Hobbies and Crafts

Garden makeover was completed last Wednesday. Lots of bare earth to be planted up. The designer said that once it was completed and we knew that we hadn't found anything horrid when we dug down, she would do a suggested planting plan for us. We have emailed her but had no response so I think she may be on holiday. There are some bits we can be getting on with in the meantime.

We've ordered a new set of garden furniture - table, six chairs, parasol. Although we have a big seating area, I am a bit worried that the furniture will look a bit overwhelming, particularly with the parasol up. But OH wanted this set so I've given in. If I give in over this I might get my own way on other things :-D

It's still a small garden with two very large sheds in neighbouring gardens which are not attractive to look at, but it is a hundred times better than it was and hopefully when it is planted up we won't notice the sheds so much.

All in all, I am really pleased and think it was worth the money it cost :-D :-D

Ann, I have to go out now but I'll pm you later about putting a few photos on your blog. I've withered on about my little garden so often that it might be nice if people can see what I have been going on about.

Mine looked amazing last week, now as you say Ann, it all either needs cutting back or watering or has gone over. The Roses have just about had it.

We have a big family do here on Sunday and I have resorted to filling the gaps with some new plants, luckily I went to the local garden centre and they had a load of plants that, really, just needed a good soak.They came up fine and have plugged the holes nicely. Everything else is so big now you can't see the pots, so they look like they are growing in the beds.

The other problem is that my lovely lawn is going brown. I hate to say it but we do need a good downpour, the rain we have had recently hasn't come to much at all.

M.

Why does everything suddenly need attention, dead heading, cutting back, weeding watering etc when we are due to be away a couple of days.

Oh that is a shame. for him as well as you. I hope he won't be ill for too long. I am sure he will come back as soon as he can as time is money when you are self emplyed. It does sound as though he should not have double booked for these few days, especially as so much soil need removing from the front of the house. Always the worry that somebody will be helping themselves to it as well. Is it covered? It is a shame as it was going so well.

Thank you Ann. I'll do that. Him indoors has been taking a couple of photos after the men leave each day.

We have now hit our first real problem. Till now we have had two men most days, three on a couple of days. Yesterday boss man said he would be on his own now as his men were needed elsewhere but he said he would work over the weekend and hoped to finish on Monday. Early this morning he rang to say he was unwell and wouldn't be able to come.

Poor man didn't sound too good so I feel sorry for him but it's a real nuisance. Car parking is becoming very difficult. We are in a really tiny cul de sac leading off a narrow little road. All the deliveries have to go in front of our house or in our garage. Two loads of top soil arrived last night and were tipped next to the big pile of sand and the skip already in front of the house. Only 3 of the 6 houses here have their own garages and the other three are a bit precious about "their" parking spaces. This week we have been parking beside the house of a neighbour who is on holiday but he will be back soon. I think we will then have to park at a nearby community centre. The builders already do this, having been moaned at by a neighbour for being in the way.

I hope our builder man recovers quickly for our sake as well as his.

When it is finished Vera, if you can e mail me photos (I will give you my e mail address, I can put it on the photo blog for others to see. It sounds lovely and I am sure it will give you a lot of pleasure. :-) :-)

Garden makeover is still coming along nicely though the boss man has just admitted to me that it won't be finished tomorrow. We always said 2 weeks was a bit ambitious and they have had no hold ups from the weather but deliveries have sometimes been a problem. The bulk bag of pebbles we want can't be delivered till Tuesday. If the men have finished before then it will be me and OH carting them round to the back of the house and putting them in place.

Ann the hard landscaping is mostly paving, with blocks of different sizes. There is also a low wall, just 3 bricks high, across the garden, creating 2 levels. The wall doesn't go straight but has some shaping to it and there is a step up in 2 places. At the moment the men are spreading out the soil on the upper level before cutting a circle which will have a birdbath in the middle, a small planting area round that and a narrow gravel path round that. There are also areas that are filled with pebbles, particularly two largish areas where the designer suggested I put the pots of blueberry plants and some of the hostas that I want to keep.

