Non-Gardener builds an Observatory, Garden Railway and even Dabbles with Plants!

I spent the rest of the 28th, doing a little weeding and tidying around the garden and grabbing some photos of everything in bloom. There's still work to do in the border by the patio. The Daisy Pomponettes were a temporary measure for some quick colour and greenery. They are very susceptible to drying out and wilting, so they will probably be replaced for next year. I also made a start on chopping the height of the Yew trees. I flat top them first and once the heights all look right, round off the tops.



The border at the edge of the lawn is going to be reduced in size next year, to give better access for cutting the Laurel. Well leave the Lavender, Hydrangea and Montbretia Coppertips, but the Geraniums have never done anything but leaves and keep creeping into the lawn. We'll just grass that, which will also make it easier to clean up the Laurel cuttings.

Down the back of the garage, the Creeping Jenny was doing really well to fill in the bare earth. We hadn't really done anything with the woodland since moving, but that was soon to change.

 

30th August 2024

After a rest day, I was back out tackling the Hawthorn. It was starting to get a little wild on top and really needed a hair cut. The path and the sleepers have made this so much easier. When standing on the sleeper wall, I'm tall enough to reach all of the top of the hedge with the petrol trimmer. A chair on the path is even better, as it lifts me a little higher and I don't have to lift the heavy trimmer as high. Either way works and the path makes it much easier to clean up the fallen cuttings. In the first picture, I'm about half way along the 100 feet hedge. It's is mostly Hawthorn, but there are a couple of roses in there, which always grow much faster.



Looking back from the garage end, it's a long hedge! My arms felt like they were going to fall off by the time I'd finished, but it was another necessary job out of the way.

 

31st August 2024

Another garden centre trip on the 31st. A few days before, I butchered the Fuchsia at the back left corner of the railway. I wasn't a fan of them and it was constantly dropping flowers all over the other plants and railway ballast. It was a pain to clean up the mess. It had also never been trimmed since whoever planted it in days gone by - other than a light haircut from me. As a result, it was now over nine feet tall and shading many of the plants I'd put in.

It was going to leave a big gap, so I decided not to completely remove it, but to cut it right back to a couple of feet tall and add some new plants to go with it. The plan was to then keep it trimmed to match the growth rate of the new plants, so they'd all stay around the same size.



So the garden centre trip resulted in another variegated Hebe and a Choisya to join the Fuchsia, plus five Erodium Bishop's Form. Three were to fill in gaps in the Hawthorn border, while the other two could go in the railway.



The Fuchsia, seen in the centre, was left tall for the time being. I didn't want to be so brutal that I'd kill it. So I'll probably trim it down further in the early Spring, ready for its new growth. The Silver Dust in the foreground, we planted there simply because they all grew from the seeds I planted in April and I hadn't decided whether I wanted them all. Some or all may be moved next year and may be replaced with some annuals.



In other news, Lynne passed all the bricks over the fence and I stacked them up by the water barrel, with the spare roof tiles on top.

 

6th September 2024

In early September, we ordered another cold frame, now down to £35 from £50. I painted it and used silicone to seal the glazing so that rain water couldn't get into the joints and rot the wood. That joined the others on the workshop patio on the 6th and was quickly filled with Creeping Thyme that was being prepared for the woodland.



Next job was more Laurel trimming, this time across the bottom of the garden.



With that done, the railway conifer was given another haircut. I'm over the moon with how that has recovered from one half being completely bald and dead. It's taken a while and still has a little way to go, but you wouldn't know what it had been like, to look at it now.

 

7th September 2024

The following day was more trimming. This time, finishing the three Yew trees by the sun room. It's a bit of a pain being on the slated area, requiring a large plastic sheet to try and catch all the mess, while trying not to trample the other plants or squash them with the ladders. I think that we may trim them lower still next year, to around four feet, for easier maintenance. They are still six feet six inches at present.



The other other thing done was some trimming of the bushes along the side path.

 

Looking good!
Watch out for the variegated hebe over the winter though, they can be quite tender. I've lost H. andersonii a couple of times and given up trying now.

 

You can cut hardy fuchsias right down in early spring. I do mine every year.

