May 2001
September 2003
July 2005
There is a trellis to (hopefully) hide the dustbins and a new, narrow bed where there were paving slabs before although we had to import soil as there was not a great deal there already.
May 2001
August 2006
After the wedding we spent April and May of 2003 creating a new bed behind the patio. This became necessary because mowing what was supposedly a lawn at the back was proving nigh on impossible. It consisted mainly of moss and stones and even the best mower was defeated.
Forming the new bed involved cutting down a holly and laurel and using some of the stones dug up from various parts of the garden to make some steps so that we could get from one level to another without going all the way round the trellis. We did consider taking the trellis out but it was well and truly concreted in to some enormous stones and would have involved a huge amount of effort so we decided to work round it.
OH also decided we needed a gryphon to guard the work we had done!
OH also decided we needed a gryphon to guard the work we had done!
The bed at the side of the house is bordered by a wall which does not belong to us and is a particularly nasty shade of yuk. We put up some baskets with easy-care plants so that from the house window we had something lovely to look at.
As the wall has to be kept clear for inspection by Council engineers, should they so wish, the solution was to grow plants a couple of feet away from the wall but the baskets are, of course, removable and have been completely ignored ever since and are blooming!
As the wall has to be kept clear for inspection by Council engineers, should they so wish, the solution was to grow plants a couple of feet away from the wall but the baskets are, of course, removable and have been completely ignored ever since and are blooming!
In January 2004 we decided to have a conservatory built at the back of the house and this involved a real re-think in the back garden.
Then in February that year (gluttons for punishment) we asked the same firm to replace our front door and we then refurbished the porch as the previous door had opened in the opposite direction. We also had a new front window so much was going on.
During July and August 2004 we installed a small pebble pool outside the garden door of the conservatory.
It was a very wet August Bank Holiday when we hired a turf-stripping machine to remove both front and back lawns which had always been a problem. With the slope on the front and the moss in the back they were never going to be other than labour-intensive and a couple of small springs meant that improving the drainage was not possible. Of course, stripping off the turf was only the first step and after that we had to find places to put the turf, some to the tip (very heavy) and some just turned over to break down over the winter in secluded nooks and crannies. There was a riot of weeds, dandelions and creeping buttercup and I still think our weeds are the best in the area!
It was a very wet August Bank Holiday when we hired a turf-stripping machine to remove both front and back lawns which had always been a problem. With the slope on the front and the moss in the back they were never going to be other than labour-intensive and a couple of small springs meant that improving the drainage was not possible. Of course, stripping off the turf was only the first step and after that we had to find places to put the turf, some to the tip (very heavy) and some just turned over to break down over the winter in secluded nooks and crannies. There was a riot of weeds, dandelions and creeping buttercup and I still think our weeds are the best in the area!
With the lawns gone, we laid black sheeting and gravel and bark to make paths and planted up the back garden. The view of the back fence taken in September 2004 gives an idea of how much work had been done since 2001.
The shed had to be re-sited in the back and the path along the side of the house in the front given some attention. A clematis supposed to be suitable for a north facing wall failed miserably within two weeks of planting so there is now a splendid pyracantha taking shape up the trellis.
We used the broken paving slabs from the side path to widen the driveway and flatten the area at the bottom of the drive where steps lead up to the footpath which runs around the side of the house.
The area below these steps and path has proved the most troublesome as it is very steep; when there is rain the stones are green with lichen and treacherous and when it is very dry the dust is choking!
This photo taken in September 2004 shows a great improvement in the bank under the footpath although subsequently, we decided that the cotoneaster horizontalis in the front was becoming over-large and it had to go! This was completed in April 2006 and we flattened out the area and made a lovely bed planted mainly with primulas.
Meanwhile, cultivation continued through the spring of 2005 but the major project for this time was the removal of the patio. This was paved with horrible pink and yellow concrete slabs which always looked stained. Determined that no car springs were to be risked whilst removing said slabs we hired a skip and took great delight in chucking these things in - that is once they were broken down into chuckable lumps!
There was no way that I would want to re-use them as they were really awful.
There was no way that I would want to re-use them as they were really awful.
Underneath was what appeared to be the remains of an outbuilding from the farm on whose land these houses were built and it was not practical to try to remove any of it without a digger which would not have been able to access the area. This limited the design a little but in the end became a virtue as we already had a framework on which to build.
Originally, I had planted five clematis in large pots which were already growing up the trellis. It was with some trepidation and not a little care that they were removed and replanted. This was in July 2005 and was completely the wrong time to do anything at all with them; however, they all survived and two years later are flourishing.
We followed the foundations of the outbuilding and used a combination of gravel, decking and flowerbeds to produce a really lovely place to sit providing that the weather obliges!
We followed the foundations of the outbuilding and used a combination of gravel, decking and flowerbeds to produce a really lovely place to sit providing that the weather obliges!
We bought a couple of arches for the newly planted back garden and the result in summer and autumn of 2005 was something to be proud of.
May 2003
July 2005
May 2001
September 2004
September 2004
September 2004
September 2004
September 2004