What we started with 15 years ago.

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After taking a stroll through the garden this June I thought you might like to see these are the pictures that I took when we first moved here in October 1995. The camera came as a free gift with the Cooker. All of these pictures have been scanned in to the computer and the quality is not that good, but then neither was the camera.
As you can see from the tour, there was little in the way of garden. Indeed most of the area was just a sea of chest high weeds. What you cannot see is that under the weeds is/was a mass of rubbish of all kinds from broken bricks to bits of car. We reckon we have removed over 30 tons of unwanted material from the land to make to garden you see today.

To help you orientate yourself with the pictures which follow this is a picture of part of the garden showing the relationship of the house to the Sheds and the garden itself. The top right hand corner of the picture is North The area is just under an acre in size.

This is the view one got stood by the Kitchen window looking to the North West down the garden across a pond and on to an old falling down greenhouse. This was probably the best bit of the property at the time.

Still looking from the Kitchen window this was the view slightly to the North. The trees in the middle ground were two Apple trees and a Greengage. Beyond the fruit trees is the weed infested field and in the far distance a very tall Perry pear tree.

Looking from the kitchen window to the North East. Behind the Stags horn Sumach is the chicken shed and run. The other plant is a huge Knifophia.

From the corner of the house looking North West. The trees in the middle are Apple and a Greengage.

Still looking from the corner of the house, past a huge Pampas grass towards the North. The Chicken shed and run are visible, as is the field beyond.

From the corner of the house if one looks to the North north east you are looking at a breeze block shed with a rather nice Damson tree hanging over it. On the left are some of the plants that we brought with us. On the right is a vegetable garden.

From the corner of the house looking North east across the Vegetable garden at the very dilapidated pig sheds. These were being used as a dog kennel. The corrugated iron was very rusty and the wooden supports almost eaten away by woodworm.

From the corner of the house looking South east past the back door out across the front garden to the road and the fields beyond.

Standing at the corner of the tool shed, which is a corrugated iron shed attached to the breeze block work shed and looking across the weeds to the North west. The tall tree is the Perry pear with a set of Damson trees to the right of it.

From the corner of the tool shed, looking over the top of pieces of my greenhouse to the North. The gap between the Damson trees on the left and the Hawthorn on the right lets you look into the fields beyond.

Looking from the corner of the tool shed to the North east at the Hawthorn hedge and a tall Ash tree. You can see the weeds very clearly.

From the corner of the tool shed looking East. Not a lot to look at only more weeds hiding more rubbish.

From the corner of the tool shed looking South east to the Field gate. This opens out on to the road. What you cannot see is that what looks like grass is low growing weeds in an area which has been covered in large road making gravel.

Now moved to the North east corner of the plot under the Ash tree. This is what you would have seen looking back towards the house.

Looking from the Ash tree back towards the Chicken run. It was almost impossible to walk in a straight line from here to the run.

The tall tree is a Perry Pear (the fruit is hard and small and is used for making Pear cider’ Perry’). On the right of it are a set of Damson trees.

Standing just behind the Perry pear tree and looking along the line of the Damson trees this is the view of the field and woods beyond.

Turning slightly to the North East and you can see the tall Ash tree in the North East corner of the property. You can see where the lorries which dumped tons of gravel and subsoil at the bottom of the garden have left a trail through the weeds.

Standing with ones back to the Perry pear tree and looking South across the weeds. The Chicken run and tool shed area is in the distance. From the picture it is hard to tell that the land slopes upwards away from the tree.

This is the view from the old glasshouse back up the garden, looking East. The trees are a flowering cherry, apples and a greengage.

This was taken from the back bedroom window. At the bottom of the ‘garden’ is a home made greenhouse. You can see the fields and woods beyond the property line.

A good general view of the cultivated part of the property and the uncultivated. The gap between the Damsons on the left and the Hawthorns on the right allows a clear view of the countryside beyond.

Now we are looking out of the Bathroom window, which is above the rear entrance to the house. The washing line is over a piece of concrete that then was covered in trays of plants that we brought with us. The pig pens are clearly visible. In the distance is the view of the surrounding countryside.

Again taken from the Bathroom window. You can see all of the Workshed and tool shed roofs.

When we looked behind the old greenhouse we discovered this area of weeds and rubbish. In it was a wasps nest of over a metre across. It was disposed of. The nest was beside a stinking pool of water.

The fence marks the end of the property and belongs to our neighbours. The pool of water turned out to be an uncovered inspection chamber for the Septic tank outfall. Once it was unblocked and the water drained away, it was properly covered.

Since the Pig pens were in such a dangerous condition I took them down. This is what was behind them, next to the hedge along the road. This had been used as a compost area and was full of rubbish, but the soil was wonderfully rich.

This is the view looking the other way towards the Field gate. These pictures give you a sample of what we found under the weeds over virtually the whole of the rest of the property.

This is the best I can make this picture. The pens have been removed as has a lot of the surface rubbish. It leaves quite a nice big area to use as garden.

With a little help from Henny and Penny I dug the first of the Vegtable growing areas almost before I did anything else. After all we did have to eat.
And if you are wondering why the Veg patches were put here, well, it is because it was the only area of the garden that was not full of old batteries, from pre-war accumulater types to modern torch batteries. They were (and still are) everywhere.

This is how the garden looked about 10 years on. Since then there have been a few more additions, but we still are waiting for the next photographto be offered. The top right hand corner of the picture is North

And that , my friends, is the land as it was. I think we have improved things a little.

• 8 Jun, 2010
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