Mike's Evolving Garden

I've started this thread so that I can keep an eye on changes I make to my garden this year, I thought it would be easier than looking back over posts I make in other threads.

My garden has got rather out of control over the past few years, and since I am getting older, achier, and grumpier, I've had a certain amount of difficulty keeping it looking nice.
Therefore I decided to get some help.

I haven't got lawns and hedges to cut, I've only got lots of plants, therefore I wanted someone who understands what to do - someone who knows how to prune, divide etc and who knows where and how to plant things.

I made some enquiries with the owner of a local garden centre, who put me in touch with such a person, and that person came last week.
She is a friendly lady and seems quite knowledgeable.

Since it was pouring with rain and working outside would have been difficult, she tidied one of the perspex shelters at the side of my old garage, attending also to the plants/cuttings etc in there that had survived the unusually cold winter we've just had, and put all the pots and tools tidy too. She was here for two hours and it was worth every minute.

She's coming again in 3 weeks, and we're going to talk about the rest of the garden, and how it can be made easier for me.
Hopefully by the summer I'll have a pretty garden again

 

Garden lady came today and did a lot of weeding, and got rid of a big clump of stinging nettles that had invaded a flower bed, choking everything it could lay its hands on. Wheelie-bin is almost full but I've managed to squash the contents down with a rake so there's still some room in there for more stuff.



I had made some steps many years ago, but since I only put the slabs on top of the soil they had sunk right down and it's difficult to walk on them. Garden lady is going to help me get them level again. In two weeks she will be bringing some cement and sand and will lay a foundation for the steps. .





It all needs sweeping now but I'm leaving it until tomorrow

 

You have made the right decision there. Your garden will look much better & it will also be much safer once those stone slabs are bedded down properly! looking forward to seeing how your garden develops in the next few months!

 

Well done Michael in getting someone to help. I have had my Ben coming for several years now, about 3/4 hours every 3/4 months. Sometimes we just need help. It is nice keeping a log of things here too as I have been for many years now.

 

Before going any further, let me show you how the garden was many years ago. I've called the thread 'Mike's Evolving Garden' so I may as well show it evolving from the beginning ...

The year 2006 ...
Looking towards the house (notice the old shed on the right, and the kitchen window)



Looking down from the house (notice the garage roof and window - all these things will change) ...



It was rather a boring and neglected garden, and needed some TLC

Then, partly because my mother came to stay here - (she had a small stroke after my dad's funeral and it affected her short term memory)
and partly for my and Beryl's convenience, I decided to have a French door instead of the kitchen window, and raise the level of the garden up to that of the new French door.
Now we could get out from the kitchen to the garden without going through the conservatory.

A patio was constructed outside the French door, after demolishing the old shed,
and then I placed concrete bricks flat on top of each other around the rest of the garden, and filled the space in with topsoil.
(I can't remember how many tons it took !)

I put the rubble from the old demolished shed inside the 'walls', for drainage, and to fill the space up.
New woodden shed on the right.














You can see the very bottom of the garden was left at the original level, I stopped the wall when I ran out of puff

More to follow ...

 

2015, how things have grown :-

 

Oh. what a lovely journey Michael. Now I have a better perspective on things and their placement. You liked pots even way back when I notice! The Roses and Clematis look wonderful. I love the overgrown look ... so much more inviting. Thank you for sharing and I will look for more current views.

 

Thank you @Victoria

 

You are welcome Michael ... I really enjoyed visiting your garden.

 

Quite a transformation Michael and now full of colour.

 

Thank you @Sheal, I hope it will be as colourful this year too

 

Very interesting seeing the evolution of your garden at work, @Michael Hewett!

 

Thank you @Balc

 

@Michael Hewett ,..fantastic results from the past to now Michael,..it looks beautiful now congrats.

 

Thank you @glengarry23

I hope to add more to this thread soon, I had forgotten about it