbours are back (Thank goodness) they have set about putting the house and garden straight. I knew I would have to speak to them about it but they had so much to do indoors to make it habitable again that I thought I'd leave it a couple of months to give them chance to get inside done, but I was releived not to have to say anything because they've had their garden sorted out and they had the trees cut and grinded before they had new turf laid.

thats good news paul, bet your releaved to say the least :o))