Writing it down like that makes it sound very big but, as I've said before, it's quite a small garden. I think the design makes the most of the space we've got and makes it look bigger.

Can't wait to start on planting now.

Glad it is all coming together Vera What sort of paving/hard landscaping are you using?

Garden makeover is coming along well. One or two minor problems but between them the boss man builder and OH have come up with answers. There is a lot of paving and hard landscaping but I think when we get some plants in and edges softened it will look OK.

There is going to be a small circular section with a narrow gravel path around it so while we were out today we looked at gravel. I found a golden flint. How do you explain to a not very artistic male that this will look much better than the normal brownish/orangey/yellowish garden gravel, even if it does cost twice as much? I think I am getting my own way over that one :-D

Help.....just glanced out of the window and saw that the cat had thrown up on some newly laid paving :-0 and we are not supposed to walk on it till tomorrow. Now do I risk the wrath of the builders and walk on their paving or do I leave it for them to find in the morning :-S. Solution: Hand the problem over to OH to deal with :-D

Lovely roses in your avatar Maryanna. A lot of ours are over since we got back, not sure what weather they had here while we were away for 10 days but most of the garden is fine, just the roses gone over.

I am really excited for you Vera, keep us posted on the progress.

M.

It will be lovely Vera, I hope you are keeping a photo diary of the progress from how it was to how it is finished so we can put it on the blog. :-)

Men returned and now paving is broken up, fence panels out here and there. Skip is coming later today or first thing tomorrow and so is a turf cutter thingy to take up all the grass. I'm already fed up with the mess and noise and they have only just started. I keep telling myself it'll be worth it in the end.

Well, my garden makeover has started. At least I think it has. An hour ago a couple of men arrived and unloaded a load of equipment and then disappeared again. I assume they'll be back to do something soon.

Don't breath too deeply around it Vera :-D

Oops. I am so naive I had to google to find out what the cannabis plant looked like. I don't think my plant is pot but if you read of a grey haired grandmother being arrested in Suffolk you'll know I got it wrong.

Vera, my mother in law had a wonderful plant growing in her aviary. None of us had any idea what it was until a friend of my brother in law, who was a policeman came.

It turned out to be Pot. The seed had come from the bird food !!!!!

Not long now until your garden makeover, just keep an eye on Froggy.

Gwyn, let me know if any of those look familiar, I will get the books out again if not.

M. X

Maryanna,

Thank you for looking for the plant.
I will have a Google look and report back.........

Gwyn

Breaking news...............we have a new frog in the garden :-D

Some of you might remember I got quite attached to a frog that seemed to have taken up residence with us. When we had a new garden design drawn up I got the designer to include a tiny sunken rectangle of water "for the resident frog" and then the ungrateful thing went and died.

In the garden a short while ago another frog popped out from behind a flower pot and hopped about the grass a bit before sitting and looking at me. I put a large shallow bowl of water with a couple of large pebbles in it by the spot where I first saw him/her and hope he is going to stay. My only worry is that the men doing the garden makeover might scoop him up with their mini-digger.

The work on the garden starts on 22 June so it is all steam ahead now and hopefully we will be planting up from mid-July on. I'm getting quite excited now.

I've got two plants in the garden that I think have grown from seeds dropped by birds or possibly blown in on the wind. I thought at first they were lupins as the leaves looked just like lupins but now I am having second thoughts. One of them at least has grown quite a lot, the leaves are now quite big and it looks a bit shrubby. There is no sign of any flower stalk but the thing that really makes me think they are not lupins is that the hundreds of snails we have in the garden haven't touched them. Any ideas what they could be?

Well Gwyn, I am looking. Not having much luck though !!!!

Got lots of books to try, will keep at it.

M.

Edit, could it be, a Himalayan Knotweed ? It is part of the Dock family so has similar leaves. Small white bell shaped flower, reddish stem, likes wasteland.

Or, if the leaves are toothed, maybe Fat Hen, Goosefoot or Orache.