An overgrown garden, cut back to a garden again.

A garden that has had a year or two to itself. Long grass, shrubs gone wild, a hedge that has lost its shape, beds you cannot see the edge of, and a corner nobody has been into since the last tenant or the last good summer. It looks like a bigger job than it usually is, and the photos tell me most of what I need to know.

I cut it back to a garden again. Long grass with the line trimmer and then the mower, shrubs and perennials cut back to a shape, bed edges found and cleared, the hedge brought back to a line or down to a height you can live with, and light chainsaw work where a shrub or a small tree has gone too far. Section clearing is part of the job, within the height limit. Everything I cut is bagged and taken away; an overgrown garden makes far more than a green bin holds.

Overgrown gardens hide surprises: buried edging, a dead shrub, an old compost heap. I tell you what I can see in the photos and what I cannot, and if I find something on the day I tell you before I deal with it. Once it is back, the point is to keep it there. A garden that took a couple of days to reclaim is usually held by a short regular visit.