Rental property - removing dead plants??

We are renting a 3 bed semi for the past year. The front garden is half owned by the neighbours who keep their side well kept. There are two flower areas in each of our corners and lately they have been looking a bit untidy and lifeless so I purchased some potted flowers (nothing too fancy or that will overgrow - petunias and scented pinks) and planted them on Sunday.

While I was doing this, I noticed that the small bush that is in the centre of one of the beds is dead and all the leaves are gone brown. I really want to remove this and plant other flowers or another bush where it was as its ruining the look of the newly improved bed.

My issue is the house is rented - I know the landlord wont have an issue with the small flowers planted as its keeping the place nice and welcoming. Could some landlords on this site please advise if they would be ok with this bush being removed if it were their property? I will obviously approach the landlord before I proceed as I want to re-varnish the wood panelling in the back garden as well, but I would like to know other landlords stance on something like this.

Thank you!

I'd suggest you mention it to the landlord, who will most likely be delighted you are tending to the garden. Chances are, if there is no growth at this stage of the year, it is dead....loads of plants died off this winter. But some are only just coming back.

I had a fab fuschia in a rented property & the tenant dug it up 'cos she didn't like it (springtime & it looked about miserable). It had been there for about 20 years & was magnificant in the summer.

I'm generally OK to let tenants do what they want within reason. What I don;t want is something that will add extra maintenance for me when they move on (one tenant decided to paint the "caps oin the wall & pillars - yes, it looked lovely when it was first done, but I now have to redo it every couple of years).

I had one great girl & her mother moved over and the garden was stunning when she left. She even used to bake me cakes !!! Chances are the landlord will be thrilled.

Well its not a fuschia thats for sure!! TBH I dont know what it is, it was never in great nick to begin with but now just looks so sad, brown and crispy next to the nice new bright plants which have taken well. We havent changed anything else in the house and the back garden has no plants at all, just grass. I really want to spruce the place up for the summer as we spent a lot of time in the back garden last year. The wet winter meant the back timber boards which surround the garden on all sides is faded badly, and all the neighbours are looking lovely after being recently done. I can see them from my rear window!!! I'll be ringing him definitely, I just wanted to be sure I wasnt being cheeky. I might chance watching the bush for a few weeks to see does some life come into it first, if theres nothing I will call him

Just be careful it isn't a beech or something like that, it goes brown and retains it's leaves in the winter, only to burst into green leaf again as the weather gets warmer.
http://www.barlownurseries.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Beechhedge.jpg

Check with the LL....probably no issue

In relation to sprucing up the rest of the garden where there is just grass. Why not do it with pots so you will be able to enjoy them & bring them with you when you move on? Plus the landlord does not end up with a load of bushes he has to trim back every year. Win/win

Some of my "dead" plants are just starting to show signs of life again, so I'd be inclined to give it another couple of weeks.

There was a long post on here about a year ago about tenants who removed a rare tree to make room for their motor home, so check with LL first.

Rear garden already has potted plants to spruce up so I'm happy enough with that - I dont want to mess with the back garden as the green square looks nice and is easy to maintain. The park we are in is well maintained by other house owners so its just the front I want to spruce up for summer.

He's a decent landlord so I've no issue with ringing him and asking - just as long as its not un-common and he wont think I'm being cheeky We like the house and will stay here until we are in a position to buy ourselves so its in our interest to keep it nice.

Wow! What a wonderful tenant to have - to want to make improvements to the property off your own bat. Let me know when you want to rent in Dublin.
As a landlord my tenants must be hippies - or people who like wild gardens - my lovely back garden which was transformed into a no-maintenance garden before they moved in is suddenly looking like a flower-power area - weeds coming up through the paving stones - shrubs dotted around the garden to improve the ambience suddenly reaching for the skies and the rest of the garden area - . I'm not really complaining - just each to his/her own.

Always best to let landlord know if you intend to make changes - even if you percieve them as improvements.

Rois said:

There was a long post on here about a year ago about tenants who removed a rare tree to make room for their motor home, so check with LL first.

Click to expand...

This is the thread Rois mentioned.

Thanks for that Rois - TG our position is a lot less severe!! I must have a look at our contract tonight to see what the stance is exactly but I think I'll hold off a few weeks to see can I re-nourish the bush - you never know! It could look very pretty with a bit of life.

Thanks everyone for the posts!

hi there, i am agree with Mr. sam h. he is making point here.