Cumbrian Garden Project

[Steve.]

The folowing was wrote on another forum as it happened, I've copied it all and added a timeline so you get a sense of when things where done.

Steve...:)

[Steve.]

[Steve.]

Cumbrian Garden Project

Timeline: 8th May 2008

Anne and I moved here at the end of May 2007, to this blank canvas. We brought a few plants from our previous garden and quickly planted them in the one flowerbed there was, and quickly dug another along the back fence for a couple of roses and lillies. Here are a few photos from before we moved in. The garden has a southerly aspect and is right now undergoing some major landscaping as the first "real" work starts. There will be more photos in the next few days so that hopefully you can follow along. We are up here in Cumbria and we can see the fells from our front door.













Yes we live right next door to a Church!

Steve...:)

[Steve.]

Timeline: 9th May 2008

The start of the hard landscaping, here is the building site we like to call "The Garden" ..at least a few Tulips are adding some colour...



Steve...:)

[Steve.]

Timeline: 17th May 2008

Work has continued this week on and off and the patio is complete now, I hope to replace the large paving slabs at a later stage to be more in keeping with the crazy paving and wall behind it.

The crazy paving has a story and a lot of history behind it...its 200+ years old Cumbrian sandstone paving from John Peel Farm here in Cumbria. John Peel is perhaps the most famous Cumbrian and he died over 150 years ago, he was a major figure in the hunting scene and by all accounts was also a bit of a rogue towards both his family and farm, not caring much for either of them..his mind and thoughts where for the next hunt. He even has songs and poems written about him, some of you may recall the lyric "D'Ye Ken John Peel" from one such song.

Anyway, I had advertised on a recycling site for paving slabs and stone and received an email from a lady who said she had some broken paving, I had no idea at this stage what it was but went along to the address given where the whole story was given to me. Now when all is done in the garden (is it ever all done?) and I'm sat out there with a drink in hand I can now half shut my eyes and visualize all the foxhounds and riding boots walking over the patio that I now sit on.

Its the wall I'm currently busy with which should be finished this weekend time and weather allowing of course and the stone was also obtained the same way..from a recycling site. The way this site works is that people advertise things that they no longer want or need and the aim is to potentially stop things going to landfill needlessly.The wall is old too but I have no history attached to it that I know of, but I do know its old from the wear that is evident and the hand tool marks that are visible on some of them.

Behind the wall to the fence will be all planting area save for a stepping stone walkway between fence and wall, over this I plan to erect a gazebo for climbers such as Clematis and Roses to inhabit..the gazebo is a project for later on though.









This is the bit I'll be working on this weekend which is a raised bed idea, you can see where the wall will go by the shallow trench.







There we are, all up to date. One more coffee and I'm back out there..

Steve...:)

[Steve.]

Timeline: 24th May 2008

I've finished the retaining wall now and actually filled one part with broken down soil (not fine tilth yet) although I use the word soil "loosley" as its 90% clay. More soil to go in behind the long wall tomorrow and be broken down, then I ca add the compost and well rotted horse muck to give it some oomph..and next week...planting. Here's a shot from today.



Steve...:)

[Steve.]

I didn't do anything in the garden yesterday. The day before however I laid this zig-zag path at the back, over the top of which a Gazebo will eventualy be erected to make a secret floral walkway.








Steve...:)

[Steve.]

Timeline: 8th June 2008

I took these a few days ago after a day's planting. The plants that some friends brought up for us, a few we have bought or already had and a few annuals that I have grown from seed all went in along with some summer flowering bulbs. We are hoping for a riot of colour! Oh...and our new table and chairs arrived the other day too.











This last photo shows the bed next to the church wall, last year I just dug it over and planted a few shrubs here when we moved in, just to get them in the ground. Whilst I have been busy with the landscaping the mares tail and buttercup have been running wild in this bed so out it all comes, just a little bit to do on the left here.

I'm presently building a thingummy whatchamacallit which should be finished later today, I'll hopefully post a few more photo's tonight or tomorrow.

Steve...:)

[Steve.]

Timeline: 9th June 2008

Here we go then. 1 "thingummy whatchamacallit" finished and planted up with Sweet Peas, a Jasmin and a Bougonville. Hopefully a Honeysuckle too in the next day or two. BTW, apart from a few screws and some wood preservative, its 100% recycled, I have another ten of those large trellis panels to use in the garden that where destined to go to landfill.



Apologies for my shadow in the above photo, very unprofessional of me.

Steve...:)

[Steve.]

Timeline: 10th June 2008

The whole thing of the patio has been one of access for my partner Anne who is wheelchair bound, the raised beds where to give Anne access to join in the gardening fun with planting etc.

Here is a sneaky shot I took of her yesterday as she was doing a little planting.....mission accomplished !!



Steve...:)

[Steve.]

Timeline: 16th June 2008

Our local Garden centre recently threw out some old plant stands and replaced with new ones, I got permission as they where put out to be skipped away...so I've dismantled them and bit by bit fetched it all home (this is where I got all the trellis from too!)

Here is the timber all tidied up ready for use (tenons cut off, denailed etc) it includes 16x7.5 foot and 18x6.5 foot, 3 in posts!! All stacked up it looks like a giant pergola kit...






Work on my Pergola starts some time tomorrow and will be covering in an "L" shape over the raised stone beds.

Well...you didn't think I'd finished did you? :D

Steve...:)

[Steve.]

Timeline: 6th July 2008

I've made a start on the Pergola this last few days, dodging the rain showers !!

I painted the timber before assembly, two coats and done first to avoid trampling or also painting the plants. Here its up but still braced and the feet are not yet concreted in as I still have some trellis to paint and add at the far end to act as a screen from the houses behind, once the trellis is added I'll concrete the footings and remove the braces, then add the cross pieces along the top.



