How green does your garden grow: A 'Before and After' story.
Peter Reader Landscapes
6 years ago
As I sit and look out the window at the grey sky and tumbling snow of one of the worst winter episodes I recall it is great to remember the warmth of the sun and the magic that it works on a new garden. Here are some pictures of a garden I first met the clients at in September 2014. The garden was constructed the following early summer and has really blossomed ever since. Hopefully these pictures will warm you.
The garden as it was:
And the first summer after the build:
And the following year:
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Peter Reader Landscapes
6 years ago Related Discussions
Tell us your best or worst neighbour stories!
Comments (34)The shortest time we lived in a house was 18 months - the neighbour turned out to have serious psychological problems, he took against me within weeks, pushing notes through letterbox saying I was a female she devil and deserved to burn in hell etc, etc. and quoting bible stuff. I had not even seen or spoken to him at that point, just held perfectly normal conversations with his partner. Then it was pounding on our adjoining walls at night, digging up the plumbing pipes behind our houses (he didn't want polluted excrement through the pipes?!) going out to his work leaving the Magic flute playing at full blast (echoes an episode of Morse?) until we had to call the police. The culmination was a throwing bricks at our french windows standing in our garden, apparently attempting to stone me (something biblical again?). We couldn't sell the house to anyone but a landlord who "took it off our hands" at a price below what we paid for it. I felt guilty as he continued to harass various renters afterwards, but eventually they moved out, not before breaking the legs of the last occupant next door. The police were very politically correct throughout and of course I felt immensely sorry for his condition, but have to wonder about care in the community as opposed to the days when people with serious psychiatric problems were locked up for their own good and the good of others. What do people think on that score??...See MoreWin a Hamper! Vote for the Best Before/After Project of the Year!
Comments (112)All of the projects are very impressive, the transformations are all pretty amazing and should definitely provide inspiration to anyone looking to do similar projects. I was personally torn between the country kitchen and the sloping garden, in the end my vote went to the sloping garden project, the transformation from a blank awkward looking area to such a cleverly designed and attractive space is amazing....See MoreDo you grow your own fruit and veg?
Comments (16)Starting growing my own veg when we landscaped our garden and added raised beds a few years ago. Also have a tiny lean-to greenhouse which is good for starting things off but it's a bit too easy to forget about things I've put in there! We have a crab apple tree which I've used to make crab apple chutney and jelly. I've grown potatoes, peas, courgettes, carrots, onions, raspberries, strawberries, spinach & salad leaves fairly successfully. Tomatoes & squash didn't go so well! I most enjoy growing things I can pick direct from the garden and eat/cook straight away. The peas and salad also look quite nice in the garden. Our raised beds were filled with soil that was dug up from elsewhere in the garden (including lots of stones which seem impossible to remove and I'm now just considering as drainage...) & I dig in compost each year. I rotate the crops I can but I'm not sure if it really makes any difference. Slugs and snails are a problem! They don't seem to like red lettuce though so I have plenty of that!...See MoreGarden - what can I grow in preparation for moving?
Comments (10)We moved hundreds of pots of plants when we moved. I'd already been potting cuttings up for two or three years and also buying shrubs to grow on. All the work to our house and the landscaping to the garden took much much longer than expected and many plants have had to be potted on several times, which adds to the work. We are at the planting stage this year, three and a half years after buying the property and six months after actually moving. It's hard work growing your own mini nursery! You needs loads of space for a start, racking and shelving for smaller pots so you can keep an eye on them without bending down, and space for all your bigger pots and plants to line up. The major problem is watering. You need to know the water requirements for each plant so you don't over or under water, and remember that when they outgrow their pot water requirements increase. Automatic watering systems don't help as they can't think for you. You'll find yourself jigging things around to find space for the new additions. All these plants are a temptation to rabbits and deer too so you might need to consider an enclosure. And this doesn't just happen while you're creating your nursery but also at the other end before you can plant. Believe me, builders and landscapers take up a lot of space, spread themselves around and you have to keep your plants safe from them... shade is a requirement for many plants, or even to help save some watering when the weather's hot but the converse is that they can then dry out too quickly as they don't catch all the rain. So you find yourself lugging and shifting your pots as the seasons change. Then there's protection in winter for all those exposed pots. A poly tunnel or early erection of a greenhouse is useful. What happens when you are away or have a holiday? Days of wondering if your plants are OK, is it raining, what will happening during the forecast gales, is it too hot, can you trust your designated watered to take the care you do, they don't know such and such a plant needs only a drop of water as it's freshly repotted and another a gallon a day as it's a guzzler... You'll lose plants from excessive wet in winter and drought in summer as some just give up from the extremes they necessarily have to suffer. On the other hand some plants will do brilliantly and it does make a difference when you start planting to have bigger things, plus the pleasure of knowing you did it yourself. Lugging them all and placing them in their ne homes takes more time than you envisage. Then when you start planting you must have a planting plan as will need to place all your feature and focal plants first. These will of course be the biggest ones and so your small ground covers, perennials, rock plants etc have to hang around in their pots even longer. It works but to be honest when factoring the costs of potting on, extra pots as you will never have enough of the right size no matter how many thousands you might think you have, losses and sheer hassle it might actually be cheaper to wait until you are ready to plant and buy in. If you love your plants and feel you have the time do it, believe me it will take up far more time than you envisage, if you can't cope with the hassle don't. One final and very important point. Label, label, label. Good strong labels, good permanent marker, check they haven't fallen out, been tugged by birds. You need to know your plants so you can recognise them if the labels do go missing and they are slow to green up after the winter. Good luck!...See More
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