and side garden .... Yes my dear readers the front garden renovation has taken place. The Knot Garden is now the Not Knot Garden.
After months - nay years - of thinking about it, worrying about it, worrying about the sheds (those f*ing sheds) the work is now complete. But let's start at where we were......
Here is the front garden in 2007, probably taken before I'd properly moved in. I thought the front lawn was boring, I had grand ideas, I wanted a knot garden.
Years pass, several iterations take place and this is the Knot Garden probably in its hey-day, probably when I liked it best. This was taken probably in 2019 and I really did quite like the garden at that point. It had quite clean lines, the weeds were under control, it was how I'd imagined it in my mind's eye.
Except this didn't last long. Whilst I kept it maintained the hedges were full of brambles and the leylandii hedge whilst not really a problem, was a problem. It drained that side of the garden of all nutrients and grew out making maintenance that side hard. Robins nested in it so I would not cut it back during the main season and meant whilst I did not hugely like it, I liked its green and the robins. It also was not my hedge, it belonged to my neighbours and they did keep it well managed though admittedly it does not look it in this picture.
Once I decided it was going to be removed I did stop working on the front garden. That meant it really did look terrible for most of this year. It became sort of self-fulfulling prophecy - the more I didn't work on it the worse it got, the more I disliked it, the more I knew it had to go.
Earlier this year I was having a chat with my neighbour and I was telling them that I was going to get some work done on the front garden. We had talked previously about the leylandii coming out and I said if they wanted to chip in, I could put it all into the same project. My neighbours are very handy and very go-to and they were not going to hang around. I kid you not, within hours this was the sight from my front window. Don't worry, there were no robins nesting in it, they did check.
A coupe of weeks later and the fence was in place. This created a bit of new planting space for me as they had cleared the ground a little to put the fence in. This was all good. So now I had to get on with getting my front garden sorted. A couple of quotes later and Clearspace Groundcare Solutions had given a reasonable quote so the deposit was paid and it was wait until the birds have finished nesting and they had time in their schedule to get started. Suddenly it was time. Tom and Jay arrived, a digger arrived and ....
The front garden is cleared.
The f*ing sheds were gone - I cannot tell you what a relief this is to me. It is bonkers to worry about sheds I know, but they sat there, falling apart, absolutely no use to me and harbouring more ivy and brambles then you can shake a stick at. I think I mainly shook my fist at them and this was as ineffectual as you would expect. You can also see some fencing going up - this is to shield the greenhouse from the stone-throwers. Let's hope it works!
What am I going to do with the no-shed space? That is probably the biggest question I have. I will work it out but first that big tree in the middle needs to come out and that is on the list to happen soon.
Mountains of rubbish were created and the skip was filled, emptied and refilled.
The hedge at the side of the house collapsed in a recent gale, so this is a view I have never seen before. You can just about see a concrete post in the hedge, that is where the old hedge used to come across to the side of the house. I had always wanted a gate between the front and back of the house and so now was the time to make this happen. But look at this space! It also looks huge because the old rowan tree that was strangled by ivy has been removed.
This is the before picture with the tree still in place. Yes there really is a tree under there. I had tried to save the tree from ivy a few times, but it was to no avail. Sadly it was time for the tree to go.
Now I have a gate and fence, this is really satisfying and makes me feel more secure in the house. You can see the side lawn is some-what unhappy, but it will probably bounce back. I actually have a plan for this, more of this another day......
Then the lawn was laid, what an amazing difference this has made. No longer do I think it is boring, why on earth did I think that in the first place? Now it is much needed green calm. Now when I get back from work I will not frown at it and think it needs weeding, oh no, I will frown at it and think it needs mowing but that is a quick task to complete. No no no, I don't think it needs mowing now - crikey me - now it needs watering - a lot. As if to oblige, it has rained heavily over the last two days. Thunder, lightning and stairrods of rain! This is good.
