newbie saying 'ello

hi guys, mine names al and i'm an alcohol......oops. wrong forum hic.... :D

stumbled across this forum and had a good gander already.

i'm not new to gardening, it is in fact a passion of mine along with culinary delights, cars, music, my family, vino blanc and houses/design.

we recently moved and bought a house needing total renovation both inside and out. the inside is done (bar a few little bits) and now i am making a start on the garden. it hadn't been touched (like the house) in over 50 years other than a tend to, so needed total gutting. i've cleared the lot so i am starting from scratch. i've already built the decking with some natty deck lights and will soon make a start on a rear gate. the garden will be a dual purpose space divided into 2. one for my wife and i, the other for our 2 year old boy.

this is how it looked (the fence to the right is new which i put in):-

also (off topic, but i'm as pleased as punch with it!!) a before and after of my kitchen which i'm tying in with my decking by building some black gloss painted timber units with a teak hard top so i can bring the inside outside in good weather (he says!!!! ) (which is off the kitchen through a set of by-fold doors)
anyhoos, i'll take some photo's step by step and post on here to get some feedback and some advice and ideas if thats ok? its the first time i've gutted and renovated both a house and garden, so i am very excited about it.

 

and the before/after of the kitchen. it originally consisted of 3 small rooms, a morning room with a chimney stack bang in the middle, a small kitchen and a lavvy, so we knocked all 3 into one, removed the chimney stack, bricked up the original back door and 2 windows, opened up one wall to fit a set of bi-folds and put in a bigger widow above the belfast sink and moved the back door to the side of the property .

 

Lovely Kitchen Cupboard & Sink Unit.
I had exactly the same when we moved into our 1957 house. They must have been "popular?".

I'm a little concerned about the child labour issue. Your cleaner looks a little young!

Good luck with the project

 

a few more pics of the progress, the garage has had 2 coats and a stabilizer coat of sandtex magnolia to match the house, and the garden cleared.pics of the deck so far, a few coats of oil to finish and other bits and bobs. tomorrow after work, i'll make a start on the gate between the house and garage.

 

the leylandii in the opposite neighbours garden are getting cut down on thursday next week as it saps all light from the back of our house and the ground beneath them is totally dry and dead. they havn't been touched for 15 years so have been left to go forth and multiply in height and width.

the clock i picked up last sunday from argos after seeing it advertised in home and gardens magazine. the better half doesnt like it, but i think its great.

 

Hi Al, welcome to Gardeners Corner. Look forward to meeting you around the forum.

That's a great job you've done on house and garden.

 

Good evening Al and welcome to the site.

 

thanks for the warm welcome

had a go at a gate today, needs a brace on it, but i'll do the job for now keeping the dog and my son in!!

 

Welcome to Gardeners Corner Al n

 

a productive day today, a friend and i started on the opposite neighbours garden taking down the 40 odd foot laylandii. a job worth doing, but hard work. 3 are down completely, 1 has around 8 foot left and the other 2 have got birds nests with chicks in, so will have to wait til around 2 weeks until they have flown.

still, a day well spent, a load of logs for our fire, but 6 laylandii to chip!!!!

 

Hi there and Welcome.

 

hi all.

its been a long time since i've posted, really busy with work, the garden and adding to the family

the garden has come on leaps and bounds since last time, mainly clearing everything at first which in my limited time frame, took ages

i've attached a few pics, so you can see how its changed. the raised border on the bottom left is the only thing to do now, along with replacing a couple of fence panels, cutting the remaining logs down for our fireplace, and plant LOTS of structural plants.

i'll wait until the turf has taken properly (only been down 4 days!) and then i'm going to add some nice raised planters and some square borders with again, lots of structure.

 

You've worked hard on the garden Al n and what a difference it's made! Now you've got a decent blank canvass to work with the best bit's to come......the planting.
Enjoy yourself.

 

Wow that looks lovely Al n....great job