 

11th September 2024

With all the other house and garden projects over the last three and a half years, the little woodland had been somewhat neglected. We'd planted a rose, grown from a cutting, taken from another cutting, from a 1st wedding anniversary rose in our last garden. Also planted was a Hydrangea and Rhododendron, all used to fill in gaps after the tree felling. Other than that, we hadn't had time to do anything else.



With most other big jobs out of the way for the year, I started planning. There was a natural gap through the trees, so I planned on putting a stepping stone path through this area, to give better and all season access through the wood for maintenance.

There was also a grassed area next to my neighbour's driveway ( to the upper left of this Google image ), that always seemed to get forgotten when strimming. I decided I wanted to do something with that to make it easier to care for and also to add some colour for my neighbours, who overlook that corner. There were three natural entrances and exits, caused by gaps between the various trees and other plants.

 

13th September 2024

This is the West South Western entrance at the bottom of the garden. The Laurel and Smoke tree were trimmed to give an easier path through to the grassed area beyond.



Once through, we reach the often neglected grass area. It gets some sun, particularly in the late afternoon and evening. My plan was to cut out all the grass and replace it with a Creeping Thyme carpet to either side of the path I planned. I would then plant some flowers, possibly Lupins and Foxgloves on the right side, just in the edge of the wood. I may add a few other things amongst the Thyme, but I still need to be able to get to the Laurel to trim it.



As we follow the grass further around to the West side, it tapers away until the wood meets the Laurel. I'm not 100% sure what to do with this area yet, as it gets the least amount of sun and I still need Laurel access. My path will turn into the wood just in the right foreground of this image.

 

15th September 2024

On the 15th, I just did a bit of raking of leaves, clearing the area where the path would go. This view is standing on the edge of the lawn, about halfway along the wood, looking back at the narrow grassed area, shown above. To the left of the path and to the right behind the green bush, I'm intending to plant Bluebells and Snowdrops.



Coming backwards through the wood, that middle entrance is off to the left, beyond the second tree on the left. There will be more Bluebells and Snowdrops to either side of the path here.



Back a bit further and we move into a more open area between this tree and the pine behind the camera. The area is about seven feet diameter and will also be filled with Bluebells and Snowdrops. To the left of this image, is the way out.



Once again standing on the lawn, looking back in towards the open area under the Pine. I want the woodland to be semi-wild, but still managed. There are a few gaps at the bottom end of the wood, where I need to put some larger plants, due to the area being a bit see through; particularly as winter comes. I'm thinking some ferns might be nice, but with winter coming, I need to see where the wood gets particularly bald and consider some evergreens to maintain some density and colour.

 

How lovely to have your own little wood!

It's looking good and you sound like you're turning into a proper gardener, despite your headline.

 

Might have missed it, but not seen any mention of a greenhouse, not something that insprires you, though not to everyones taste ?

 

I got rid of the greenhouse that was there, right at the start of the garden projects, just after moving house. There wasn't space to keep it, due to other more important requirements from the property. The three cold frames will do for what I need.

 

16th September 2024

There's a local paving manufacturer that does all kinds of paving. One of the things I spotted when looking for the side path paving, were these tree ring stepping stones. There were three different patterns and two sizes; 15 and 18 inch. I opted for the smaller stones and at £3.00 each, they weren't going to break the bank.



I made two card templates and used them to work out a comfortable stride, which happened to leave a gap between them the same as this plastic box.



Armed with that knowledge, I went out to the wood and started placing the templates out along the route of my path, using the box to space them correctly. It worked out to Forty stones. After lunch, I drove down to the paving company and placed an order. They have some stock, but larger orders and other colours are made to order. With only fifteen moulds, it was probably going to be a couple of weeks before they were ready.

 

20th September 2024

The 20th was spent trimming the inside edge of the Hawthorn and doing some weeding along the path border. There's Ivy in the hedge too, which grows much faster than the Hawthorn. I spent some time cutting it out at ground level, so it didn't strangle the border plants.



25th September 2024

A few days later, I spent most of the day weeding the drive. It's gravel over hardcore, so while they grow, they don't get routed deep. In addition to the usual weeds, there was quite a lot of moss. Killing it just gives something for other seeds to take hold in, so I have to rake it out.



As you can see, it's no small job and the moss breaks up into small pieces the same size and attached to the gravel. I got a lot of it, but know it will be back!