I saw this old photo of our middle patio a few days ago and thought, eek! Look how lush, leafy, and private this area used to be....
How it was in September 2012
Now it looks so bare, sparse, and exposed.
Crikey, like we just moved in and have only started doing up the garden...
That's the way it is though, it is on repair stage and it's only late March and most deciduous plants are only starting to put on new growth.This area is rather private anyway even without the plants but it would be nicer if the views of our neighbours shed roofs are obscured and fences blended away like it was before. At least old photos of our garden will serve as our guide as we work towards restoring and repairing it to how it was before. Not to be an exact copy of course but at least replicate the sense of privacy the area used to have, eventhough the area is private irregardless.
The road to recovery starts by removing mess and clutter
Speaking of fences, it's one those things that seems most people are preconditioned not to see or take notice of. Fencing - you either blend it away or you emphasize it. Opt for the latter, make sure you have beautiful, well constructed, and sturdy fences for they will not only serve to demarcate boundaries but they become a feature. Opt for the former then use sensible, natural colours to blend it away.
Voila! Clutter gone!
We're opting for the former and will be blending it away, like how it was before. It doesn't have to be perfect but we'll level the panels as much as is possible (our garden actually slopes) then paint the concrete (albeit charred) posts with dark brown masonry paint. Then the fence panels itself with dark brown stain. Then we'll let the planting do the blending and concealing.I wonder myself how much lushness we will be able to restore this year. I'm pretty confident we can most it even if we have to use more annuals than usual this to fill in the gaps whilst the more permanent plants fill up.
Looking back at our own past for some inspiration
Anyway, the year is early and the growing season has just begun. And we've only just begun ourselves. I'm curious what we'll come up with and achieve in this area this year. Will it feel private again as early as this year. We'll wait and see...Mark :-)
