My Garden Build - Phase 1 - March 2010 - LJN Blog Posts

Since qualifying as a garden designer I've been itching to get going on my own garden which, as with many things in life, was dependent on finance.It has been 2 yrs 9 months since I moved in and inherited the garden which had very little going for it, so it has been very frustrating having to more or less just keep it tidy and not waste money. Now that work has finally started, to say that I am excited is a vast understatement!It is basically a 8m x 16m rectangle, faces north-west and is next to a fairly busy road. On the plus side it's flat, it belongs to a period property in a lovely rural location with good views, is relatively sheltered and has good soil - a nice sandy loam with a pH of 6.5, hurrah!The biggest obstacle to the design was a hawthorn tree planted about two thirds of the way down the garden near the right hand boundary. This was blocking views, blocking precious sunlight to the bottom of the garden and sucking moisture out of the surrounding soil. I decided it had to go! It was felled last October, here are before and after pictures:

This instantly let a lot more light into the garden and opened up views of the countryside beyond.As you can also see, the fences were in a terrible state. Because of the location and to achieve unity with and transition to the landscape I decided to replace them with hedges. As I wanted something native to Britain that is wildlife-friendly but also wanted a consistent backdrop within the garden, I decided on green beech. It is an excellent wind filter and we also have an existing beech hedge abutting our rear boundary.Day 1 - Site Clearance & Prep for HedgesThe landscaper I had chosen was someone I 'd met on my Garden Design course, so we already had a good relationship and I knew that his company (Equator Developments) would do an excellent job. Having good communication and full confidence in the landscaper makes a world of difference. Their website address is: www.landscapemygarden.comBriefly, I am planning a formal, symmetrical layout for the garden with four raised beds in reclaimed Cheshire brick, central and side axes/paths (reclaimed stone cobble setts) a central stone water feature and a small greenhouse in the bottom right hand corner. Therefore, apart from a few herbaceous plants which I have saved, everything else needed to go.Day 1 consisted of removing the hawthorn stump, clearing the site, preparing the ground for hedge planting and installing a post & wire rabbit-proof fence - essential in these parts! Here are some pictures of progress so far:

Unfortunately our neighbours want to retain the decrepit fence between our gardens which they are responsible for but can't afford to replace right now (hard times!) so I had just planned to plant hedge on our side of it. However once the site was cleared it was obvious that it was a real eyesore, so we have managed to persuade the neighbours to allow us to replace the panels and they will contribute financially when they can afford it. I will also paint our side dark green. Or rather my son will!The landscapers return in 2 days to install the new fencing and plant the hedging. We are going to be planting 1.5 m beech whips and as the site now feels very open and exposed, I just hope the hedge establishes well and grows quickly!So as they say; watch this space!

"General guide I use for scarifng is 3x mowing time for one pass 4x for two passes. I Use a blower to clear it up. Scarifying by hand forget about it. takes for ever, really hard on the body only job that gives me blisters."

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Comments

PRO

Phil Voice March 18, 2010 at 7:31pm

What a great blog post Elizabeth...the story comes over so well when done like this.

Shame about the hawthorn as it's a really good size and shape but I fully understand why you made the decision. FWIW, I prefer a hedge (and I love beech) over a panel fence anyday.
David Beasley Garden Design March 18, 2010 at 10:35pm

Real shame about the Hawthorne. Could you not have just chopped off that side limb and had it crown-lifted to expose the distant countryside views. Mature plants in a garden are a very precious resource and I always try my best to retain them by suggesting coppicing and pollarding etc to rejuvenate growth.

Oh well it's gone now, looking forward to seeing your completed design on site!
Elizabeth Buckley March 19, 2010 at 8:46am

Thanks all for the comments; yes it was a shame about the Hawthorne and it made me very sad to have it removed; it was the Robin's favourite perch!

To answer David's question, the main reason I made the decision was that due to the aspect of the garden, it blocked sunlight to the bottom corner of the garden which is the only place I can put a greenhouse. Sited there, the greenhouse will be more or less south facing. In the winter, only the bottom third of the garden gets sun for most of the day. I also figured that I would be compensating for its loss by planting around 200 Beech plants. There are also a lot of mature trees near the garden.
PRO

Phil Voice March 19, 2010 at 9:33am

Hi Steven

I was disappointed to read that you have taken down your running post of the garden makeover you are doing- I, for one, was following it with interest and looking forward to seeing the end result.

I do hope you re-instate it as I'm sure others were reading it too.

All the best

Phil
Elizabeth Buckley March 19, 2010 at 10:38am

Hi from me too Steven, sorry I didn't really understand your comment, but think I am up to speed now!

I'm also sorry you have removed your post as I would have been interested to follow it. I've been looking at your website and see we are quite local to each other!

Best regards, Libby
Lawncare-4u.co.uk March 21, 2010 at 8:48pm

me too steve (just understood ur comment) i was looking with kean interest at your work in telford?

please let us all see the middle and end results ..... it was great progress in the 1/ 2days !! amazed.

im watching you and my mate has commented on all your jobs round stoke / pitshill !!
Elizabeth Buckley March 31, 2010 at 9:28am

Ah right, thanks for that info Steve. Both just up the road from me! Have to say that an 'elusive landscaper' doesn't sound great - lol