Monday 11 March 2013

Garden Transformation

A week of transformation here.  We’ve been living in our house for 3 and a half years and it’s been loved and neglected at the same time.  Things in life sometimes take over the menial maintenance works, and restoring and upgrading in the home.  We are quite busy visiting our family and friends living all over the country, so we often travel on the weekends wide and far.  In the weeks we work, and of course now look after our little man …so our poor house needs some TLC!

I love the fact that our little man is now getting more and more confident on his feet.  He can get up by himself so now there is no great need for the cavalry to be glued to his side so he has a bit more freedom to roam.  In fact he demands the freedom as he doesn’t like holding my hand anymore, and is quite eager to go in the opposite direction!  This project is to make a nice outdoor space, safe for him to play and be happy.

I love our garden and it was one of the selling points of the house – it is split into two sections. The upper section (nearer the house) is landscaped with circular patios, pebbles, shrubbed borders and has an ornamental blossom tree.  This part of the section needs a bit of pruning, planting of some more interesting shady border plants, but in all this part of the garden is here to stay.  I cannot wait until the blossom tree erupts into glorious pink flowers sprinkling confetti everywhere – the sign that spring is here!

The lower section is laid to grass with a small barked area which had some neglected raised borders in.  Before...Where the winter flowering jasmine died away on the trellis, the small picket fence beginning to rot, the grass dug up by rabbit and dog.. it needed some attention.  So we set to work. 

Firstly we lifted all the grass (or should I say 30% grass : 70% the most humongous weed coverage!), I forked over the whole area weeding diligently as I went.  Then with my parents help we laid a small patio at the rear (the shady section where the grass had no chance of growing) that we plan to put a playhouse/den/cubby/sheriff’s house – ahem…NOT a wendy house! We then laid 29 square metres of turf – like unrolling a green rug with instant transformation.

We then laid the small area to bark ready for the bench and planted pots to add colour, and then replaced the small fence to make sure all secure and safe. It looks so good and we are pleased with the result.  I now have a renewed sense of ownership of our garden which gives you the motivation to look after the things you’ve worked hard for.

Thank you to my parents for all their hard work and help…they even bough us a wheel barrow which I think saved our souls! Thank you to my husband for his patience and hard work!

Here is the end result…

Finished Garden

All I have left to do now is to paint all of the fencing, position the bench, buy an erect a play house and plant some colourful flowers.  It doesn’t look like much change…but it definitely has transformed the area.

My little man looks pleased with the results!Pleased with the garden

We have ached, had blisters, got muddy (Very muddy with all the persistent rain!), had tea, had cakes, even had some heated debates – but it has all been worth it.  Gardening is definitely not a glamorous affair, so I shall have to save the glamour for when one is sunbathing on one’s weed free, well maintained lawn!

Love from me and my little man x

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