This time last year - The Top Patio

Hi there everyone😀

Since the beginning of May my Timehop and Facebook pages have been bombarding me with memories of this time last year, when we were in the throes of having some pretty heavy work done in the garden.

Before the works started I published this post, giving an idea of how things looked back then and what our plans were.

Looking at the garden now it's very easy to forget how it was at the height of the works being done and now seemed as good a time as any to share the progress we've seen over the last year with you.

I took lots of photographs whilst the works were in progress so I thought it might be good to do a before, during and after post of each area of the garden, starting with the top patio which used to look like this ...

The plans for this patio were for it to be extended down a bit further into the garden and fully repaved with a colourful Indian sandstone. We were also having a new brick planter built along the back wall of the house, a new gate and shallower steps up into the garden and some tidying up of the drain.

Before any of the garden works could start we had to have some repairs made to the external render, which really started a period of chaos ...

Once the render repairs were completed works on the garden could begin. The works to improve this patio were not without incident. We had lots of rain, an incorrectly fitted soil pipe, the discovery that the old grey slabs were laid on top of a layer of crazy paving which, in turn, was laid on top of the old concrete yard, leading to lots of issues in excavating the drain. Added to that an incident with the Stihl saw leading to a hospital visit it was a fairly stressful time.

Here is a bit of the journey we went through ...

Old slabs taken up and new shape starting to be seen

The existing side bed will stay but will need to be built up

Footings going in for the retaining wall for the extended patio area

In spite of the mess these delphiniums just keep on flowering

Starting to see the new shape

Starting to excavate the drain, which needs to be raised to the level of the new paving

The bottom of the gate was the level of the old patio, it was one hell of a step down

Yay!!!!! Slabs!!!

More slabs, steps and some brick facing

Beginning to see how it will look

Surely we are getting there now?

Delphiniums are still looking good

My favourite bit so far

It looks fabulous wet

Time to build a planter

And some steps

My new favourite bit

Finishing off the planter

We are definitely nearly there now

July 2017 - BBQ Ready

So there you go, that's what we went through to get the top patio as it is looking today ...

We have been pretty busy since the landscapers left ...

We have given the arbor a makeover

Added slate chippings around the edges and have a brand new gate

Planted up the raised bed in a bit of a purple theme

Planted up Martin's mum's old bread pansion with succulents which have not only survived the winter, but are actually flowering

We have added this plantstand, planted with more succulents, ferns and seasonal bedding

Re-planted the side bed with a mixture of spring bulbs and evergreen perennials

It is really starting to look good with plenty of colour and interesting bits and pieces to catch your eye. This is the view from my kitchen door as of today ...

And this is the view looking down the garden ...

If you've made it this far, well done and thank you for sticking with it, I know there were lots and lots of pictures, but I am so glad that I've captured this journey that we've been through with this part of the garden. 

Overall we are really pleased with how it has turned out and, whilst there are still a few bits and pieces that we want to add or finish off, we are really looking forward to spending lots of time out there over the summer 🌞🌞🌞

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Stratford-upon-Avon - #4 Shakespeare's Birthplace

Hi there everyone

It was the second day of our mini-break to Stratford-upon-Avon, where we were exploring the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust properties. We had spent our first day visiting Anne Hathaway's Cottage and Hall's Croft and the morning of our second day at New Place.

Whilst our 'full story' ticket gave us entry to all five Shakespeare Birthplace Trust properties, we had decided that we would leave Mary Arden's Farm for another time, but we did want to visit his birthplace, which is very handily situated in the centre of town.

Having had a real good wander around the gardens of New Place we decided we needed a bit of a breather before looking at his birthplace and found a very nice spot in the High Street which fit the bill perfectly.

We were sat outside in the sunshine, pretty much opposite the birthplace ...

Once inside there is a bit of a film showing lots of different interpretations of Shakespeare's works and a colourful comic strip which summed up the plots of all of his plays ...

We were eager to head outside into the gardens at the back of the property ...

... where getting a photo without any other visitors in it was pretty tricky, as there was a very steady stream of student and school trips coming and going  ...

There was the occasional quiet and tranquil spot ...

We did look round the ground floor of the house, which was laid out as it would have been when Shakespeare was born ...

... but it was just so busy that we couldn't face queuing to climb the narrow stairs, so we ducked under the rope and we were soon back outside ...

We had a sit in the regulation deckchairs before being swarmed upon by a group of foreign students as they finished their tour of the house.

We managed to grab one fairly decent shot of the gardens and the house, apart from the Patisserie Valerie presence which kind of spoils the moment, before deciding that we'd had enough and moved on ...

Whilst I'm sure we would have enjoyed this property more if it hadn't been quite so busy it was most definitely the least favourite of all that we had seen and we were glad to leave and find a nice quiet spot on the terrace at the back of the RSC for a drink and go at the crossword.

Whilst it was still nice, the weather did seem to be taking a bit of a turn and it got a bit cooler and greyer overhead.

We managed a final wander around the canal basin, picking up a few Geocaches along the way, before heading back to the Premier Inn for a bit of a chill out before dinner.

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Joy in the Everyday Ordinary - May, 15-21

Hi there everyone

It's time for the third in my series of pictures which capture the joy that can be found in the everyday ordinary. Simple things that make me smile, maybe not quite significant enough to make a post of their own, but are worth capturing for the memory, even if it was just a moment.

I did wonder if I would struggle for pictures this week as, with Martin at work, there have been no exciting adventures out and about, it really has been a week of everyday ordinary and it was a reminder really ... of just how much I like it that way.

So here we go with another seven days ...

Day 15 - I have to say that this was not the best day ever. On of the neighbours was having their gable end repointed and we were in for two days of dust clouds as a result of the grinding out of the old mortar. This lead to the street, the car, the front and the back garden being covered with dust. Even though it was a lovely day I was pretty much confined indoors. I tried to make the most of it by having a dummy run at laying out the craft table in readiness for our first event of the year on Sunday.

Day 16 - Martin bought me these two cross stitch magazines as a wedding anniversary present and, though I should have been ironing or cleaning the house, I couldn’t wait to get started on this flamingo cross stitch phone case.

Day 17 - It was another glorious day and I spent a lovely hour or so in the garden, catching up with old work friends who have provided me with my next sewing project.

Day 18 - To say I’ve been neglecting my wifely duties this week is a bit of an understatement. Poor old Martin has been at work and I’ve been at home, no housework, no ironing, I’ve not even cooked tea, so today I decided to try and pull a few points back by making our favourite Shepherds pie for tea. It’s not that I don’t enjoy cooking, I do, there are just so many other interesting things to be getting on with.

Day 19 - I'd ordered these Ridiculously Rich by Alana lemon and elderflower blondies as a bit of a treat for us whilst we watched the royal wedding. We ended up making a bit of a thing of it and went round to friends where Jackie and I spent the best part of the day glued to the TV whilst Martin and Phil got cracking on a new raised bed in the garden.

Day 20 - Another very full day as we attended our first craft fair of the year. We got there early and it was very peaceful and quiet and the views of the surrounding countryside were just beautiful.

Day 21 - I can not tell you how thrilled I am with this clematis that we planted last year in the new raised bed. It has totally surpassed our expectations for its first year and is a real treat to see from the kitchen window.

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