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COMPLETING OUR HOME RENOVATION; IN THE GARDEN
Having completed the interior renovation of our home, attention turned to the garden. The outside space was large and one of the reasons we fell in love with this house. We could see the potential, however, when we moved in the landscaping consisted of a strip of concrete leading to the garage, a few fruit trees and a lot of grass.
AN OUTDOOR EXTENSION
We love being outside and wanted to design a garden that made the most of all the different areas and gave a great aspect from every room. Once again, we started researching! I am an avid fan of magazine tear sheets and Pinterest, so it wasn’t a chore to spend hours picking out planting, hard landscaping and details that caught my eye. We sketched ideas onto a plan of our plot and things started taking shape.
A large patio at the back was one of the most important elements for us. Our house is quite small so, when the weather permits, this provides an extra room for relaxing and entertaining friends and family. There is plenty of space, so the patio is also home to our table tennis table! It’s the perfect home extension when the sun is shining.
CREATING A 'GROW YOUR OWN' GARDEN
Another area we wanted was a veggie patch and there was a perfect spot at the front of the property. We were lucky enough to inherit a greenhouse from the previous owner and have since rescued another from my brother-in-law’s garden. Inspired by Instagram, we painted both the greenhouse frames black. They look amazing! I am so pleased with the result, however, I will NEVER be painting another greenhouse for as long as I live. I love that we have breathed new life into two old greenhouses and that it cost us very little money, but it was quite a task.
Anyway, we added raised beds to this area the first Easter after we moved in and the veggie patch has been expanding ever since. I have had good years and less successful years, but there is nothing like making dinner from produce you have grown.
The latest edition is a cut flower bed which was bursting with colour from June until November last year. It was an absolute triumph!
THE UGLY SIDE OF GARDEN DESIGN
As the garden hadn’t been touched since the house was built, we decided to replace all the drainage from the house to the septic tank. It’s an ugly, unpleasant thing to mention, but what was the point in laying a new patio only to have to dig it up a few years later to replace old drainage? In for a penny, in for a pound! I have to admit, when the trenches were being dug out was stressful. I used to work for a construction company but having the Somme outside your new French doors was alarming.
This landscaping took two men the best part of four months to finish. They did a fabulous job and we got on like a house on fire, but a big family BBQ on August bank holiday weekend was my deadline. Fortunately, they finished the job on time. Plus, we had run out of money.
We hadn’t been so diligent about keeping track of the money spent on the garden. Replacing the drainage and creating a sweeping gravel drive (something I have dreamed about for years) doesn’t come cheap. In addition, we had added beds to the veggie patch, installed a mammoth patio with a retaining wall and steps. We had also created raised flower beds and added a small side patio where we can shelter from the afternoon sun (now our favourite morning coffee spot!). It was time to put a hold on work.
Pausing at this point was a good thing. It’s been a delight to see the new buds poking through the soil and
we are learning what to plant where. Deers and rabbits have discovered the veggie patch, so we have to think about what to grow and how to protect crops. I would like to add more pots to the patio and we need to repair the garage and replace a very hotchpotch shed we have at the back of the garden. I will share more when we get these things underway.
REDESIGNING THE DRIVEWAY
The concrete drive needed attention. My husband and I have a car each and we had teenagers who were about to start driving. The game of tetras we were playing every time someone wanted to leave the house was wearing thin. By transforming the straight drive into a sweeping curve that arched round to the patio we created a solution that looks beautiful and is incredibly practical. Juggling cars is now a thing of the past - unless we have a party!
Linking the distinct zones together was a design challenge. Gardeners World became my ‘go to’ on a Friday night, coupled with lots of sketching and pinning ideas on Pinterest. Finally, we had a design to send to a groundworker and get priced. We’d set aside a budget for landscaping the garden and were happy with the quote, so it was full steam ahead.
The last few years have shown that gardens are such important spaces. We should make the most of any outdoor space and try to introduce as much nature as we can. Finally, never stop looking at ideas, gardens are always a work in progress. I would love to keep bees so that is definitely on my list of things to investigate!
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