August 2013
This used to be a garden. Several years of neglect have taken their toll. We started doing some cutting back, but we didn’t get far – we spent too much time running away to the seaside every time the weather was fine. Still, we had an enjoyable summer and at least we made a start on the gardening front.
February 2014
Some fine weather permitted pruning of apple trees, which got us started on a rather major garden clearance project. Pruning the giant buddleia at the end of the garden revealed that it was very rotten, so down it came. The pine tree that had got completely out of hand soon followed. The garden still looked a mess, but it was opening out. Suddenly there was space to hang out the washing. Woohoo!
April 2014
Two trenches dug, two retaining walls built – it seemed like a huge amount of work for two apparently tiny walls. However, the end of the garden is looking like a place where things might actually grow. There are spaces to keep wheelie bins and compost boxes hiding behind the small conifer tree near the end of the garden.
There is supposed to be a paved area in the middle of the garden (grass doesn’t do well in this small north-facing space), but most of the paving slabs are so sunken and overgrown that they have disappeared from view. Fixing that will be the next big project, but it has to wait until exam season is over.
August 2014
What a difference a year makes! The old paving slabs were all removed (some of them even came out in one piece!), the area was levelled (I can’t believe how much bigger it looks) and paving laid out ready to go back in.
Not finished, but getting there. We even had a go at sitting in the garden with a nice cup of coffee. Well, I had just been given a very fine new mug.