Thursday 13 August 2015

Our Garden

It's funny how easily you can forget the progress that you've made. It was only the other day when I was out in the garden looking despondently at my flower beds and feeling that I had not really prepared properly for the summer when I realised that I had actually achieved quite a lot with our little plot.

I can still remember that hot July, five years ago when we first got the keys to our house and I would excitedly go over there most evenings after work to try out paint colours or make a list of what work needed to be done before we could move in. The garden was mostly deck and gravel with a overgrown tree at the bottom under which lurked a shed and some uncared for shrubs.


The first garden jobs that I noted down were to trim back the tree and reclaim some of our garden and then to dig out the gravel that surrounded the decking so that I could gain more space for plants.


But I was still hankering after more growing space so after peering through the gaps in the decking and lifting a few boards to see what lay beneath, we took it up to reveal the paving underneath and then lined the beds with a few rows of bricks to match up with the curved corners.



Getting there! But then we decided to build our garden room which meant that I would lose those shady flower beds at the end of the garden. So to compensate, we enlarged the curved flower beds in the middle of the garden. We also lost the right-hand fence during some stormy weather while we were in the midst of the building project so we replaced it with a nicer one.


And here is the latest shot of the garden, the photo above was taken a year ago so things are starting to get more established now. It's funny to think that there is actually more available square-footage in the very first photo of the garden (before we did any work) yet to me it actually looks smaller!



But I still have plans, albeit on a much smaller scale! This time I'm going to tackle the part of the garden that I never photograph (and for good reason!) It's a little bit of a mess, I use it as a pot dumping ground and an area to store compost. Currently it's not an overly attractive spot but when I saw this photo I was inspired to recreate it as much as possible.

http://www.tuinieren.nl/tuinnieuws/planten/4-seizoenen-mooi.html

 There's no reason why my pot storage area could not be pretty and practical!

13 comments:

  1. I love your posts and eagerly await new ones! Your garden is SO pretty,how is the garden room have you done anything more to it?I am leaving work next week!(hooray) so am on a massive declutter and really looking forward to clearing my garden too and hopefully it will all start to look more organised!! Ttfn Pam.Ps did you decide on painting your fireplace?

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    1. Hi Pam, I've decided on the colour - just need to find the time to paint it! As soon as I do I will post an update.

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  2. I think you have done a magnificent job in transforming your garden Charlotte. The wider curved borders and the garden room have been so well planned and designed. You gave great style and are inspiring. Ann

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  3. You've certainly made a huge improvement in your garden. I like the inspiration for your pot storage area, it looks really attractive.

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  4. ...oh my!...you are just too close to it...I can see it clearly from america...and your garden is simply gorgeous...blessings laney

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  5. your posts are always so inspiring and helpful- Thank you for writing about Farrow and Ball paints some time ago as it helped me to choose the perfect colour for my kitchen. Now this post about your garden will give me some ideas about how I should organize mine

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  6. Dear Charlotte, Your cottage is positively charming. I would love to feature it in my Living Large In Small Spaces series on my blog A Joyful Cottage. I couldn't find an email address for you, so I'm leaving this comment in hopes you will contact me at ajoyfulcottage@gmail.com. I'd very much like to collaborate with you. Warmest regards, Nancy Reinke

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  7. The garden is looking really nice now. I love how its all turned out
    Janice

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  8. I think you have done a brilliant job, and you are right, it definitely looks larger this way.

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  9. What a lovely garden! You have great style and inspiring. Thanks for sharing this!

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  10. I would like to congratulate you on making such a lovely garden, you have managed to fit a lot into such a small space. It was inspiring to read about your gardening adventures and the photos look lovely. I also like your cat. You have inspired me to give gardening a go and hopeful I can improve my little patch of grass!

    Norberto @ Thorburn Landscapes

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