My tiered garden log.

Back on the PC!
Update time!

First of all, i used a scaffolding board to put up a temporary bench to test the height for the final bench, and because the wall has a curve to it i wanted to see how it would all attach to the wall and what gaps/joints i'd need.
The wall has a curve because it follows the boundary wall which also has a curve.



Oh, and more digging (normal) this bench is going to run down the small wall to the right, along the block wall, and back up the wall to the left which is yet to be built so we have ample fixed seating so we're not lugging the garden furniture up and down the steps every bbq or sunny day!



Here is the "detailed" plan. you can see the curve in the wall clearly there! wow!
If you can see the markings on the floor.
From the steps (top most set to the left hand side of the tree) There will be pavers running between the two sets of steps as a path, naturally. The wood rectangle is the area for the BBQ to go, on it's own little patio. With a small path to it, then a path running around the perimeter of the garden approx to the lines, so the benches have a nice hard footing. then a final path on the Right hand side of the picture to join up to the bbq area again.

From above on the top level!
the Circle on the right will be the location of the fire pit, around that will be gravel (low ish maintenance non messy)
The left hand side of the photo, there's a deep line, here is the planting area for ground covering flowery plants, nothing tall, little pretty plants. Not a clue at all what plants will sit there, they get a LOT of sun there. until the tree's grow... yes... treeS

The square divet below the tree stump is going to be the location of our cherry tree, we are going for a mature height of 4Meter as we have ample space.
This means once the tree is mature it will span enough to cover the pathway up to the BBQ area so we have privacy from the houses down the hill, and we get to walk through a tree tunnel to get to the bbq area.

After a lot of hard work and digging, i got the area level!
Now remember the tree idea, one tree will go to the rhs of the stump in this picture, the other, a smaller weeping cherry tree will go on the top level to the right hand side of the picture, and both canopies will meet to form a privacy tunnel to walk through, and a wind brake!
hmm anything else in this photo, we're keeping the hedge to the left, cementing the wall extension to the front,we've laid the foundations for the last wall. so
incredibly busy! but exciting!

Last photo for today... a before and during collage!

 

It's come on really well VC. How do you intend to finish the new wall at the back of the garden. I think you were talking about planters in that area.

 

We've run out of cash after budgeting a bit low for the paving. so we're painting it sandstone to match the other walls and having done with it. With a dark brown decking bench I'll still make planters up top in the future but...
the top of the wall is one block wide. Plus about 3/4of a block gap behind (which is where we put the drainage gravel) so I've cut up my blocks to fit that gap so we have a small shelf/table area behind the benches on the wall. For beer/plates. Etc. It'd be a shame to lose that. So the planters are waiting until everything else is finished to see if we actually use that area. I'll get a photo of that Erm Friday. As that's my job Thursday night

 

Surprise!
I thought i didn't have updates, but i do!

The pavers on the right are the original ones, so i don't get too muddy!
the edging stones are just there, i don't really know why!
The wall has been breeding! The back wall is almost finished, only a few more blocks, and we've made big roads into the left hand wall in the picture. Footings in and the first two levels down, a few more to go!.




Also, the bits I did, the err... non structural bits!



The beer/bbq plate holder! Extra wide top, the first couple of blocks were low (they sank down after bedding in, i'm not a brickie or anything, but the ones to the left got better and better!
It's going to be clad with decking board eventually we think, but it also ties both walls together nicely.


My citronella candle in the background too, the bench will attach to this wall, with the flat top for "stuff" holding, no need for tables.

Here is where most of the excess soil has ended up, i think i need to remove some from this layer to take the bulge out of the middle.

To the left of this picture is my little rose wall, the soil level is now well low compared to the level, can i bury the bottom parts of the roses? Bearing in mind they only got planted this winter...
That and i've just trained them up el'cheepo trellice.

You can see how low the level where they are planted is from the slab on the left. the lavender on the left will probably die anyway, but the other lavendars should be fine.
Also, have i planted these roses a little bit too close together?
Eventually we'll have a 4 foot fence on the top of this wall, with the trellice running all the way up (about 8 foot in total) so i've got enough vertical space.
Also, will the lavendars eventually grow? They are in shade a fair bit of the day, but don't seem to be trying to grow, especially compared to the roses which are double the size they were!

 

I forget where I got them from. They have the tags under them so I'll have a look when I get home! Ack. Thanks for the info! I'll see what I can do. If they have to spread out more I'll raise the soil level while I'm there

 

Looks excellent, I use blocks a lot

 

You've made good progress with the walls. I hope we get a summer so you can make use of your barbecue. I don't know whether @wiseowl will agree but if soil is laid above the grafting joints on the roses they are likely to send up suckers.

 

Can i pop a fork under the roses and gently lift them and pack soil under them instead of completely digging them out and back in again? It saves me tying them up again

 

You can but root disturbance will probably delay flowering and the tap root will take a bit to budge.

 

here's the three rose labels.
We chose them because they are climbers - pink-white and red .
They don't seem to have much info on them about spread.
Any ideas?


In picture order it's climber bush climber... the many happy returns seems to be a bush rather than a climber, whoops! Can i still train it to look pretty up the trellis?

Also i've got this random rose in the level below (excuse the mess and the stumps!)
It holds it's own weight but as soon as the wind blows, it blows into the hedge and grabs on for dear life, what's the best way of supporting this one?

It's a leftover from the garden before we moved in, i cut it down to about knee height thinking it's poorly (it had been left to flower, then seed in a big tangled mess.
It's got a structure to it, not that the picture shows it very well, but i thought i'd take a snap before work.

 

I know very little about climbing roses not having owned any, sorry! Put them in the roses forum, you will gain help there from other members. Now your shrub rose is a different matter. It's a Floribunda which all my roses are because they are hardy. Floribunda's are shrub roses and maximum height is not normally more than three feet so at this height it has no need for trellis. They have multiple flowers on stems and will give you a display right through until late autumn, frost depending and if you dead head them along the way.

The rose by the greenhouse. Do you know whether it's a climber? Have you pruned it since you moved into your home?

 

I've got an update coming later when I have a minute on the computer.
the rose next to the greenhouse was a set of two placed in a small kidney shaped bed in the middle of the gravel. With no support, so I took the worst one of the two out and trimmed this one down to knee level. With the rate of growth I'm Guessing it's a climber! It's massive

 

UPDATE!
We have pavers! donated from my dad's driveway, that saves a bit of cash!
We're a few short on what i wanted for my layout, but hey ho, a bit of extra... enthusiasm for the project now.

Teaser!
Only joking!

The square bit in the middle is the approx size of the fire pit we will have for heating in the evening, during the day it will have a lid to be a table!
all 3 walls will have benches along their length, so it's good! and the bbq area is nearly big enough! just needed another 4 pavers, plus a couple of square ones for the odd bits.

The two pictures above here, 8:30PM last night and 7AM this morning, the rest of the time this area is in full sun! nice and warm sun trap.



And from the upper level!

I've laid out the pavers about half a foot too far over to the far wall in the upper picture, so when they actually go down they will be straight and correct!
but i needed to know if we had enough more than anything.

Also, i put down the samples of astro turf (cheap stuff... not a bad colour match to the surrounding plants!)


Apparently that's soil that the artificial grass is on. Probably from the bottom of the pile!

Also, the garden seems to be far from finished in my eyes, so it's dragging a little, also known as these monsters!


The remaining stumps from the hedge, oh and i did a little bit of trimming while i was there.

 

I think it's going to be difficult to put any decent support there for the rose. I think you'd be better off moving it to another walled area where you can attach wires for it to climb along.