Most depressing sight seen in a garden

For us it was a couple of years ago, and it happened to a 7 metre Magnolia grandiflora.

We took our customer to Italy to had pick this specimen, and they picked a real beauty.

As the plant was in the ground, we had to wait until it was safe to lift. Sure enough come October the plant was lifted and on it's way to the UK.

We unloaded it so carefully, and it was delivered to our customer in London. There was one potential problem though. As the house where it was due to be planted was under re-development, the Magnolia had to be lifted over the house on a crane.

Imagine the sight, a 7 metre Magnolia grandiflora being craned over a house, wow.

The plant hit the ground safely, big sigh!, but then whilst trying to position the plant to it's best side, they barked the tree!!! Shock horror.

All that effort, lifted and loaded in Italy, unloaded and re-loaded by us, then craned over a house.

Then in the final moments, the plant was destroyed, really very sad.

A 30 year old plant, dead.

nearly every time you go near a hedge to quote/ cut this happens lol - party hedges are a pain.

every time you trim one side , you have to/end up doing the whole lot f.o.c for the neighbour as it never looks neat/right ! and customer only pays you for efforts to do their side ;) :/ lol

Pro Gard said:

Probably a hedge reduction job that i got cajoled into doing on recommendation, two neighbors and the end result pleased no one including me. one house looked in to the others bedroom and lost privacy, the other gained a fraction more light but the permanent souring of neighborly friendship. I was left in a surreal position with two lots of upset people who both felt let down and wronged by the other

I did the best to please both parties and got paid but had to leave the job in a state that was not pleasing to me, fine one side but the other left higher and uneven but the customer didn't want it reduced any further to level it as this would reduce the privacy even more.

I still work for the one customer, and the hedge has now grown and balanced out in height but the situation is the source of some regret for me. Neither party blamed me but I felt caught up in the sorry episode by association.

Replies

Lawncare-4u.co.uk November 9, 2010 at 9:31pm

nearly every time you go near a hedge to quote/ cut this happens lol - party hedges are a pain.

every time you trim one side , you have to/end up doing the whole lot f.o.c for the neighbour as it never looks neat/right ! and customer only pays you for efforts to do their side ;) :/ lol

Pro Gard said:
Probably a hedge reduction job that i got cajoled into doing on recommendation, two neighbors and the end result pleased no one including me. one house looked in to the others bedroom and lost privacy, the other gained a fraction more light but the permanent souring of neighborly friendship. I was left in a surreal position with two lots of upset people who both felt let down and wronged by the other

I did the best to please both parties and got paid but had to leave the job in a state that was not pleasing to me, fine one side but the other left higher and uneven but the customer didn't want it reduced any further to level it as this would reduce the privacy even more.

I still work for the one customer, and the hedge has now grown and balanced out in height but the situation is the source of some regret for me. Neither party blamed me but I felt caught up in the sorry episode by association.
Lawncare-4u.co.uk November 9, 2010 at 9:33pm

big big shame - i love them . have to go to 'Isabella's garden' @ Richmond park f.o.c
Claire Brown November 9, 2010 at 11:16pm

mine was the Supposed "tree surgeon" cutting my neighbours apple tree - when I said, oh good you're thinning it out for them, he said, - no just cutting it back, and he did, leaving a round ball of a tree, still totally overcrowded, which hasn't flowered or fruited this year, and is looking very sorry for itself. - Luckily it obviously isn't the only pollinator for my apple tree as that has had fruit this year, - or i'd be even more depressed.

Just goes back to the other conversation about just having a certificate for tree cutting doesn't make you knowledgable about how to prune trees.
Annoying thing is that I'd worked out exactly where it needed pruning, but don't have the equipment to do it.
David Cox November 9, 2010 at 11:19pm

Trimming a 10ft beech hedge, when I took the inevitable peak over into the neighbours rear garden, to see a 50m x 10m garden covered in plum slate with a square of red concrete slabs down the sides and in the middle.
Absolutely tasteless - and a waste of a garden many people would give anything to have! The front garden was MOT 1 hardcore with 3 taxi's on.
Total waste of space, if you dont want a garden, get a flat!
PRO

Gary RK November 10, 2010 at 1:02pm

Me in shorts on a hot sunny day - a most depressing site in any garden..;-)
AndyCharles-EnborneGardeningCo November 10, 2010 at 6:25pm

Do you get the feeling Gaynor's on a mission to make us all take off our clothes? And in winter too... Now that would be a depressing sight.

Gaynor Witchard said:
Heh heh :()

Go on - give us a laugh - show us a photo ...if Rowly can bare his head all I'm sure you can bare your legs...

Gary RK said:
Me in shorts on a hot sunny day - a most depressing site in any garden..;-)
PRO

Gary RK November 10, 2010 at 6:29pm

That so temps a rude reply.....

john pugh grass roots said:
gooble gooble !!!

Andy Charles said:
Do you get the feeling Gaynor's on a mission to make us all take off our clothes? And in winter too... Now that would be a depressing sight.

Gaynor Witchard said:
Heh heh :()

Go on - give us a laugh - show us a photo ...if Rowly can bare his head all I'm sure you can bare your legs...

Gary RK said:
Me in shorts on a hot sunny day - a most depressing site in any garden..;-)
PRO

Gary RK November 10, 2010 at 6:40pm

Perhaps a new money making venture to finanically support LJN ?

Phil can pose with his Hoe positioned provocatively....
AndyCharles-EnborneGardeningCo November 10, 2010 at 6:44pm

You first.

Gaynor Witchard said:
Just think of it... 'Landscape Legs' - it would be a great laugh!

john pugh grass roots said:
now steady on gaynor

Gaynor Witchard said:
Landscape juice calendar....?

Andy Charles said:
Do you get the feeling Gaynor's on a mission to make us all take off our clothes? And in winter too... Now that would be a depressing sight.

Gaynor Witchard said:
Heh heh :()

Go on - give us a laugh - show us a photo ...if Rowly can bare his head all I'm sure you can bare your legs...

Gary RK said:
Me in shorts on a hot sunny day - a most depressing site in any garden..;-)
AndyCharles-EnborneGardeningCo November 10, 2010 at 7:04pm

Juicy Landscape Ladies? Now you're talking.

Gaynor Witchard said:
Is that a challenge Andy? On the other ~~leg~~ hand, I wouldn't have thought Landscape Ladies' Legs would be depressing...

Andy Charles said:
You first.

Gaynor Witchard said:
Just think of it... 'Landscape Legs' - it would be a great laugh!

john pugh grass roots said:
now steady on gaynor

Gaynor Witchard said:
Landscape juice calendar....?

Andy Charles said:
Do you get the feeling Gaynor's on a mission to make us all take off our clothes? And in winter too... Now that would be a depressing sight.

Gaynor Witchard said:
Heh heh :()

Go on - give us a laugh - show us a photo ...if Rowly can bare his head all I'm sure you can bare your legs...

Gary RK said:
Me in shorts on a hot sunny day - a most depressing site in any garden..;-)