Slowly progressing...

Hi all, I'm gonna use this to document my slow progression in the front and back gardens.

My husband and I moved into the same house 2 years ago, that my mum and I originally lived in, in 2011. After having the most focus on the interior, we got professionals in to redesign and begin construction on the back garden last year.

Before left side:


Before right side:


After (in progress):
Ground all filled in, drainage added and levelled. Hardcore laid for patio along the house, 2 circular patios and path. Large bed to the right, small bed by the fence on the left and 2 semi-circular beds around each patio, plus 3 raised beds by the right hand fence.


Final plan:
When it's finished, the patio will be a lovely mellow yellow-gold, the path will be stoned and the area around the raised beds barked. Each bed will be weeded(!) and planted, with a couple of trees planted on the left. The concrete posts close to the house will be covered with the same blue-grey fencing to create an outdoor store for the bins and oil tank, and the posts in the back right will be fenced to create a work area.

 

It's looking good @fiwen30 .

 

Looking forward to seeing the end result fiwen30.

 

I loaded up my little Renault Twingo with bags of compost from the nursery up the road to fill the first of my raised beds - could nearly hear the suspension creaking on the way home!

There's 5, 80l bags in the first bed pictured, and I'm planning on mixing in some well-composted horse manure from a friend to top it up. These beds are on the 'sunny' side of the garden, which catches the sunshine till late afternoon currently. I'd like to have herbs in this first bed, and then make my first foray into veg in the second and third beds.

I was thinking sage, lemon balm, rosemary and chives?

 

They're good, solid looking beds and should last a long while Fiwen.

 

We decided that we don't want to start planting the big beds till the patio is laid since they'll probably be stomped all over by the builders; but I thought it would be worthwhile clearing the dead stuff out, using Roundup on the live stuff, digging the soil over and laying black plastic over them to keep them clear?

In the meantime, I picked up these while in for 'a look' at Dobbies -

I've decided to put the bulbs in the first raised bed to give a bit of much needed brightness to the place, and the herb seeds will have to be sown directly into the second bed since we've nowhere to propagate them in the house. I'm waiting a few weeks to sow the seeds, and then should I cover them with fleece or plastic as they start off?

 

@fiwen30 , did you make the raised beds from scratch or buy as a kit . They look the perfect size for a spot I have in mind.

 

Hi Harry, I had them built I'm afraid! They're railway sleepers, about 1.2x1.2m and 40cm deep to give you an idea of scale.

 

Great day today, helped by the lovely sunshine!
I got the first mow of the year done, front and back, and it looks far better already.
Also got some horse muck from my sister in law's yard, didn't know how much poo I could fit in my Twingo!

One bag is dug into my first raised bed, and I've planted some of my bug-attracting bulbs - Liatris, Gladioli and Anemone. This is my first time 'properly' planting something, so I'm cautiously optimistic. Picked up some bird seed and some new feeders for the 2 pairs of sparrows who visit the front garden, and got a great deal on weed control fabric in Bargin Buys.
I'm away this weekend to see a friend, but I'll hopefully get my second bed filled next week, ready to plant my herb seeds!

 

I've got another 20 to 30 Sparrows here if you would like to add them to yours Fiwen.

 

@fiwen30 those planters are super , I'm feeling rather excited just looking at them, once you get them planted up they will look even better I'm sure
I love gladioli

Enjoy your weekend with your friend

 

My weekend away was lovely, we had the first of the good weather in Glasgow!

It's a bright, dry day here, so I'm going to give the lawns another mow and trim the hedge again - it always seems like you've taken enough off it, until you stand back and it looks no different!

I'm also trawling IKEA for a long, cheap table and some storage solutions for the garage, as the gardening stuff is taking over somewhat.

 

Yet more mowing today. I saw a little wall hanging in a garden centre the other week - 'if you have only got time to do one thing - mow the lawn!'. How very true.

I found a nice, old metal pail to pop my lone dahlia bulb into for the time being, and I'll hopefully pick up more compost for my herb bed next week.

I really love the attitude on this forum, my husband and I (mid-twenties) have a tendency to want to do everything right away, and then get despondent and discouraged if it doesn't happen. It's really nice to be encouraged at a slow and steady pace, and to know that even if you can't have the big things right now, you can still do the little things which are achievable.

 

It takes a while for it to sink in that plants and gardening can't and won't be rushed. Once that's been taken on board, plants that we grow or work in the garden that needs attention can be planned in such a way that we can build towards those bigger things that we'd like.