How to clear an overgrown garden (with or without help)

To clear an overgrown garden, work from the top down: check for nesting birds and hidden hazards first, cut the tall growth down to knee height, clear brambles, then dig out the roots so it does not come straight back. Decide how you will get rid of the waste before you start, because even a small overgrown garden can produce more than a car can carry. Most people can manage a lightly overgrown garden themselves over a weekend or two. Once you find thick brambles, saplings, rubbish or an old shed, it is usually quicker and cheaper to get help.

Steps

1. Assess and photograph the garden. Walk round and take photos from each corner before you touch anything. They help you plan, show a landlord or family what was there, and let a clearance firm price the job if you decide to get help.
2. Check for wildlife and hazards. It is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to damage or destroy a wild bird's nest while it is in use or being built, and dense hedges and brambles are favourite nest sites, especially from March to August. Look and listen before cutting, and leave active nests alone. Check long grass for hedgehogs before strimming. Then look for hazards: broken glass, needles, old fencing wire, rotten decking, hidden steps, ponds and drains. If you find Japanese knotweed, stop. Do not cut, strim or compost it; it needs specialist treatment and disposal.
3. Get the right tools and PPE. For most gardens you need thick gauntlet-style gloves, long sleeves, sturdy boots, eye protection, loppers, a pruning saw, a spade, a fork, a mattock for roots, and plenty of strong bags. A strimmer or brushcutter helps with long grass and nettles; wear ear and eye protection and keep other people well back. Leave chainsaws to people trained to use them.
4. Cut down the top growth. Start with grass, nettles and weeds. Cut them to about knee height first, then lower. This shows you the shape of the garden and anything hidden. Cut shrubs and saplings back to a manageable height, working from the outside in.
5. Clear the brambles. Cut the long stems at the base in small sections and pull them out with a rake or fork, not your hands. Brambles root where their tips touch the ground, so look for these rooted tips across the garden. Our bramble clearance page explains what a crew does with a heavy patch.
6. Dig out the roots. Cutting alone will not stop brambles, saplings and many weeds coming back. Dig out bramble crowns (the knotted base), sapling roots and perennial weed roots with a fork or mattock. Larger tree stumps are a job for a grinder; see stump grinding.
7. Deal with the waste. Choose between your council green bin, the tip, a skip, a green waste collection or a clearance firm (see the options below). Whoever takes it away, check they are a registered waste carrier first.
8. Finish and keep on top of it. Rake the ground, cover bare soil with mulch or a membrane if you are not planting straight away, and plan a light cut every few weeks through the growing season. A garden that has been cleared once is much easier to keep clear.

Getting rid of the waste

An overgrown garden produces far more waste than most people expect. Your options:

• Council garden waste bin. Cheap and slow. Most councils, including Birmingham, run a paid subscription for a green bin collected through the growing season. Good for a light tidy spread over several weeks, not for a big clear-out.
• The tip. Household recycling centres take garden waste. In Birmingham you usually need to book a slot, and vans have separate booking rules, so check your council's website first. Several car loads is realistic even for a small garden.
• A skip. Useful if there is also rubble, soil or general rubbish. Hire from a registered firm, and check whether you need a permit if it goes on the road.
• A green waste collection. A registered carrier loads it for you. Our price card puts this at about £80 for a car boot's worth up to about £330 for a full van.
• A clearance firm. They cut, clear and take the waste in one visit.

If your waste is fly-tipped and traced back to you, you can be fined even though you paid someone to take it. Our fly-tipping guide shows how to check a carrier on the Environment Agency register.

When to get help

Doing it yourself makes sense when the growth is mostly grass and weeds, you can get to every part of the garden, and you have somewhere to put the waste. Consider getting help when:

• brambles or shrubs are taller than you, or the garden has not been touched for years
• there are saplings or small trees to take out, or stumps to remove
• there is rubbish, rubble, old fencing or a shed to take down
• the only access is through the house
• you have a deadline, such as a house sale, probate or a new tenant
• you are not confident about wildlife, knotweed or asbestos-type shed roofs

Rough time estimates

These are rough, because every garden is different. A lightly overgrown small garden is typically a weekend's work for one person, plus trips to the tip. A moderately overgrown medium garden, such as the back garden of a typical semi, can take one person several weekends, where a two- or three-person crew with a van will often finish in a day. A heavily overgrown or abandoned garden may take a crew more than a day, and usually needs someone to look at it first.

What it costs to have it done

Our price card gives these indicative ranges, with waste removal included:

Access through the house, a long carry from the van, or mixed waste such as rubble can add to the price. The garden clearance cost guide explains what moves the number up or down.

Getting help from a local specialist

We are an introducer. We pass your enquiry to one local clearance specialist in your area, who confirms a fixed price from your photos. Start with:

• Overgrown garden clearance
• Bramble clearance
• Green waste removal
• Shed removal if there is a structure to go
• Hedge trimming for boundary hedges, but read about hedge cutting in nesting season first