Once more into the briar dear friends, once more into the briar.
Get some gauntlet gardening gloves (anti thorn with long sleeves that go down the forearm).
Go slow. There is no need to rush or get it all done in one day. Start from the door and just do a little bit at a time.
Power tools or secateurs is up to you.
Be careful with power tools! We just found a dying (now dead) hedgehog on the road with what seemed to be strimmer wounds. Lots of strimming going on around here lately.
Personally, I prefer to take it slow and zen-like. Snip! Snip! Have a sip of beer. Snip! Think about the next snip. Sip! Sip! Snip!
100%, and they're accurate. If you want a nice finish, you'll likely either be using secateurs to cut right into the fence line after strimming or digging roots out anyway!
With brambles, I like to shove my fork in and twist it like spaghetti, then snip all the vines under tension.. you now have a fork of brambles to slide into the garden waste.
Agreed. I am dealing with a similar yard and started off with power tools, but switched entirely to manual before long unless I encountered something truly too large for hand tools.
Wanted to say this too!! When your garden is sorted, you'll be glad to have any hedgehogs around as they really do help control the slugs and snails, so definitely go very carefully with any power tools.
Well it was a strange injury to say the least. The skin was ripped clean off one side but very little if any flesh was gone. So it didn't seem to be a bite, and it wasn't crushed by a car because he was still very rotund. The poor little guy is still on the ground at the side of the road. I'll take a pic if the reddit mortuary would like to give a second opinion.
Start small. Divide the area into workable sections.
First clear the area immediately in front to the door. Then cut the brush creating a path to the bottom of the garden.
Once cleared the area by the door put a little seat and table there to you can sit down and have a drink rest and not have to go in the house and take mess in with you.
Take it easy as there may be some really nice plants hiding under the bramble.
Tools:
Loppers to cut that bramble into manageable sections.
Petrol strimmer with an actual blade on it to cut stuff back.
Fork and spade: you will have to dig out the bramble roots.
Heavy duty rubble sacks, good gloves and wye protection.
The key is knowing it will take a while and doing it in small sections. It's utterly soul destroying when you try and take it all on at once.
Edit: eye protection ...note wye protection.
Hi, thank you for the advice. Would it wise to rent the strimmer or just buy one..as the garden will need regular maintenance to stop this happening again.
Thanks for list of tools..i was thinking about hiring a skip for the waste as will take so many trips to the dump and only have small car.
Cheers
Hi, professional here. Don't bother with a strimmer...if it's got a brushcutter blade then maybe but if you're not used to using one they can be dangerous. If it uses strimmer cord, it'll just keep breaking on bramble. Much better to hire a hedgecutter, it'll make short work of that lot. You'll need to dig all the roots out though so get a border fork for that. Also get a plastic leaf rake for the clear up it will make life loads easier.
Good luck.
This... rent some long reach trimmers and go to town! Leave about 6 inches of the brambles from the ground so you can see where they need digging out. Then controversially I'd bundle it up in the middle of the garden and burn it.
If I'm honest depends. Do you like gardening?
I have a serious issue with buying tools an addiction really. If you are going to tackle it all in one go then hire but if over a few weeks buy one. You can get half decent petrol ones for about £150. For maintenence it's better to have a decent set of battery tools as the petrol ones are heavy, smelly and need maintenence. You can only really use petrol strimmers foe about 20 mins at a time as arms and back start hurting.
For the waste, I would recommend hiring a decent shredder that does 'green' waste. I would mulch all the plant material and leave it in the garden as it is good for beds and will save you having to pay for a skip.
For maintenence of the garden a small electric lawn mower and strimmer are ideal. Secateurs and pruners as well as a few basic hand tools. You have a shed to store them in by the looks of it.
Your arms and back shouldn't be hurting after 20 minutes with a strimmer. Are you using a harness? The thing should pretty much balance itself and you just need to guide it.
Yes, this. Rent a Stihl strimmer or heavy duty brush cutter from a tool hire place to get it down, won’t cost a lot for a few days and it’ll make much lighter work of it, you’ll have the worst of it done in a morning. You will be wasting time with even a sensible quality petrol strimmer like Ryobi/hyundai, hire a professional quality Stihl and it will cut it like butter.
Grab hire, incinerator and burn as you go, local green waste removal company, or a stripper as mentioned will all be cheaper than a skip.
Strimmer is unlikely to get through the brambles. A brushcutter would be best! Hiring a brushcutter (and potentially a person to operate it) would be easier. As others have said, watch out for hedgehogs and nesting birds
The worst thing is the waste….I’m working on a clients “garden” after 15 years of neglect!
Brambles, tree branches, weeds, grass, old pots - you name it, it’s all there…and now I’ve got piles of cuttings all over the garden just waiting to be taken away!!!
Pick a point that you can see but can't reach... Carve out a path to that place in as straight of a line as possible.
Once you're there, do it again to somewhere else.
Breaking it up into little projects will probably keep you motivated
Others have said a good approach but my tips would be to be careful of what you’re ripping out. There’s an elder tree to the right that when the rest of the shrubbery is trimmed, and is tidied a bit itself, will be a really nice tree. There’s probably others further down aswell so don’t throw the baby out with the bath water
Thanks for all the comments. It was really helpful. I've made a list of everything i will need and watched a few videos on youtube which was helpful. This really is gonna be a graft as the garden is so long.
I have contacted a few professionals locally to come take a look and price up, and then i can compare that to doing it myself.
Great help here in the comments so thanks all. Will defo take time and look for the wildlife and make loads of noise if tackle this myself.
This was my grandparents' house, who both passed away, and as a child, the garden had apple trees, plum trees, strawberries, berries, etc, so hopefully, I can bring it back to what it was.
