Thanks that is pretty much what I am doing right now because I am afraid to do anything else without knowing! I was told it was originally supposed to be like an english cottage garden. I really appreciate the detailed response. I will keep going at it! Thanks again!

Oh one thing I am wondering. Since an english garden is supposed to be more natural and not as landscaped I am wondering if the decorative grasses were originally put in on purpose. Now its tall and invasive. Should I just pull all grasses with weeds? I can't see past it all to the plants so I'm not sure if I should cut it back or cut it out.

If the choice is to cut it back or cut it out, what harm would cutting it back do? Take the grasses that you're not sure are ornamental for instance. You could cut them back so you can see what's on the other side of them and get the ivy and blackberry there. If it turns out to be ornamental grass, you've already pruned it and it's good to go. If it turns out to be invasive or you don't want it, you're already half way to having it be gone.

Hire a garden consultant who is supposed to know their plants to tell you what they think most things there are, talk about what these plants are like and how their characteristics might affect what you want to do.

While it is true that people often take over a place and then gut an existing garden, without paying much attention to - let alone respecting what was accomplished on the site before they came to it - you also do not want to go about it as if you were a new curator of a public collection, entrusted to maintain plants and other features belonging to other people. It's your place now, to be managed in a way that meets your own personal requirements.

also, after removing the weeds, you might want wait a full year before doing anything drastic. you never know what will pop up once you free up light and space in a neglected garden.

Well I would love to hire a specialist but I can't afford that right now. So I am trying my hardest to make sure I do it right. I definitely will not be pulling out anything that I don't know for sure what it is. The grass would look good cut back as long as I can get past it to the weeds! Thanks guys!

You've got great advice here. I just want to cheer you on because springtime here is so overwhelming, even with an established garden. Everything needs doing at once! The work does slow down as the season progresses. One thing that you might want to watch: stuff grows here and light and shaddows change, so what the previous owners planted in full sun might be shaded now and not be so happy in their location. I'm amazed at how my sunny spots have disappeared over the years. Have fun and see what surprises pop up in your new garden.

Take pictures and post them here, we'll help you.

The grasses probably are ornamental grasses, which have been very popular in gardens for the last decade or more. Many do need to be pruned down once a year and can get unsightly with old dried stems if they aren't.

Is the pond still there? Are the fish? I have about ten water features myself. Love my ponds.

I agree with Gardengal's advice, tackle the weeds first. Aphids won't kill anything. They are just icky.

There are no fish in the pond I need to replace the liner so I can refill it. I live in albany oregon. Thanks for all the great advice I will post pics.

Take before and after pictures! I didn't and I wish i had :-(

Blackberries..... grrrrrrrr

I went to my house today (still not totally moved in) and found some new buds! Irises! Yay I'm so excited! And there is a flower I can't for the life of me think of its name and I would love to post pics but can't figure out how from my phone which is my only source of internet right now. Anyone know how I post pics? Sometimes phones hide things that are obvious on computer screens lol! But as soon as I figure it out I will get them up. Blackberries are just horribly taking over. Every time I look at it I go neurotic! My hubby got a huge root and said "baby, I have killed for you"! Ha I love him! So pics soon! Thanks

You might as well eat the black raspberries while you're working, they are pretty tasty.... Keep a lot of jewelweed, it is an antidote for poison ivy, and indeed the two tend to grow near each other. Have fun - you don't have to do everything perfectly. Try not to cause a mass extinction, but otherwise it is ok to accidentally kill some things.

I just wanted to say we're in the same boat, but 1 year in. We bought a 100 year old house last April that hadn't been lived in for at least 15 years, but had obviously been gardened in the past.

We cleared the invasives last summer, relocated or removed plants that were really in the wrong place (like 15' tall rhodies in front of the windows), had an arborist in to clean up all the huge trees, planted in the steep slopes to stabilize them, and mulched the whole 1/4 acre with dead leaves from the road in the fall. So far this spring (year 2) has been beating back the invasives, seeing what bulbs come up and wintersowing so I have plants to fill in all the bare spaces.

Keep at it! When I look out I often just see all the work that needs to be done, but my neighbors are very excited at the progress. And I try to look at photos from last year to remember how far I've come. I figure it may take 5-10 years to revive her garden completely (I have 3/4 acre) but it's only getting better. :)

I know this post started in 2010, so I'm a little late to the ball, but I hope this helps some of the newer posters who have similar pest problems like the OP...

Having recently bought a New England property that has been vacant for nearly three years (the past two years has seen the care of a "property preservation" company...) the nearly one acre was wooded and about one third of the rest was developed at one time... Now, it's a wild mess and with the company's "care", the lawn is another third its original size... Also, being in New England and wooded with neglect, I not only, have grubs,worms and all the other nasties that come with neglect, I have ticks and fleas... (I also have dogs too... Mine of course...)

Recently, I have discovered, "benificial Nematodes". for the grubs, ticks, fleas, beetles and who knows what else is living under years of neglect. They're a natural roundworm and come in two varieties, (lay in wait for their prey and seekers) neither lasts past the winter... but, they do their job begining after only a few days...

So, there is an idea to rid an overgrown area of subterainian pest to begin a reclaimation project without broad spectrum herbisides...

In 1979 we bought a house that had been in the 40s -50s a showcase garden. I wondered why anyone would plant roses in the woods. There were ponds and cement "sculptures" in the woods. Square foot or square yard it was cleared. We still fight English Ivy, but the 60 year old rhodies are worth it. Only saved one rose bush, I think a Queen Anne and it has grown to be almost 20 feet high. I transplanted hundreds of bulbs around the deciduous trees. The original owner had island gardens - over the years I have started to do islands again. Take pictures to remember all the progress.