Some jobs stay with you. This was a big garden with woodland and a pond, looked after for years by the owner's husband. After he passed away, the brambles took over, and by the time we were asked to help, large parts of the garden couldn't be walked through at all.
We filmed the whole job. You can watch it here:
How we approach a clearance this size
A job like this isn't about going in hard with the biggest machine. It's about working out what's worth keeping before anything gets cut.
- Walk it first. We walk the whole garden with the owner where we can, and mark anything that matters: old planting, paths, edging, the pond margin.
- Check for wildlife. Overgrown woodland and brambles are prime nesting ground. Damaging an active nest is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, so from March to August every section gets checked before it's cut.
- Cut back in stages. Heavy brushcutters knock the brambles down, then we rake off and cut again, so we can see the ground and what's hiding in it.
- Take the waste away properly. A clearance like this produces several van loads of green waste. As a registered waste carrier we take it all to a licensed site.
You never know what's under the brambles
As the title says, we had no idea what we'd find. That's normal on big clearances. Old paths, edging, steps, borders and even whole patios come back to light once the growth is off. It's one of the best parts of the job.
If a garden has got away from you after a bereavement, illness or a hard year, there's no judgement from us. We see it all the time, and a clearance is usually the start of getting the garden back, not the end of it.
What happens after a big clearance
Brambles come back from the roots, so a cleared garden needs follow-up. Most of our clearance customers have a couple of follow-up visits in the first growing season, then either regular garden maintenance or an occasional tidy up.
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If you've got a garden like this in Kidwelly, Llanelli, Burry Port, Carmarthen or anywhere nearby, have a look at our garden clearance page or send us a few photos.
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