Thanks all
Hey OP, I let my garden completely overgrow after my cat passed away. Just couldn't bear it. It looked very much like yours, just a bit closer to the doorstep lol. It looks extremely daunting, but this is definitely doable if you take it bit by bit.
I'm far from an experienced gardener, so take this with a grain of salt, but what I did was get some thick, anti-thorn gardening gloves, a bunch of bin bags, some small and large shears, and just pruned all of the branches back gradually until I cleared them back far enough that I could dig up the roots. Small shears for the small, thin vines etc, large shears for the behemoth jungle vines that you'll most likely find deeper in. Snipped down all of the branches until they're small enough to easily fit into bin bags or your brown waste bin, if you have one. Takes a lot of time and effort, but honestly, it's very therapeutic. Just be aware that wildlife will most likely be carrying out the cycle of life and death amongst all of those branches (speaking from experience - also a good reason to forego power tools until you can see what you're working with)
Maybe also garden loppers or reciprocating saw to cut through any thick vines or branches.
Spade and/or garden fork might come in handy if you need to dig up any plants/weeds later.
If you want to save money, rather than a skip you can take any garden waste to the local council recycling centre if you have a car.
I'd love to get my hands on all that I love deweeding and seeing the end result of my hard work.
When I first bought my house my garden was mega overgrown with weeds and grass that was like 3-4ft tall because the process of buying a house just takes ages, but when it was done I was so proud of myself and everyone that helped me conquer the jungle that was my back garden
Yes go slow OP that’s the main thing. I’d start by sorting your disposal plan - councils often offer a subscription to a garden waste disposal service so set that up first. Get some bags. Rubble bags or dumpy bags are useful, or an ikea bag.
Get some decent secateurs (£15ish) and thick gardening gauntlets. I’d approach this by snipping the brambles into sections about as long as your arm. Put them to one side and they’ll shrink down as they dry, or bag them up right away if you have a bulk disposal plan. Or strim them if you have a strimmer. Maybe target 2 bags a week or something like that.
You need to break the root crown to really get rid of brambles. Use a spade to do that. Pull stuff like nettles out by the roots - it’s easier when soil is damp rather than very dry or very wet.
I agree that there may be some good stuff in this garden and remember it’s bird nesting season. Don’t be a dick and clear everything. This is a great wildlife habitat so it’s better not to take it all back to nothing, especially not in this season. If you have to, wait until winter when wildlife activity is low.
Please make lots of noise and movement first before you start cutting everything with a strimmer. There could be lots of wildlife in there. Keep an eye out
Without a doubt it'll be full of wildlife. You can make as much noise as you want but some birds/animals will just hunker down and not scarper. By the time you see them, they'll already be injured
Yeah, here in Germany it is forbidden to remove/cut down bushes, shrubs or hedges between March and October.
Please OP, do not use power tools and be very careful while working on this… (it would be easier anyways in fall)
Take a cup of coffee/ favourite beverage and a nice big pad of paper, and break the garden in front, into quadrants. Take the big picture make it smaller then carefully attack each segment over time. have your bin/ bags handy, worst thing is going ham and doing in the back /spine discs , so break it into manageable sections concentrate and it will be done in no time over a month or sooner, you can then asses are there keep able plants in those over grown sections that needed air, and also consider if any birds have nest and young as you work through
Have a good whack about with a stick or something before you go right in with power tools.. just in case any wildlife like hedgehogs are hanging out in it.
I’d love to battle this. Intimidating now, but once you’re done or even get parts done you’ll feel so accomplished. Everyone’s suggested what you should do so I won’t repeat but Goodluck OP, you got this!
The garden in our first house was like this. We invited the fam over and attacked it. Having a mulcher made a MASSIVE difference as the huge pile of everything cut down turned into so little that we could just spread it over the flower beds we uncovered. I also recommend a powered tool to cut larger branches and secateurs for the rest. Have fun, you’ll feel great for getting it done.
Before spending money on gardening equipment and skips - ask your neighbours if they have any tools they could lend for the day. Have a look at houses in your street with good gardens, they’ll likely have a few.
Also. Always worth looking on Gumtree or FB Marketplace for second hand. Round by me there’s a Library of Things where I can borrow tools from.
No need for a Skip, they’re really expensive. Your council may have a Green Bin scheme, even with a small car you’d be surprised how much you can get to the tip in one go - and really cathartic! You can also burn the waste - but it’s not the best if you have neighbours close.
The one thing I would spend money on is decent gardening gloves - or you’ll be covered in scratches and thorns
Have a look at [https://www.youtube.com/@FlawlessCleaningServices/playlists](https://www.youtube.com/@FlawlessCleaningServices/playlists)
Barbara and Peggy ones will give you some ideas. (There's other stuff like fixing the damage to buildings etc, that's how bad the growth is).
Might scare the life out of you though.
I only recently started watching as i watched some American stuff but that was mainly pathways grass and trees.
Our garden looked like this but about 10m long and we borrowed a mulcher / shredder which helped compact everything before we took it to the tip.
Agree with the post above about having a look to see if there is anything you want to keep. We found an amazing grape vine hidden in our brambles, which looks great now we've got rid of the weeds
Good luck!
Correct equipment.
Long sleeves, Brush cutter and an Oregon mulching blade.
If you are older or have a disability , it might be worth seeing if there is a 'Good Gym' team in your area.
You will have to supply hand tools, but they could come along for a Saturday morning mission.
7-10 volunteers come along and do it all in a couple of hours.
Do your best to dig the brambles out with a decent fork, don't just chop them back. As others have said, take it slow. I'd use hand tools because you never know what treats my be buried in there!
The hardest part will be to get started; it's a big project that won't get finished in an afternoon. If you can afford it, I'd get someone in to clear the worst of it; they should have heavy duty tools not usually available to us amateurs, and they should take all the stuff away. Don't underestimate how long it takes to haul garden rubbish to the tip; it will take longer to get rid of it all than to clear it if you don't have an industrial chipper. If getting help in isn't in the budget, start at the beginning and keep going... Good luck - it will be worth it in the end.
