What is your most hated gardening chore

[Dave Brown]

Mine is trimming the 35 foot box hedge

Reasons
I didn't plant it the previous owner did.
I don't like it as is plain boring.
Grows too fast.
Looks a mess if left to grow
Looks a mess when clipped

I spent 5 hours today clipping, clearing, shredding.....

So why do I put up with it........

It is the boundary between me and next door, not that I need to keep next door out, but the kids used to run up the ally, staright across my garden hop the low hedge..... a bit like Aintree so I let it grow taller I can't get rid of it, or I would be back in the same situation, but now picking body parts of the Agave, yucca and cacti Also box clippings make wonderful friable compost

Two questions....
1).....can anyone think of a better boundry than this? Fences are not an option. It would need to be tall enough to start with to stop the Grand National, but not megabucks

2) What is your most hated gardening chore, and why

[themes]

I to have the same dilema and same set of circumstances with privot hedge. Previous owner planted it. Very fast growing. I would have thought box in your case would be easier to control growth wise and look better. I have planted box and like the formality it gives to the garden, If i had the choice the privot would be gone in an instant even though it gives great winter protection. Its a chore I could do without. This is my biggest chore as well as removing ivy that has intertwined in the hedge. Any bit of ivy that touches the floor roots and compresses the soil!

I also hate mowing the lawn. But this job is getting easier as I am slicing the lawn slowly, letting people get accustomed to the size of the lawn, that slicing a few more inches from its width. If I shrunk the lawn all at once, their would be uproar. I have managed to reduce the lawn by a quarter without anyone noticing

[Chad]

Dave,

What width have you got to play with?

If there is plenty of space, a row of Cortaderia would work wonders, and be jump proof in one season. C.selloana is overplanted in my opinion, richardii is a better plant, and comes easily from seed, so for the price of a packet of seed you could be rid of the chore for ever.

But it will never get up to 35 ft tall [what sort of ladders are you using?].

Chad.

[becky]

greg hates digging hes been digging for months and he sees no end to it its not just digging its removing trees in the process then digging out the deep rooted tree stumps and then removing ivy which has spread like mad accross the fence, lawn blooming everywhere another weekend or two 10 hours a day at digging and will all be done

[jezza]

Only one thing, weeding

[Steph]

Mine is trimming the 35 foot box hedge:

Box grows really well in rich alkaline soil but much slower in acid soil. Is it possible to adjust the soil ph in close proximity to the hedge with a mulch, I am thinking pine cones or pine needles? Not tried it myself, just noted that in my sisters garden where there are huge pine trees the growth rate isn't a 10th of mine.

[themes]

Mine is trimming the 35 foot box hedge:

Box grows really well in rich alkaline soil but much slower in acid soil. Is it possible to adjust the soil ph in close proximity to the hedge with a mulch, I am thinking pine cones or pine needles? Not tried it myself, just noted that in my sisters garden where there are huge pine trees the growth rate isn't a 10th of mine.

I have had box in my garden for three years the varigated and the standard form. This may explain the slow growth and my surprise really. my soil is acidic if you had not guessed from my ramblings

[stephenprudence]

I don't think I find any part of gardening a chore, it's a hobby so the hope from me is that it would be relaxing and interesting no matter what it entailed. Watering plants can be one of the less desirable things when you just want to sit down and admire the plants but it has to be done, and can be enjoyable at times.

[Dave Brown]

I don't think I find any part of gardening a chore, it's a hobby so the hope from me is that it would be relaxing and interesting no matter what it entailed. Watering plants can be one of the less desirable things when you just want to sit down and admire the plants but it has to be done, and can be enjoyable at times.

Stephen I think both I and John (Kentgardener) from the same area love watering..... it is a daily part of gardening in the Southeast. In fact it is a privilege..... we get to look at the garden while watering

Give me watering over hedge trimming any day

[irish dave]

My rambler rose,it attacks me every time i go near it.If it wasn't for its red scented flowers it would have gone long ago.It must have taken two pints of blood from me over the years.No wonder the flowers are red,its a vampire plant

[photonbucket]

Watering and weeding. I really dont like either.

[Simba]

That's an easy one to answer......Cutting the grass...!!!!

I really don't understand the obsession that English people have with "the lawn"..
Take a reality check.
It is NOT a lawn, it is nothing more than a scrubby patch of grass.
Lawns are those carefully manicured things that you find at stately homes.

Visitors to your home might be impressed with your plants, compliment you on design, admire your patio, but nobody is overwhelmed because you have a scrubby patch of grass just like they have back at their home....

I don't want the grass, I would love to plant over it, so my missus always cuts it.
She p*sses and moans about doing it, about treading grass in the house, yet when I suggest that we get rid of it and plant over it, the look of horror on her face is truly comical....

[bev]

has to be cutting the lawn for me. like themes i'm slowly chipping away at the edges but would really like to go all out and create a bigger jungle!

who needs lawns?




lee

[Las Palmas Norte]

I agree ... lawn cutting has to be the biggest waste of my gardening time. Luckily in the summer it dries up, turns a nice shade of brown, and doesn't need mowing until the autumn rains begin.

Cheers, Barrie.

[Nick]

My one and only hate in the garden is treating the fence, I think it is 28 panals 4 ft high both sides I hate it, so i got an aluminium 6ft4in x 4ft 4in x 5in deep tin made up and dunk the panels in to soak with creasolt,I love the smell, everything else in the garden is a pleasure to do

Sunshine Nick