Day 30 - Paving complete

Work on the new paving has been steady since the New Year thanks to milder weather. The paths and circular patio are all in as well as a circular retaining wall around the apple tree that will eventually edge the lawn.

We've got the privet heading in at the back of the house and I'm going to plant up the box bushes today near the vegetable beds.

Planning permission came through to allow us to remove the spruce tree in the drive and the tree surgeons came last week to take it down. It makes quite a difference! Once the stump is out we'll be extending the bed to the west wall and edging in the stone just like the beds at the front of the house that you can see in the photos.

We decided to go with a full brick wall to screen the garden from the parking area and the bricks arrived on site last week, so that should be going up next week as long as we get a break in the weather so the mortar doesn't freeze.

Next up construction-wise is the pergola over the circular patio and railway sleepers to form the edge of the vegetable beds. Then we'll need to get some more gravel in for the paths around the vegetable beds and start talking to blacksmiths about railings and gates.

Oh and I've got a lawn to lay. Plenty to do!

        

Day 20 - Break in the weather

Happy New Year!

Progress has been slow on the garden hence my lack of posts. As soon as the cold weather decended at the beginning of December work had to stop as the freezing conditions would crack the mortar and made the ground impossible to dig.

All of the sandstone slabs are now down and almost all pointed, and work has begun again today with the black limestone edging. Andy and I put my shed up but it was too wet and cold to give it a proper coat of Cuprinol so its currently sporting an interesting set of orange highlights...

The hardcore around the vegetable beds is also in and the ground is prepared for the rest of the limestone so, weather permitting, we should see some good progress this week.