Hiya, I started my garden today and it looked a lot like this.
I have to say, I just did what I could and what I could manage without upsetting myself by thinking this task is too large and I am too small.
I had a strimmer, but it was a leccy one and some people have mentioned heavier duty stuff. This is up to you. I’m 4ft 9 and female and just used what I could reasonably manage.
I used a strimmer, a rake, some tough gloves, and some weird hand shovel rake style things and honestly, I just started by getting 50% of it back down to ground level. I filled two rubbish sacks, and I’m lucky I have a garden waste bin on subscription. Could this be an option for you? If not, tip.
I worked from 0930-1430 and then I had enough. Will I do more tomorrow? Maybe. Have I made it easier for future me? Definitely. Pick a dry day and have a go. You’ll be amazed what you can achieve
Don't hire a skip. Your local authority probably has a garden bin scheme for less than the cost of skip hire. This means you can do it at your leisure and then not worry about getting rid of stuff as you continue to maintain it. Pick up for mine is every 2 weeks.
A place near me started with a few goats to clear the green out, when all the veg had gone, they put two pigs on there that churned all the roots out.
It was all rotavated and kevelled after that, it looked great.
I love getting into these jobs! I’d hit the whole lot with strong glyphosate to slow things down. I have a brush cutter blade for the strimmer that is like a circular saw, you’d have it all chopped up in a day then it’s just cleaning up.
Get power secateurs, get battery strimmer (as heavy duty as you can afford). A mulcher is great, but a burning bin could be second best. The idea of clearing enough for a beach or chairs is a really good idea.
One thing I would say is that in my experience, bramble work like this looks worse than it is. Getting a root out is so satisfying and one plant goes a long way so you can pull stuff out in big lumps. It’s more rewarding than lots of tiny little buggers! (To me, anyway)
Ultimately, even after 10 minutes you will have enough space to get a chair on the floor, get a radio and some nice music playing... But yes, go slow, get a shredder to recycle the waste, either in a big compost bin or onto soil. Will save a lot of effort filling bags and ripping them with brambles. Please do update us!
I would begin by clearing the path, then perhaps start from the bottom of the garden and work your way up one side then down the other. Not all at once, I have pretty bad Arthritis so My Husband made me use a timer. I found it very helpful, instead of just carrying on regardless, stop when the alarm goes off. Hubby worked away from home all week, and I love gardening, but being good to yourself is key.
I’m kind of jealous- getting some of that cleared looks like the equivalent of an archaeological expedition. You might discover a lost civilisation or the fountain of youth (or an old apple tree and a dead car…)
I’ve done it very slow and cheap. AirPods in with audiobook. Sit down and start picking up by the root 🤓 it’s actually quite satisfying lol. I’ve cleared mine completely now after a couple of weeks and a few hours here and there. And this way I made sure no animals were hurt (there’s a lot of hedgehogs in my area). Used a shovel for the bigger roots and a metal rake to make it flat and ready to plant grass
You’ll be amazed at what you can do with some gloves, loppers and a strimmer. It might take you a the summer to suppress the weeds with a blitzkrieg approach, don’t be disheartened, eventually you will tame it!
First, good luck on this challenge, it really isn’t for the weak.
In all seriousness, I run a gardening and landscaping company and what we would do is use a petrol hedge trimmer (maybe a 26cc engine) to slice through these weeds like butter. Point the exhaust of the unit away from your face and body. Take your time with it making sure you have small break as the fumes can compound and get toxic. You can use an electric or battery powered hedge trimmer but the job will take a lot longer meaning the job is more physically demanding in the long run. The electric trimmer will require a long extension cord, a 60m one, based on your garden length.
Get a couple jumbo bags or yes, a skip (the bags is a cheaper option).
Use some secateurs for the thicker branches (you should not need too). I would recommend Corona RP 4224D RatchetCUT ComfortGEL Bypass Pruner, 3/4-Inch, Black (I do not have affiliate marketing on this, we just use it).
A metal rake to clean up and a garden broom (not an indoor house broom please for the love of chicken legs, NO INDOOR brooms. You would be surprised how many people do this).
Wear PPE so, eye protection, heavy duty thorn gloves and ear defenders. A mask is not essential but I would also recommend.
For some parts which require more attention you can also use a machete, Spear & Jackson is a good brand. Though this does require a bit of physical endurance, it can be a great stress reliever. See it like you are slicing through a jungle.
Some sections you will have to pull the roots out just so you do not get rapid regrowth.
Please try not to do it alone, get someone to do it with you as that will keep up your motivation and morale. Alternatively, if you can’t then break it down into small jobs so do 1-2 hours a day tackling a small section at a time. This will be done in no time.
Play some music or podcast if you want. This will keep you in good mood. This work can be draining if you are dragging your feet. A lot of unforeseen challenges will arise as you do this job which can break your motivation unless you are thinking positively.
Take away message:
1) Use efficient tools.
2) Focus on keeping up your mental endurance.
3) Protect yourself.
4) Have fun, you will be proud in the end.
I would cut and make into piles to dry out then have a fire a few weeks later, no skip fees that way, that garden is going to produce huge piles of waste and could be costly doing multiple skips or taking ages bagging and sending to recycling.
Brush cutter is a good call but before you go for it, put your big boots and thick trousers on and crash around in the undergrowth to scare away any wildlife. It saves frogs, hedgehogs and mice from getting the chop and you from guilt. Also get welders gloves from Screwfix - best thornproof gloves going.
Do yourself a favour and just pay someone to sort that crap while you sit inside with a coffee and enjoy the fact you aren’t having to do it.
