When is a Gardener not a Landscaper ?

Perhaps when he's a Groundsman ? It's difficult to differentiate by using the Wikipedia definitions.Do we care ?In my profile, I describe myself as a Wilderness Tamer !! I suppose that from time to time I adopt the role of all four titles. The "Plantsperson" of the family is Margaret. She knows all about petals and stamens and stuff. I assist her in preparing the sites for her endeavors so I suppose I'm her groundsman.The remainder of my horticultural activities are mostly in the taming and maintenance roles.Here's an aerial view of my plot contained within the red line.

It comprises about four hectares (ten acres). The Western boundary is the bed of a disused railway line, the front gate is at the northern extent, the Eastern bounday is the Baranca de Solso (a stream bed that's normally dry except during heavy rain).The plot is divided into four levels, the lowest of which is the long, thin, green looking field bordering the Baranca on the right. There are two square terraces at the next two levels up, abutting the southern boundary. The black colour is old weed barrier. The top level on the left is the edge of a plataeu that extends some miles to the West.The house is on the right hand edge of the top level about halfway up. It's the L shaped building, (two former houses joined together) with the red flat roof.When we arrived about three years ago, the whole site was covered with rampant weeds with an average height of about a metre. It was formally a commercial nursery that had not been maintained for some years.In later posts, I'll describe the challenges and the progress so far.Why did we take it on ? After four months of searching, the house was the best we could afford and the plot was something that went with the territory.

"NFU are very exensive but are very good when it comes to making a claim apparently... but hopefully never have to. I was looking for a combined policy to cover all insurances but according to my broker there isnt one so I end up paying a broker fee…"

"Agree with you Graham, we have a client with a long run of Laurel which we only cut once a year mid june and have done for over 20 years, the client is fussy with a capital F ! It's a superb evergreen hedge which is bomb proof.
As to this so called…"

"Disagree there! I maintain a site with a couple of of large laurel hedges and one cut in July suffices and keeps it looking nice. Agree.... looks nasty immediately after cutting but quickly perks up so you don't notice the cut leaves. Pretty much…"

Comments

Kerrie John-The garden design Co October 7, 2008 at 7:56pm

I for one would love to see what Margaret and you do with that vast plot. What type of soil are you dealing with and what is your end goal?
Andrew Fereday October 7, 2008 at 9:18pm

Have you got any big ideas for the plot or is it going to develop organically so-to-speak?
Bigyin October 7, 2008 at 10:06pm

Thanks for your interest Kerrie and Andrew. You could hardly call it soil. It's the same stuff that the road consists of. I'll provide details in a later post. Any ideas I have for this place would have to be "big" but it'll be a bit at a time due to financial constraints and I'm the only labourer available. I'll also list my tools as I go along. Watch this space.

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