Before and after.

Here are some piccies of my new 'outdoor room' (I cant really call it a garden after seeing other members pics).

BEFORE.
Most of the space was taken up by a tatty old carport, which made it dark and gloomy.


Not a pretty sight!!



Once that had gone.......


the plants had their first days of sunshine!
(and so did our kitchen).



Then the concrete and bricks went.


(which left a bit of mud).

AFTER.
Finally, somewhere to sit out, have a cuppa and watch what is growing well! (And wonder where I will put all the seeds I have been growing)



Still plenty of room for new additions, some evergreen shrubs are next on the list I think.
(Any suggestions welcome )

 

What a brilliant job you've done Berry. Congratulations - you must be purring everytime you look at the before and after - and space to grow more both horizontally and vertically.

Have you considered container grown trees - white barked birches with their delicate tracery of leaves could be interesting.

 

:eek: WOW!...What a transformation..
You can be proud of that!..what a lovely spot to sit in.It looks so warm

 

That is a great bit of work Berry. Well done!

 

What a lovely place Berry,very mediterranian.....
a wonderful haven to chill out and contemplate..

 

well done it looks brill

wellworth all the hard work give your self a pat on the back...

 

That looks great Berry, like the palms.

 

defiately an outdoor indoor room.

 

Thankyou all for the comments

Fran, I had been looking at the weeping birches when visiting the garden centres, wishing I had room for one. I never thought about one in a container - something I will definately look into.


Pete I think my palms are suffering. They are starting to look decidedly yellow - what could I give them to 'get their green back'? They survived the snow in March (!!) I would hate to lose them

 

Amazing transformation!

For a bit of evergreen interest and usefull to boot you could plant a Bay (Laurus nobilis), maybe in a container, and some Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)is another usefull addition for the kitchen or BBQ and there are lots of different cultivars including varigated forms

 

Another lovely picture Berry.

Btw I wasn't thinking of the weeping birch - more of the upright variety with the patterned trunk and very fine leaves - could give a little interest above the wall height.

 

Berry, the palms are probably still in their root balls so watering and feeding is probably needed this year, a good balanced liquid feed is best with the trace elements.
Dont make the mistake of thinking that palms survive on little water, the more feed and water the better and faster the growth, but dont overdo it.

 

Its lovely i would plant climbers up the walls if it was mine..lots of them ..you have done a lovely job...

 

frogesque, I have a trailing rosemary, which seems to have constant supply of delicate lilac flowers and the bees love it.
I will definately be getting another thyme, as one I had previously dissapeared during the work.

Thanks Pete, I will keep an eye on them. The soil in the new bed was quite clay-y (?!!) so I thought that could be a problem.

wild flower, I put a 'chocolate vine' in yesterday, with twine down the whole length of the wall, so I can hopefully fit another one or two in.
Its a sunny wall, and I'd much rather see plants than bricks.

I also put in a couple of epimediums, a couple of different ferns, a huecherella, a toad lily and a corydalis (which is supposed to have honey scented flowers) in the shady bit on the other side (after painting the fence).

Now it's all getting a 'good layer of looking at'!!

 

wow
love your little mushrooms tucked away in the corner