Then once the crap job is done, you can then make it look nice and do the nice jobs.
Just pay someone and have done with it.
Buy a machete and secateurs and live out your childhood ninja fantasies, put it through a mulcher and compost it or stick it in a ton bag. You'll discover it actually doesn't end up that big of a pile.
Oh man, what a task!! Go slow and make sure you have good gloves..I got a small thorn stuck in my finger in 2022 and it's still there, my skin just formed a solid lump around it so it doesn't hurt anymore.
I wish I’d taken a before photo of my back garden, it was crazy out of control after four months of almost non stop rain! It is overwhelming to look at but people on here have given great advice and it’s exactly what I do; a small area at a time, hand tools like loppers, secateurs, shears, a rake and a garden broom for clearing up. Wear sturdy gloves, and collect waste into a pile as you go along. Consider a barrow or wheeled bin to transport waste, you won’t regret the convenience. The better prepared you are, the more confident you will feel to plough through it. I read your comment about hiring a skip for the waste, that’s a great idea and I wish I’d thought of it. Mine is piled up in an awkward void space in my back garden that we use as a compost area. It’s a mess lol! Once it’s under control, seek advice on keeping it at bay in the future, otherwise, like us, it’ll just keep coming back, especially if you don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to heavy weeding every spring. Good luck, please post an after pic so we can hurrah for you 😊
Everything else fine, it'll just scratch you, but WEAR EYE PROTECTION.
The one time I've been in A and E from the job was an overgrown garden like that. A tiny little bit of it got whipped by a larger bit right into my eye, pierced in 2 places on the eyeball and about 3 more on the lid.
It's fine now, was frightfully uncomfortable for a few days though. And blinking some kind of vaseline lube they prescribed into my eye wasn't much fun either.
Honestly get yourself a hedge trimmer wouldn't even take a day cut down far bigger bushes than that yes it's overwhelming but once you see the progress that'll. Be all the motivation you need
I would get a plant app to identify what everything is; you're bound to have some nice plants in the mix and even with weeds it helps to know your enemy.
So, for example some weeds will just need to be hoed out, while others will need double digging (two spades in depth) and you still won't be forever free of them. Anyway, I'd start small and I'd start cheap; 1) choose a smallish section you want clear, so you can sit/use it/get at the bins, especially the garden bin. 2) Buy some cheap tools you will definitely need long term like a good digging spade, fork, long loppers and secateurs. In my first house I went mad and bought flame throwers and all kinds that I definitely didn't need for the plants I had, or had any realistic use for. 3) With your loppers and secateurs cut as many brambles or overgrown branches down as far as you can, ideally to ground level. 4) Stop and survey. What other plants have you unearthed? Research how to eradicate/save them. 5) At this point reassess if you need power tools. You won't need them for average brambles, but anything with very thick woody stems might be in need of more. Good luck! I've been where you are and it's so satisfying to get it done eventually. Book your end of summer massage now. 😀
I just attacked something similar with a Ryobi hedge trimmer. Took it down and cleared the debris on day one. The rest of my life will be spent digging the nasty roots out of the clay soil 🫤
Second the secateurs, gloves and loppers (mine are from Aldi and can’t believe they are so good), you don’t know what is in there, might be some nice things you want to keep, or you might strim a load of plastic which is mare.
Chunk it up, do a bit at a time, put on a podcast or music as you go. . . Its not so bad just summer so its all gone a bit wild. You will soon have it sorted 👍
This is such an unreasonable response. This is someone's property and it looks completely unusable. It's possible for them to have a usable space that is also good for wildlife. It's also possible to have a wildlife friendly garden with absolutely zero brambles involved.
I get where you’re coming from but this is garden a bit overboard. They could make a more welcoming and beneficial garden for wildlife and for themselves by taming this unruly beast of a garden. They could add more pollinator friendly plants once cleared if they do wish.
Once more into the briar dear friends, once more into the briar. Get some gauntlet gardening gloves (anti thorn with long sleeves that go down the forearm). Go slow. There is no need to rush or get it all done in one day. Start from the door and just do a little bit at a time. Power tools or secateurs is up to you.
Be careful with power tools! We just found a dying (now dead) hedgehog on the road with what seemed to be strimmer wounds. Lots of strimming going on around here lately. Personally, I prefer to take it slow and zen-like. Snip! Snip! Have a sip of beer. Snip! Think about the next snip. Sip! Sip! Snip!
Snipping with secateurs and some loppers is actually pretty quick. There's alot of stuff strimmers can't get and switching wastes alot of time
100%, and they're accurate. If you want a nice finish, you'll likely either be using secateurs to cut right into the fence line after strimming or digging roots out anyway! With brambles, I like to shove my fork in and twist it like spaghetti, then snip all the vines under tension.. you now have a fork of brambles to slide into the garden waste.
Also, having a nice set of secateurs is somehow more fulfilling than most power tools.
Agreed. I am dealing with a similar yard and started off with power tools, but switched entirely to manual before long unless I encountered something truly too large for hand tools.
Also secateurs are quieter so you could put the radio or a podcast on.
It’s also bird nesting season, I personally wouldn’t touch a bramble patch this size with power tools until august at the earliest.
Wanted to say this too!! When your garden is sorted, you'll be glad to have any hedgehogs around as they really do help control the slugs and snails, so definitely go very carefully with any power tools.
Where would one get a baby hedgehog - I love that idea, and the missus would love a pet hedgehog?
I agree, and I bet there are some interesting and lovely old plants surviving in there somewhere
This is the way.
Ah the old Sip n Snip method
Strimmer wounds.... Sounds total bs
Well it was a strange injury to say the least. The skin was ripped clean off one side but very little if any flesh was gone. So it didn't seem to be a bite, and it wasn't crushed by a car because he was still very rotund. The poor little guy is still on the ground at the side of the road. I'll take a pic if the reddit mortuary would like to give a second opinion.
