An Australian gardener has issued a warning to homeowners and renters alike about the importance of looking after their backyard after having to tackle what he calls the country's “most weed-ridden garden”.
Nathan Stafford of Nathan's Lawns and Gardens, who has gained social media fame for helping struggling Australians who can't afford to maintain their own unruly gardens, told Yahoo News Australia he frequently receives requests to clear overgrown vegetation in neighbourhoods.
But this week a Sydney gardener admitted he was dealing with the most weed-ridden garden ever in Sydney's inner west. Mr Stafford said he was in the area when someone told him a nearby garden had become “an absolute nightmare”, so he went to have a look.
“It's awful. It's so awful. The jungle has taken over,” Stafford told Yahoo this week. “I had heard about it a few days ago, but then I went outside and actually saw it through the fence and I couldn't believe it. It's been years and years of growth.”
Video shared on Stafford's social media accounts shows the scale of the operation, with trees and bushes growing far beyond the wooden fence, and shows Stafford attempting to cut down overgrown shrubs, which ends up leaving him knee-deep in vegetation.
Stafford (right) spent an hour cleaning up the yard, but said there's still a lot of work to be done. Credit: Nathan Stafford
Gardener warning about overgrown garden
After spending an hour in the garden, Stafford said he's only managed a third of the space — “there's still so much more to do,” he acknowledged — but the gardener said unkempt gardens like this one need attention.
Long grass and unruly shrubs and bushes are the perfect habitat for snakes, spiders and other unwanted guests – a warning previously issued by Australian veterinarian Dr Liam Donaldson.
“Make sure everything is well-mown… grass that's relatively short and trimmed tends to give them less room to live.” [snakes] To hide,” he told Yahoo.
Gardener has 'near miss' while working in backyard
But Stafford acknowledged that he always stays prepared: “I usually wear long pants, long sleeves, a mask and stuff, gloves, so I'm pretty well prepared,” he said.
“But I've come close to losing my life,” he continued. “I've been bitten by a redback spider, and I've been bitten by a lot of spiders over the years that I've been in this business.”
“But one time, a brown snake was right next to my steel-capped boots and attacked me. I was lucky I was wearing steel-capped boots because I didn't see the snake until I looked down, heard a noise and saw it was at my feet.”
Gardener reveals when to call in the pros
The Sydney-born gardener, whose growing popularity drew him to New Zealand last month, advises homeowners to call in the professionals when their gardens “get to that level”, for a few reasons.
“You'll find that most homeowners don't have the specialized tools. It's really hard to get through these thick things with just standard household tools,” he said. “And there's a lot of nasty stuff that can get in there and you have to be very careful.”
Stafford's efforts were met with praise and gratitude from his Facebook followers.
“Nas, you really put in all your effort. I hope he appreciates your efforts,” one person said.
“Well done, this is what you do if you feel overwhelmed with work,” commented another, while a third added: “Amazing work in the jungle,”.
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