As you might have seen in my stories over the last few days, myself and my husband have been on an absolutely huge garden makeover.
When we made an offer on the house, we knew that the garden would need some work, we just had not anticipated doing so much, so soon. However, since lock-down was announced and the fact that the sun decided to make an impeccably timed appearance we decided this was the perfect opportunity to keep our minds occupied.
Unlike many people, before lock down I had not been hoarding toilet paper, eggs, tinned goods or UHT milk, but instead went on a flower, seed, turf and compost binge like you have never seen. Oh, and we bought 8 scaffold planks because you never know what you might need them for (at least I told my husband that knowing full well I would like him to build me a number of flower beds).
Well prepared, we began work on the garden. We started by removing a flower boarder that divided the garden in two. To do this Alex pulled out a tree and we lifted five plants which were then replanted in another boarder, or potted up for later use. This was followed by: turning over two vegetable beds; lifting the grass around the boarders; turning the ground and levelling it. Fortunately, the previous owner had left an antique roller which we had actually asked him to take away, thank goodness he ignored that! In addition to this middle section of the garden, we also had to turn the ground as it has been covered in fake grass. With the ground prepared we were then able to lay turf, which took four hours.
Alongside this we have: built two flower beds; weeded boarders; given the greenhouse a little bit of love; ripped down a shed; sown some more seeds; potted up roses, peonies, ranunculus and various other bulbs; and, put in numerous plants including but not limited to: astilbe, muscari, hellebores, hydrangeas and more. We also made a trip to the allotment to dig up dahlias that had been overwintered and various other plants.
Over the next few weeks, assuming that lockdown will continue, we plan to rip down another shed, extend the two existing flower beds so that they measure 7x1.1m, put up some fencing (to keep Bilbo out), take rooted cuttings from the dahlias, and build another flower bed. Bilbo and Alex are both exhausted just thinking about it.
We still have a long way to go but this is a good start for now. We are hopeful that by the time summer comes, the garden will be a fruitful oasis.
Oh, and I have been FAFFING with my camera, so if my photos look pretty inconsistent it is because I am having a play with settings.
Sophie x