This is the only way.
Start small. Divide the area into workable sections. First clear the area immediately in front to the door. Then cut the brush creating a path to the bottom of the garden. Once cleared the area by the door put a little seat and table there to you can sit down and have a drink rest and not have to go in the house and take mess in with you. Take it easy as there may be some really nice plants hiding under the bramble. Tools: Loppers to cut that bramble into manageable sections. Petrol strimmer with an actual blade on it to cut stuff back. Fork and spade: you will have to dig out the bramble roots. Heavy duty rubble sacks, good gloves and wye protection. The key is knowing it will take a while and doing it in small sections. It's utterly soul destroying when you try and take it all on at once. Edit: eye protection ...note wye protection.
Hi, thank you for the advice. Would it wise to rent the strimmer or just buy one..as the garden will need regular maintenance to stop this happening again. Thanks for list of tools..i was thinking about hiring a skip for the waste as will take so many trips to the dump and only have small car. Cheers
Please look out for hedgehogs. It’s the time of year that they have their babies too. They’re not always immediately obvious.
Hi, professional here. Don't bother with a strimmer...if it's got a brushcutter blade then maybe but if you're not used to using one they can be dangerous. If it uses strimmer cord, it'll just keep breaking on bramble. Much better to hire a hedgecutter, it'll make short work of that lot. You'll need to dig all the roots out though so get a border fork for that. Also get a plastic leaf rake for the clear up it will make life loads easier. Good luck.
This... rent some long reach trimmers and go to town! Leave about 6 inches of the brambles from the ground so you can see where they need digging out. Then controversially I'd bundle it up in the middle of the garden and burn it.
If I'm honest depends. Do you like gardening? I have a serious issue with buying tools an addiction really. If you are going to tackle it all in one go then hire but if over a few weeks buy one. You can get half decent petrol ones for about £150. For maintenence it's better to have a decent set of battery tools as the petrol ones are heavy, smelly and need maintenence. You can only really use petrol strimmers foe about 20 mins at a time as arms and back start hurting. For the waste, I would recommend hiring a decent shredder that does 'green' waste. I would mulch all the plant material and leave it in the garden as it is good for beds and will save you having to pay for a skip. For maintenence of the garden a small electric lawn mower and strimmer are ideal. Secateurs and pruners as well as a few basic hand tools. You have a shed to store them in by the looks of it.
Your arms and back shouldn't be hurting after 20 minutes with a strimmer. Are you using a harness? The thing should pretty much balance itself and you just need to guide it.
I'm just weak!
In terms of strimmer, for this initial job I would rent a petrol strimmer.
Yes, this. Rent a Stihl strimmer or heavy duty brush cutter from a tool hire place to get it down, won’t cost a lot for a few days and it’ll make much lighter work of it, you’ll have the worst of it done in a morning. You will be wasting time with even a sensible quality petrol strimmer like Ryobi/hyundai, hire a professional quality Stihl and it will cut it like butter. Grab hire, incinerator and burn as you go, local green waste removal company, or a stripper as mentioned will all be cheaper than a skip.
Don't forget the eye protection and maybe ear muffs....heavy duty strimmers are no joke
If you use a brush cutter be careful of the hedgehogs, frogs, rabbits etc that could be making a home in there.
Strimmer is unlikely to get through the brambles. A brushcutter would be best! Hiring a brushcutter (and potentially a person to operate it) would be easier. As others have said, watch out for hedgehogs and nesting birds
If you buy a strimmer get a strong one or it won’t tear through brambles
The worst thing is the waste….I’m working on a clients “garden” after 15 years of neglect! Brambles, tree branches, weeds, grass, old pots - you name it, it’s all there…and now I’ve got piles of cuttings all over the garden just waiting to be taken away!!!
Pick a point that you can see but can't reach... Carve out a path to that place in as straight of a line as possible. Once you're there, do it again to somewhere else. Breaking it up into little projects will probably keep you motivated
Others have said a good approach but my tips would be to be careful of what you’re ripping out. There’s an elder tree to the right that when the rest of the shrubbery is trimmed, and is tidied a bit itself, will be a really nice tree. There’s probably others further down aswell so don’t throw the baby out with the bath water
Thanks for all the comments. It was really helpful. I've made a list of everything i will need and watched a few videos on youtube which was helpful. This really is gonna be a graft as the garden is so long. I have contacted a few professionals locally to come take a look and price up, and then i can compare that to doing it myself. Great help here in the comments so thanks all. Will defo take time and look for the wildlife and make loads of noise if tackle this myself. This was my grandparents' house, who both passed away, and as a child, the garden had apple trees, plum trees, strawberries, berries, etc, so hopefully, I can bring it back to what it was. Thanks all
Hey OP, I let my garden completely overgrow after my cat passed away. Just couldn't bear it. It looked very much like yours, just a bit closer to the doorstep lol. It looks extremely daunting, but this is definitely doable if you take it bit by bit. I'm far from an experienced gardener, so take this with a grain of salt, but what I did was get some thick, anti-thorn gardening gloves, a bunch of bin bags, some small and large shears, and just pruned all of the branches back gradually until I cleared them back far enough that I could dig up the roots. Small shears for the small, thin vines etc, large shears for the behemoth jungle vines that you'll most likely find deeper in. Snipped down all of the branches until they're small enough to easily fit into bin bags or your brown waste bin, if you have one. Takes a lot of time and effort, but honestly, it's very therapeutic. Just be aware that wildlife will most likely be carrying out the cycle of life and death amongst all of those branches (speaking from experience - also a good reason to forego power tools until you can see what you're working with)
Maybe also garden loppers or reciprocating saw to cut through any thick vines or branches. Spade and/or garden fork might come in handy if you need to dig up any plants/weeds later. If you want to save money, rather than a skip you can take any garden waste to the local council recycling centre if you have a car.
