New homeowner overwhelmed after discovering decade-old garden takeover: 'There is stuff growing everywhere'

Moving can be stressful. Moving into a previously abandoned house? Even more so. Add a large garden that's been abandoned for more than a decade, and, well, even the best of us could be overwhelmed.

That's the dilemma facing a Reddit user who just bought a house in northern Portugal. They explained in the r/gardening subreddit that the home had been empty for at least 10 years and that the garden had likely been neglected even longer.

The family is rebuilding the house, and the original poster said they'd like to get the garden into better condition before moving in, although that's easier said than done.

"There is stuff growing everywhere," the poster wrote. "Some of it I can identify … but the majority of it is just complete wild weed cover, privet saplings, green shoots of who knows what. Everywhere."

Included in the "garden chaos" is a tall oleander, which, while beautiful, can be toxic, especially to children and animals.

Dealing with an overgrown garden can be daunting, but it also provides opportunities. Because the garden hasn't been touched for so long, much of what's growing there could be native to the region, providing the homeowner with a chance to have a natural, wild yard.

Lawns full of native plants are beneficial to the local ecosystem, providing a healthy place for pollinators. They also require less maintenance and water than other types of lawns.

Not to mention they can look absolutely gorgeous.

Many commenters said that the OP should first safely remove the oleander from their garden and then tackle the rest in manageable chunks, with a focus on keeping the native plants that have likely grown in the garden over the past decade.

How much time do you spend taking care of your houseplants, garden, or yard each week? Less than 30 minutes 🌵 Thirty minutes to an hour 🪴 One to two hours 🌱 Over two hours 🏡 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"While abandoned, it may still have some perennial plants or bulbs that will recover as they compete less with the surrounding plant life," one Redditor wrote. "Congratulations on what will likely be the most rewarding renovation ever!"

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