Poppy Patchwork


My little bit of this big World

Saturday 13 April 2024

Improvement

Taken late last summer, this was the last photo before the changes made in our garden, it does look lovely, until you try to use the space. The big decking is a perfect family space other than flies and smells coming from next door, the decking is higher, the paving path is another different height, the lawn had loads of odd angles and was lower.
Photo taken last week from the same place, everywhere is the same level, the flower bed at the back of the lawn is now clearly seen from the sitting room, the veg beds behind are seen but the railings put them in a different part of the garden. The lawn is smaller as we made the paving outside the patio doors wider and made it into a rectangle. 
We have a new table, hubby saw it online at a bargain price, it goes with our original chairs and bench and can be made bigger when family arrive. I now have less pots in this area, over winter some cracked and I've not replaced them, only herbs around here and near the back door and handy for use.
Here is the plan I drew up, we did change one spot, the path along the garage we decided to run it down to the house, making the lawn not so wide and removing the corner inset in the lawn. We also paved all the way to the garage. In this plan the lawn does look much bigger, the plan is not to any true scale. 

Having spend a lot of money on the refit, plus we did loads of hard work ourselves, we were chatting, did we get what we wanted, hoped for, value for money spent. This was all done for me, hubby wanted to remove the decking and nothing more, I knew our garden was huge, and we were not using it all, I hoped for veg beds, my growing space and plenty of family space so three little ones could run around and play outside. 

Our first thoughts are we are both happy with the finished design, and the standard of work done, our landscaper made suggestions, which we took on board, after all he is the expert, he digested my plan, understood what we wanted, and created it and all on one level. I have done work before in the garden and then later changed it, no chance of that here, sitting on the patio side of the garden last summer helped us to see how we can now use all of the area. My growing area, which we can close off when the children are here, is perfect, we made the veg beds as big as we could, ensuring the paths between were not to tight, reusing everything from the decking. I am excited to be growing vegetables, I have most everything I need. One sad note as I looked through my garden purchase list, so much of my seeds and bits came from Wilko's, I am missing their shop in town, Wilko seeds are sold at The Range, but the store is not local. 

I have had comments about how tidy the garden looks, I'm outside every time I can be, even on cold days, I don't pop out when it's raining, we have a cat and she use the flower beds, Grace is getting older, so I do need to go out and clear up after her regularly. We have lots of different beds, so it is easy to tidy a bed quickly, I am always picking up leaves and bits, I adore dead heading when needed, it always leads to more blooms. Our garden is my healing place and my work in retirement. 

11 comments:

  1. Flies and smells from next door?
    Would lavender in pots help?

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    Replies
    1. I have tried lavender, lemon grass, mock orange, loads of citrus candles, they don't dent the issues, environmental health don't want to get involved, these days it's down to us to sort, with an unapproachable neighbour.

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  2. Your garden looks lovely and tidy. The design is good, giving you just what you need. My garden is ticking along but lots of weeding to do. There are so many sections to it, as it has a front garden, then the main back garden is on 2 levels... few steps up. Then there are two side areas - one is a walk through to the front/coal bunker and in the process of a path laid & wild section - dreadful slippery clay soil making walking on it dangerous. Hence wild flowers needed instead of grass. The top has a seating area and another patio on the other side by the shed, rose border leading to the front. It's a work in progress for sure, so much weeding with many indoor jobs fighting for attention too.
    Ps I've started up the Five on Friday link party again, posting each Friday. Amy then Tricky used to run this and it's been missed. Enjoy the weekend x

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  3. I should think you are very pleased indeed with your 'new' garden. It was well worth the effort.

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  4. I like your garden design. It's very well thought out and all on the one level. I believe some garden clay pots are from Spain and they can't survive our frosts. Great post. Thanks for showing us your garden.

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  5. Your garden looks lovely, a place/space to be enjoyed.

    All the best Jan

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  6. The garden design is just perfect. Ours is still a work in progress and will need a few more tweaks before I am satisfied. It is getting there though.

    God bless.

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  7. I've just been enjoying a lovely catch up with your posts, Marlene. I'm so glad George is feeling much better, and it must be a relief for you all, now that he is back home.
    Your garden is looking beautiful, especially in the sunshine. All your hard work has paid off, and you have a wonderful space to enjoy spending time in. Xx

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  8. It all looks so lovely, and functional! What a great space to enjoy.

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  9. You have a really lovely garden and the changes you made last year were well worth the effort. I hope you have a fantastic gardening year and you enjoy your special space outdoors.

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  10. I think you've done really well to make the utmost of the space you have and make it function for your family needs. It will be lovely to enjoy it this summer now that it is all finished. I can't wait until our garden renovation is completed and we can do the same.

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