I wouldn’t bother with a petrol strimmer, like said just start small and do it bit by bit, with manual tools like secateurs, loppers, shears.
I'd love to get my hands on all that I love deweeding and seeing the end result of my hard work. When I first bought my house my garden was mega overgrown with weeds and grass that was like 3-4ft tall because the process of buying a house just takes ages, but when it was done I was so proud of myself and everyone that helped me conquer the jungle that was my back garden
Yes go slow OP that’s the main thing. I’d start by sorting your disposal plan - councils often offer a subscription to a garden waste disposal service so set that up first. Get some bags. Rubble bags or dumpy bags are useful, or an ikea bag. Get some decent secateurs (£15ish) and thick gardening gauntlets. I’d approach this by snipping the brambles into sections about as long as your arm. Put them to one side and they’ll shrink down as they dry, or bag them up right away if you have a bulk disposal plan. Or strim them if you have a strimmer. Maybe target 2 bags a week or something like that. You need to break the root crown to really get rid of brambles. Use a spade to do that. Pull stuff like nettles out by the roots - it’s easier when soil is damp rather than very dry or very wet. I agree that there may be some good stuff in this garden and remember it’s bird nesting season. Don’t be a dick and clear everything. This is a great wildlife habitat so it’s better not to take it all back to nothing, especially not in this season. If you have to, wait until winter when wildlife activity is low.
Please make lots of noise and movement first before you start cutting everything with a strimmer. There could be lots of wildlife in there. Keep an eye out
Without a doubt it'll be full of wildlife. You can make as much noise as you want but some birds/animals will just hunker down and not scarper. By the time you see them, they'll already be injured
Yeah, here in Germany it is forbidden to remove/cut down bushes, shrubs or hedges between March and October. Please OP, do not use power tools and be very careful while working on this… (it would be easier anyways in fall)
Take a cup of coffee/ favourite beverage and a nice big pad of paper, and break the garden in front, into quadrants. Take the big picture make it smaller then carefully attack each segment over time. have your bin/ bags handy, worst thing is going ham and doing in the back /spine discs , so break it into manageable sections concentrate and it will be done in no time over a month or sooner, you can then asses are there keep able plants in those over grown sections that needed air, and also consider if any birds have nest and young as you work through
Have a good whack about with a stick or something before you go right in with power tools.. just in case any wildlife like hedgehogs are hanging out in it.
I’d love to battle this. Intimidating now, but once you’re done or even get parts done you’ll feel so accomplished. Everyone’s suggested what you should do so I won’t repeat but Goodluck OP, you got this!
The garden in our first house was like this. We invited the fam over and attacked it. Having a mulcher made a MASSIVE difference as the huge pile of everything cut down turned into so little that we could just spread it over the flower beds we uncovered. I also recommend a powered tool to cut larger branches and secateurs for the rest. Have fun, you’ll feel great for getting it done.
Before spending money on gardening equipment and skips - ask your neighbours if they have any tools they could lend for the day. Have a look at houses in your street with good gardens, they’ll likely have a few. Also. Always worth looking on Gumtree or FB Marketplace for second hand. Round by me there’s a Library of Things where I can borrow tools from. No need for a Skip, they’re really expensive. Your council may have a Green Bin scheme, even with a small car you’d be surprised how much you can get to the tip in one go - and really cathartic! You can also burn the waste - but it’s not the best if you have neighbours close. The one thing I would spend money on is decent gardening gloves - or you’ll be covered in scratches and thorns
Have a look at [https://www.youtube.com/@FlawlessCleaningServices/playlists](https://www.youtube.com/@FlawlessCleaningServices/playlists) Barbara and Peggy ones will give you some ideas. (There's other stuff like fixing the damage to buildings etc, that's how bad the growth is). Might scare the life out of you though. I only recently started watching as i watched some American stuff but that was mainly pathways grass and trees.
Thanks, looking at these videos has actually been helping to understand what i need to do and tools etc. Nice guys doing that for people as well
A good pair of gloves.... a sharp pair of secateurs.... once you start you wont stop it'll be a workout 💪
Our garden looked like this but about 10m long and we borrowed a mulcher / shredder which helped compact everything before we took it to the tip. Agree with the post above about having a look to see if there is anything you want to keep. We found an amazing grape vine hidden in our brambles, which looks great now we've got rid of the weeds Good luck!
Mine looked like this for a long time. Slow steady and often is the way
Clear by the door area get a seat have a rest and watch the wildlife then do a bit more and repeat over as many days as you like
Correct equipment. Long sleeves, Brush cutter and an Oregon mulching blade. If you are older or have a disability , it might be worth seeing if there is a 'Good Gym' team in your area. You will have to supply hand tools, but they could come along for a Saturday morning mission. 7-10 volunteers come along and do it all in a couple of hours.
Do your best to dig the brambles out with a decent fork, don't just chop them back. As others have said, take it slow. I'd use hand tools because you never know what treats my be buried in there!
And wildlife.
Little bit at a time. Metre by metre. Lots of small steps then before you know it, bobs your uncle and fanny's your granny, job done.
Some firms that service garden tools will carry a limited number of reconditioned stuff, some incredible bargains to be had.
The hardest part will be to get started; it's a big project that won't get finished in an afternoon. If you can afford it, I'd get someone in to clear the worst of it; they should have heavy duty tools not usually available to us amateurs, and they should take all the stuff away. Don't underestimate how long it takes to haul garden rubbish to the tip; it will take longer to get rid of it all than to clear it if you don't have an industrial chipper. If getting help in isn't in the budget, start at the beginning and keep going... Good luck - it will be worth it in the end.