Steve...:)

[Steve.]

Timeline: 12th August 2008

The pretty bit, still a very young garden, but coming along nicely.











The pergola still needs some timbers accross the top, that can wait till I have found some...the basic structure is there now.

Steve...:)

[Steve.]

Timeline: 12th August 2008

More pretty stuff, pots this time :D











Steve...:)

[Steve.]

Timeline: 12th August 2008

I have had to buy a greenhouse brand new, this is after trying for the last 6 months to recycle one via such places as freecycle or to buy one second hand (and so recycle) via ebay (always outbid at the last minute!). All I have to do now is erect it and start using it, if only things where that simple! There is a shed in the way of where I want to put it, and when thats removed there are two old shrub roots to dig up and remove.

Here is the "other" half of the garden you have not seen much of upto now.




















The shed is to be repaired, painted, emptied, moved, refilled and its final location is right up next to the car/fence, facing the same way. The fence also needs removing and a new one building complete with gate for access. Up by that fence there is a mound of soil left over from when I dug out the patio area, that needs flattening before the shed move.

You can see my incredibly fantastic composting system here, two big wooden crates, one is full and composting, one is empty (now) but was full of well rotted manure and the bins are full of "done" compost thats now maturing, all this will be replaced and rebuilt into a more efficient use of space and will stretch along the wall between the shed and greenhouse, containing three, maybe four bays to it. One for storage, one for "doing" one for maure and a spare..maybe for leaves/extra storage.

And the grrenhouse will eventually be going where the shed is now, so that the door of the g/house actuallu faces the house, set slightly back from the current shed frontage so that I can get a full length coldframe next toand along the side of the g/house, but not interfering with that ghastly grid cover.

Steve...:)

[Steve.]

Timeline: 21st January 2009

I intend to start work on this area/side of the house this week, weather allowing. This tatty old shed is to be moved and replaced with a greenhouse. To the right side of the shed are two very large old shrub roots to be dug up first. Branches cut of these got to 3 inches thick, roots should be fun!!



Rear view of the shed also shows my sophisticated composting system !!



Bags are full of last autumns leaves ;)



From the side of the shed looking taowrds the front of the house.



The shed (8x6) will be moved right up against the fence here and given a lick of paint, I'll be building a new stronger and bigger (12x7) shed next year or year after. And between the shed and new greenhouse, along the wall I'll be building a composting area with two or three bays in it. And the fence at the front needs doing and a decent gate too.

This is the first of three or four projects for this year.

Steve...:)

[Steve.]

Timeline: 2nd February 2009

Shed has been emptied, broken down, moved, reassembled and refilled. 2 x tree/shrub roots removed from next to block wall and ground leveled again. That was yesterday, today snow has stopped me...:(



Steve...:)

[Steve.]

Timeline: 12th March 2009

Well finally with a few days of reasonable weather, I've managed to move on with this part of the garden even though its been raining at night turning it into a mudbath.

Shed has been moved and a new gate made and mounted.

Due to the sites nature of flooding when it rains, I've opted for a flagged base to the greenhouse, so toms and the like will have to be grown in growbags or pots. As you can see I'm nearly at the point of glazing the GH now which will hopefully get done over the next day or two...then I can start filling some seed trays..:D



Then there is some tidying up to do..

Steve...:)

[Steve.]

Timeline: 18th March 2009

I did say "warts an' all" at the start.

I got on with the Glazing on Monday, paying particular attention to safety I made sure I handled the glass with a decent pair of gloves, made sure that when doing the roof I had a stable platform to stand on and that I had all clips ready to be used..before getting the next piece of glass.
I started to glaze one side and had the lower pieces in all the way along, when walking away to get the next piece of glass, my hand "brushed" against one of the lower panes and cut my finger quite badly.



Off to the GP's and as it was the outside of my finger they could deal with it using paper sutures, had it been the inside it would probably have damaged tendons. Here's the embarrassing bit, I fainted whilst at the docs..



Tuesday, and I carried on with the glazing and when I finally got to the fourth of four glass boxes I was dissapointed to find 3 pieces broken, so it was off to Focus DIY to see if I could sort out some replacements. They could not have been more helpfull about it and once they had ascertained which of the four boxes had the peices in that I needed....I was given the whole box!
Back home the greenhouse was soon finished and I have enough glass spare to redo the whole roof if I wanted to, I've now added a cold frame to the end of the list of my jobs...well you would...wouldn't you?



Today I'll be tidying up the mortar on the brick base and hopefully getting some staging into the GH, the rest of the week I'll be sorting out an exterior and interior ramp for Anne as she has decreased mobility and then hopefully getting getting some seeds into trays.

Steve...:)

[Steve.]

Timeline: 22nd March 2009

I built some staging for the greenhouse and painted it yesterday, all recycled timber. A bit of effort collecting and then cleaning it up (de-nailing etc). Can be easily dismantled when needs change..





Steve...:)

[Steve.]

Timeline: 29th March 2009

I've had one of those 4 shelf, zip-up greenhouses for a few years now, its served well but now I have transferred its contents to the real McCoy and I have officially "moved in" and started some seed off to.



Whilst working in the greenhouse, here is the view out..:)



I aquired some old scaffold boards last week and have made a raised bed (7ft x 3.5ft) for our strawberies, other things will be planeted in between them too. The timber atop the bed is to support netting to stop the birdies nicking our berries...and to stop our three cats "using" the bed...if you know what I mean.;)





The space left between this new bed, greenhouse, shed and wall will have a new 3 bay compost area added in the coming days, but first I have to "make good" the wall as a very old ivy has nearly destroyed the wall, I've now removed the ivy and stump and as you can see, the wall is in a sad state.



New compost area here



Thats all for now, compost bins next.

Steve...:)