Garden revamp - all done!

WOW Gee you have been working hard. All that work and the aching muscles have paid off though, it's looking stunning! Well done!

Well done, you have worked so hard haven't you. But well worth all that effort, it looks really good now, and the best of the summer to enjoy it.

I love those flag stones (if that is what you call them) lol they look so good now that you have them in the 'right place' - excellent work it all looks so nice and the grass is growing so well. All your hard work has made your garden into a very interesting place to be. Even without somewhere to sit. Brilliant blog lovely idea and great to see the before and after pictures - well done you!!!

This has been so interesting to watch your plans change a bit and then take shape. It was well worth all the time and thought and effort that you put into it and you should feel very proud and satisfied now that it's done.

Lovely garden for one and all! :-)

Great job Gee, lovely to see the progress and plan changes too, gosh you have worked hard but the result is just lovely, aw no spare chair for the worker?! :o)

oh wow, it looks tremendous! and laying and lifting and re-laying and then tweaking - your back must have felt as much a mosaic as the path! it looks gorgeous, so neat and spacious, and the new lawn looks lush enough to feed a herd of tortioses.

so pleased for you!!

It looks nice now :) Well worth the effort.
I hope the tortoises and Millie approve :D

Fantastic job, Gee. I always admire people, who are able to do such a wonderful things on their own. Very impressive. Thank you for a very nice blog and description of your back yard evolution :-)

Great blog, Gee. I was a little worried at the start, as to where this was heading, but well done for persevering. The end result looks fabulous after your hard work. Did you get the slab back that was kicked over the fence by that frustrated landscaper ? lol.

Looks as if it was always there Gee. You must be very good at maths to work out all them stones needed to make the complicated layout you planned...so clever. That greened up shape in the middle sets it all off nicely too. Torties may be able to mow that for you. The overview of the new garden looks lovely...a work of art/fulness.

All that time and effort the designer put in, the time and effort plus the backache to then carry out the work, hours spent with the jiggory /pokerey plus frustration to line them up correctly, provide the grassed area for Millie and Tortoise and then when finished someone has the audacity to fill all the seats up with plants and shrubs leaving you with nowhere to sit and admire it all, only one thing for it Gee, you'll have to sack the workforce, lol.....
Great blog, well done you.......

What a great outcome, it looks so proffesional, Im so glad you persevered despite all the hard work, Well Done Gee!

Thank you all :)
Dorjac, it was a case of using all the slabs I had purchased in a very economical way as there is no way of getting any more (they are smaller than normal slabs). I am useless at maths!

I am going to clear one of the seats so I can sit down when the sun returns - a cup of coffee and an ice cream cone - bliss :)

Something to look forward to Gee and very nice it sounds too.
I'm confined to quarters indoors with a rotten streaming headcold so the weather hasn't really bothered me this time, grrrrrr...........

Goodness me didnt you do well? I would have kicked the lot over the fence........not a great deal of patience, me!! love how you have managed to link everything up, and so pleased for you, it must have seemed never ending at times....well done.

Sorry you're feeling under the weather, Lincslass, colds should be confined to winter months! Hope you feel better soon.

Thanks, DD2, must admit I nearly gave up once or twice - the bit that bugged me most was the non growing grass :)

hadn't thought about the working-out beforehand, the maths invilved in working out the area that needed to be covered and the areas that the slabs would cover in different configurations

were I wearing a hat I'd take it off to you!

All I can say is you worked bl**dy hard and it looks great well done .

Wow it's looking fantastic Gee! I've got a large patch of mossy lumpy grass and I'm dreading having to lift it all! I hope you'll soon get to sit in the sunshine with your coffee x

Thanks, Kidsgran and Mizzle, so pleased it is all done now and I only have the front garden lawn to mow :)

Brilliant transformation ....
I know what it takes to complete this sort of work in the garden. Laying slabs is never easy especially when they have to meet up with existing features ...... great work ... take a well earned rest.

My goodness I'm exhausted just reading your blog, Gee and thinking about all the hard graft you've put in, but wasn't it worth it? The whole effect looks great now. Now surely you can find somewhere in that lovely garden to put your feet up and enjoy the fruits of your labours?

I hope to make a plant stand sometime soon, Waddy, and that should free up some of the seats - for a while at least :)

Do you ever stop, lol?

I've stopped now, Waddy, the plant stand (very simply made) is done and 2 seats are free for me to sit down :)

And about time too. Pour yourself a large whatever your tipple is and put your feet up!

I sat down today and had an ice-cream :)

:)

Well done gee all your hard work has paid off it looks great love it all.... :))))

Thanks, Holly, I am glad it's finished :)

Gee what a magical transformation, Golly that looked hard work but what a difference ! you have to be pleased with the way it worked out and I'm sure Millie and the tortoise were pleased to have a nice new grass pad to eat and lay on ...well done you deserve a nice long rest now :o)

I hope Millie leaves some room for the torties to graze Gee. They will leave a Millie shaped patch. Everything is as dry as a bone here in Essex. I thought I heard the word drought mentioned a day or so ago. My main butt is nearly empty. I'm in the garden with the iPad and a shandy in the shade too.

Josie tortoise has already munched on the grass, Amy. Millie hasn't been near it and it seems as if she is sticking to one side of the garden, away from the bees, I think. She does not like buzzy creatures!

Very dry here too, Dorjac, and my water butts are empty now from watering the little patch of grass. I recycle my shower water although it's a bit of a chore lugging the cans about. I too have been in the garden but with my Kindle and a glass of squash - shandy sounds better though :)

That's very impressive Gee, what a difference you've made, it looks lovely. I got rid of my grass a few years ago and although the dogs miss it, I don't. My garden takes as long to look after though 'cos I've got more planting area than I had before. Nice to see you left a patch for the tortoise:-)

I've ticked I like but I really love it. What a difference. It is a masterpiece.

Thanks, Scotsgran. I'm pleased with it although I don't know how long the little patch of grass will last. If it doesn't survive very well I will add a gravel patch!

I believe its quite difficult to grow grass from turf so don't be in too big a hurry to change it again. It must be a bit of a nuisance trying to cut a small area but it does finish the picture you have created very well. If it does not succeed then how about a wildflower area. Your tortoises would love that and Millie too probably. You can always bribe one of your willing helpers with a nice cake to cut it for you. Artificial grass might be an option. It comes in sizes up to 4m wide so you should be able to do it. My cousin recently after much humming and hawing went with the artificial grass. It looks great, her grandchildren love it and so does the dog. SIL loves not having to cut her old lawn.

I get on my knees and cut the little patch with shears, Scotsgran, quite therapeutic really and good exercise too :) I wondered about artificial turf but worried about keeping it clean (with dog and tortoise mess). I suppose it can just be hosed down? It is only an area of about 4 foot by 4 foot so not much at all. Definitely something to consider if the grass doesn't survive. It seems to be growing better but already has one little brown patch (Millie wee, I suspect!)

still blown away by how much work yopu put into this, and how much effort, lyaing, lifting, tweaking ...

I've always been a bit of a DIYer, Fran, indoors and out. It can be tiring, as you know, but really enjoyable too :)