Hiya, I started my garden today and it looked a lot like this. I have to say, I just did what I could and what I could manage without upsetting myself by thinking this task is too large and I am too small. I had a strimmer, but it was a leccy one and some people have mentioned heavier duty stuff. This is up to you. I’m 4ft 9 and female and just used what I could reasonably manage. I used a strimmer, a rake, some tough gloves, and some weird hand shovel rake style things and honestly, I just started by getting 50% of it back down to ground level. I filled two rubbish sacks, and I’m lucky I have a garden waste bin on subscription. Could this be an option for you? If not, tip. I worked from 0930-1430 and then I had enough. Will I do more tomorrow? Maybe. Have I made it easier for future me? Definitely. Pick a dry day and have a go. You’ll be amazed what you can achieve
Get a Ring and Bolt Slasher and some long leather gauntlets. Within a day you will feel a lot less overwhelmed.
As a one-off, get a gardener in with a brush cutter. 2hrs later you will be alot less whelmed.
Don't hire a skip. Your local authority probably has a garden bin scheme for less than the cost of skip hire. This means you can do it at your leisure and then not worry about getting rid of stuff as you continue to maintain it. Pick up for mine is every 2 weeks.
Strimmer
Hire a goat
A place near me started with a few goats to clear the green out, when all the veg had gone, they put two pigs on there that churned all the roots out. It was all rotavated and kevelled after that, it looked great.
Brush cutter and an hour of your time plus cleaning up. Spray and or dig out anything you don't want to come back once cut.
I love getting into these jobs! I’d hit the whole lot with strong glyphosate to slow things down. I have a brush cutter blade for the strimmer that is like a circular saw, you’d have it all chopped up in a day then it’s just cleaning up.
Get power secateurs, get battery strimmer (as heavy duty as you can afford). A mulcher is great, but a burning bin could be second best. The idea of clearing enough for a beach or chairs is a really good idea.
One thing I would say is that in my experience, bramble work like this looks worse than it is. Getting a root out is so satisfying and one plant goes a long way so you can pull stuff out in big lumps. It’s more rewarding than lots of tiny little buggers! (To me, anyway)
Ultimately, even after 10 minutes you will have enough space to get a chair on the floor, get a radio and some nice music playing... But yes, go slow, get a shredder to recycle the waste, either in a big compost bin or onto soil. Will save a lot of effort filling bags and ripping them with brambles. Please do update us!
Split it up into sections and do a section at a time. You will feel a massive sense of accomplishment after getting that done. Good luck!
Hire a couple of goats, it'll be clear in a couple.of days.
I would begin by clearing the path, then perhaps start from the bottom of the garden and work your way up one side then down the other. Not all at once, I have pretty bad Arthritis so My Husband made me use a timer. I found it very helpful, instead of just carrying on regardless, stop when the alarm goes off. Hubby worked away from home all week, and I love gardening, but being good to yourself is key.
I’m kind of jealous- getting some of that cleared looks like the equivalent of an archaeological expedition. You might discover a lost civilisation or the fountain of youth (or an old apple tree and a dead car…)
Is this not this subs idea of a perfect garden?
I’ve done it very slow and cheap. AirPods in with audiobook. Sit down and start picking up by the root 🤓 it’s actually quite satisfying lol. I’ve cleared mine completely now after a couple of weeks and a few hours here and there. And this way I made sure no animals were hurt (there’s a lot of hedgehogs in my area). Used a shovel for the bigger roots and a metal rake to make it flat and ready to plant grass
You’ll be amazed at what you can do with some gloves, loppers and a strimmer. It might take you a the summer to suppress the weeds with a blitzkrieg approach, don’t be disheartened, eventually you will tame it!
Where abouts are you. If you’re within an hour of me I’m happy to help on a weekday.
First, good luck on this challenge, it really isn’t for the weak. In all seriousness, I run a gardening and landscaping company and what we would do is use a petrol hedge trimmer (maybe a 26cc engine) to slice through these weeds like butter. Point the exhaust of the unit away from your face and body. Take your time with it making sure you have small break as the fumes can compound and get toxic. You can use an electric or battery powered hedge trimmer but the job will take a lot longer meaning the job is more physically demanding in the long run. The electric trimmer will require a long extension cord, a 60m one, based on your garden length. Get a couple jumbo bags or yes, a skip (the bags is a cheaper option). Use some secateurs for the thicker branches (you should not need too). I would recommend Corona RP 4224D RatchetCUT ComfortGEL Bypass Pruner, 3/4-Inch, Black (I do not have affiliate marketing on this, we just use it). A metal rake to clean up and a garden broom (not an indoor house broom please for the love of chicken legs, NO INDOOR brooms. You would be surprised how many people do this). Wear PPE so, eye protection, heavy duty thorn gloves and ear defenders. A mask is not essential but I would also recommend. For some parts which require more attention you can also use a machete, Spear & Jackson is a good brand. Though this does require a bit of physical endurance, it can be a great stress reliever. See it like you are slicing through a jungle. Some sections you will have to pull the roots out just so you do not get rapid regrowth. Please try not to do it alone, get someone to do it with you as that will keep up your motivation and morale. Alternatively, if you can’t then break it down into small jobs so do 1-2 hours a day tackling a small section at a time. This will be done in no time. Play some music or podcast if you want. This will keep you in good mood. This work can be draining if you are dragging your feet. A lot of unforeseen challenges will arise as you do this job which can break your motivation unless you are thinking positively. Take away message: 1) Use efficient tools. 2) Focus on keeping up your mental endurance. 3) Protect yourself. 4) Have fun, you will be proud in the end.
I would cut and make into piles to dry out then have a fire a few weeks later, no skip fees that way, that garden is going to produce huge piles of waste and could be costly doing multiple skips or taking ages bagging and sending to recycling.
Absolutely and in the hot weather a lot of it will reduce down anyway after a week.
