An update on the new garden build…

The new build in the front garden is far from complete. You know how it goes….the builders have ground to a halt as they are waiting for the digger man to clear a mountain of soil from where hubs new shed will sit, and the digger man has gone AWOL for a few weeks. Still, he plans on returning to work this Thursday and Friday, so hopefully building work will resume next week.

So…. a quick tour is in order. Above is to the left of the drive, an area hubs and I now grandly refer to as The Steps! Well, there are actually four steps here.

Most of the plants that we dug up and stockpiled have now been re-planted, hundreds in all, although they don’t look much yet. The left wall, adjourning our neighbours’ fence, is now planted out with a variety of soft fruit. The un-flagged part will be turfed to add a little greenery to soften the hard landscaping.

The shorter wall, to the right, is now planted with herbs. There is also an olive tree in each curved corner.

The railing wall has an assortment of shrubs that will hopefully enjoy this sunny new border. I just need everything to grow.

I miscalculated when designing this, now of course, the dogs can run up the steps and over the walls to freedom! Hopefully those fruit bushes will thicken out next year. Oh, and obviously there is a pond, needing sorting, but still….a pond!

To the right of the drive is a large chunk of the original garden. An enormous shipment of stones is due to arrive when the builders have finished, which will hopefully keep the weeds down. As I weed these borders, I’m covering them with soaked newspapers and cardboard which will then be covered with weed fabric and stones. The lawn needs to be raked thoroughly before mowing as it’s full of rubble and cement from the build.

Lots of work to do….sighs, but you can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs!

To the far right of the original garden is another raised bed area. The wall at the back is reserved for my taters and the two raised beds in front of it will be used for vegetables. The large circular area is to be another lawn, again, a little greenery to hopefully break up the harshness of it all. Hopefully the digger man will remove the rubble from the lawn areas this week. Oh, and a new fence has been installed which will certainly out-live us!

The fence still needs to come out on the left in a square allowing for hubs new shed, which will then be in the back garden, if that makes sense!

The monkey puzzle tree has a circle of it’s own. It stands out beautifully now.

The new fence dividing the front and back garden.

The tater patch! This and the other raised beds are sure going to need a shedload of top soil.

In other news, Sam is doing great, thirty seven weeks now and still galloping.

Curly cat is also thriving although he is mainly skin and bone now despite devouring five pouches and biscuits daily.

Daughter and I took Littl’urchin on her first ghost train, we were more scared than her!

And Finally…

Amongst other things I’ve been weeding dog yards in the rescue on the hottest days of the year. At.Last.It.Has.Rained!

Until next time, stay safe guys.xxx

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13 Comments

  1. Beautiful !. I do like the mix of colours in the brick work that gives some interest and breaks up the large areas. It will look different again once the plants are well established. And you are so fortunate to have a monkey puzzle tree.
    It will certainly be much easier for you to manage in the future.
    I did laugh at the photo of you all being scared on the ghost train. What fun !
    And finally I do have to correct you on the saying that you can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs lol. I am sure you have enjoyed many delicious vegan ‘omelettes’ where no eggs were used. 😄
    Thanks for this glimpse into your life. It always brightens my day. X

  2. lowcarbdiabeticJan

    Many thanks for your recent comment on the low carb diabetic blog.
    We had a lovely break away.

    Sending my good wishes, enjoy the bank holiday weekend.

    All the best Jan

  3. I’m late to the party, but I can’t get over your amazing new garden! I am really envious, we need to do some paving or define areas in the garden the way you have done. Good luck with the building work, we had a new kitchen put in earlier this year, and it was exhausting! Lovely to see the dogs and Curly cat, and it will be interesting to see them cope with the new garden, good luck with training them not to jump over the wall! Great to see you and your daughter looking terrified and your granddaughter looking curious!
    Thank you for the comment you sent to my blog today, I realised I haven’t received the usual email alerting me to your recent posts, so I’m going to ”follow” your blog again, to make sure I can keep in touch. Who knows how these things happen. Best wishes.

  4. Wow, what an amazing project it all looks amazing. You have obviously given it so much thought and I am sure that will pay off for you in the years to come. I love it. Sorry it has taken me so long to comment, I have been offline for a few weeks and am now slowly catching up on some blog reading.

  5. Oh wow, the garden looks amazing! So much work has been done to achieve such a stunning workable space. Lol, hmm, how to ‘train’ the dogs to not hop the fence, good luck. Such an amount of disruption while it was going on but the reward looks awesome.

  6. OMG ! To use some British phrasing ” I am gob smacked !!” is that one word or two ? LOL … this is such an amazing change I can’t get over it all … I love that the Monkey Puzzle tree has it’s own unique space. The only reason I know anything about that tree is because they grow in British Columbia .. where my husband grew up and we lived on Vancouver Island for a while .. I can’t grow that tree here in Ontario or I would, so I want to share your tree if you don’t mind ? LOL … It is truly a huge project and it is looking amazing .. you are going to find it much easier to look after as well I think .. Good for Sam ! Curly cat will catch up with all that eating 😉 Take care and stay safe with this Monkey Pox thing going on .. it is one thing after another ! I had a full garden day of chores and it was hot here 37’ish so, my cheeks are burnt as well as the back of my neck .. didn’t stop for the sun screen so that teaches me !

  7. The new area looks brilliant, So glad sam is still going strong. You certainly made a good job of the dog yard.

  8. Amazing! Glad I checked in, as aI didn’t receive this glorious post. (I’ll check my subscription; computer’s been on and off the blink lately!)

    I’m staggered by all the changes and gobsmacked imagining all the work of cleaning up and replanting. How perfect it all is. I love the steps, though I do see the trick of keeping the dogs off them! But I can see it all grown, leafed out, and flowering! Wow! Those planned green spaces will really soften the view and what lovely arrangements you’ve planned! Such maintenance ease!

    Hooray for Sam and Curly. My heart just glows seeing them both. And I love your faces on the ghost ride!! 💕

    My fingers hurt looking at that weeding job. Worth a glass of wine and a comfy sit…in YOUR garden!

    Thank you for this wonderful tour. So happy for you!!!

  9. Good post and pictures. It’s all looking most impressive, and I’m sure that you’ll be glad when it’s all finished.
    It should look really good once everything is planted up and starts growing.
    Glad to see that both Sam and Curly are doing okay.
    Thanks, and you too. xx

  10. You came up with a great design plan for your garden and it looks great! Well done on the weeding at the rescue place. It’s good to see the energy of your playful pets and to know Curly cat is doing well too. Love the photo of you all taken during the ghost train ride. Hope the weather is now cooler over your way.

  11. Wow, just wow! Your front garden must be HUGE and it all looks absolutely fabulous. I can’t wait for the tour when it’s all finished. Well done on the weeding at the centre – I find that kind of job quite satisfying, although maybe not on the hottest day of the year! :O) Good old Sam and Curly Cat, I’m so pleased that they are still happy and much loved, and that Ghost Train photo is priceless! xx

  12. lowcarbdiabeticJan

    A big WOW from me, it is looking so good 🙂

    Well done on the amazing weeding at the rescue … that heat was intense wasn’t it.

    Good to read that Sam is doing ok.
    Ghost trains can be such scary fun.

    Enjoy these last days of July, only five months until Christmas! EEK!

    All the best Jan

  13. Dina. I’m speechless. Had no idea what your plans were except more hardscaping than before. I’m so impressed with the handsome new beds and hopefully less weeding and mud. Wish I can see it from a view in the sky!

    So pleased to know Sam is still scampering about. And Curly cat looks content enough. You have my utter respect for that amazing weeding job at the rescue.

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