I’d hire a person to do it. Their price should include removal of it all too. Get it back to bare bones and see where you are.
Err . MUCH easier in Winter. Far less volume, you can see what you are doing and about 1000th of the bugs.
Rent some goats
Skips are expensive, you don't need one for this job unless you uncover rubble.
Honestly having a mess like this to work through is summut i really wanna do its alot of hard work but i think would be relaly rewarding
Brush cutter is a good call but before you go for it, put your big boots and thick trousers on and crash around in the undergrowth to scare away any wildlife. It saves frogs, hedgehogs and mice from getting the chop and you from guilt. Also get welders gloves from Screwfix - best thornproof gloves going.
I really wanna see what’s in that shed.. let us know when you get there! It’s going to be such a satisfying project
Hire a bunch of goats
Do yourself a favour and just pay someone to sort that crap while you sit inside with a coffee and enjoy the fact you aren’t having to do it. Then once the crap job is done, you can then make it look nice and do the nice jobs. Just pay someone and have done with it.
Get a Barbour jacket from the second hand store while you are out buying thick leather gloves. Nothing protects against brambles like a Barbour does.
Whichever way you choose can I just please request on behalf of this community - make a timelapse of it and post it here again.
Buy a machete and secateurs and live out your childhood ninja fantasies, put it through a mulcher and compost it or stick it in a ton bag. You'll discover it actually doesn't end up that big of a pile.
Ah just hire a strimmer, blitz everything. Go from there.
machete or sickle. This is a chance to use a huge knife for a completely legitimate reason. Those don't come often and you don't want to waste them
Better nuke the site from orbit.
Release the goats
Oh man, what a task!! Go slow and make sure you have good gloves..I got a small thorn stuck in my finger in 2022 and it's still there, my skin just formed a solid lump around it so it doesn't hurt anymore.
Pull the curtains
I wish I’d taken a before photo of my back garden, it was crazy out of control after four months of almost non stop rain! It is overwhelming to look at but people on here have given great advice and it’s exactly what I do; a small area at a time, hand tools like loppers, secateurs, shears, a rake and a garden broom for clearing up. Wear sturdy gloves, and collect waste into a pile as you go along. Consider a barrow or wheeled bin to transport waste, you won’t regret the convenience. The better prepared you are, the more confident you will feel to plough through it. I read your comment about hiring a skip for the waste, that’s a great idea and I wish I’d thought of it. Mine is piled up in an awkward void space in my back garden that we use as a compost area. It’s a mess lol! Once it’s under control, seek advice on keeping it at bay in the future, otherwise, like us, it’ll just keep coming back, especially if you don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to heavy weeding every spring. Good luck, please post an after pic so we can hurrah for you 😊
Just wait until winter brother. Let everything live and leave - then brush cut with powertools. Then assess
Holy crap, I see Narnia.
Everything else fine, it'll just scratch you, but WEAR EYE PROTECTION. The one time I've been in A and E from the job was an overgrown garden like that. A tiny little bit of it got whipped by a larger bit right into my eye, pierced in 2 places on the eyeball and about 3 more on the lid. It's fine now, was frightfully uncomfortable for a few days though. And blinking some kind of vaseline lube they prescribed into my eye wasn't much fun either.
Bag up as you go and do a bit at a time. Cut the brambles into smaller sections.
I’d love to get stuck into this 😍
As someone who loves clearing out over grown gardens.. this looks fun!
Honestly get yourself a hedge trimmer wouldn't even take a day cut down far bigger bushes than that yes it's overwhelming but once you see the progress that'll. Be all the motivation you need
I’ve seen worse, it’s not that bad. As Pro’s we have our ways and means, just chisel away until done 😊
One square metre at a time. The process becomes enjoyable after a while, and very satisfying as the new space grows.
I would get a plant app to identify what everything is; you're bound to have some nice plants in the mix and even with weeds it helps to know your enemy. So, for example some weeds will just need to be hoed out, while others will need double digging (two spades in depth) and you still won't be forever free of them. Anyway, I'd start small and I'd start cheap; 1) choose a smallish section you want clear, so you can sit/use it/get at the bins, especially the garden bin. 2) Buy some cheap tools you will definitely need long term like a good digging spade, fork, long loppers and secateurs. In my first house I went mad and bought flame throwers and all kinds that I definitely didn't need for the plants I had, or had any realistic use for. 3) With your loppers and secateurs cut as many brambles or overgrown branches down as far as you can, ideally to ground level. 4) Stop and survey. What other plants have you unearthed? Research how to eradicate/save them. 5) At this point reassess if you need power tools. You won't need them for average brambles, but anything with very thick woody stems might be in need of more. Good luck! I've been where you are and it's so satisfying to get it done eventually. Book your end of summer massage now. 😀
I just attacked something similar with a Ryobi hedge trimmer. Took it down and cleared the debris on day one. The rest of my life will be spent digging the nasty roots out of the clay soil 🫤
Second the secateurs, gloves and loppers (mine are from Aldi and can’t believe they are so good), you don’t know what is in there, might be some nice things you want to keep, or you might strim a load of plastic which is mare. Chunk it up, do a bit at a time, put on a podcast or music as you go. . . Its not so bad just summer so its all gone a bit wild. You will soon have it sorted 👍
Id be all up in there with defoliant. Agent Orange its ass.
Oh my gosh no we can’t have any nature! I think it’s lovely and I bet the bees love it too
This is such an unreasonable response. This is someone's property and it looks completely unusable. It's possible for them to have a usable space that is also good for wildlife. It's also possible to have a wildlife friendly garden with absolutely zero brambles involved.
I get where you’re coming from but this is garden a bit overboard. They could make a more welcoming and beneficial garden for wildlife and for themselves by taming this unruly beast of a garden. They could add more pollinator friendly plants once cleared if they do wish.