A Walk Around My Garden In Autumn

I did :-)
Juuust lovely Dawn :-))))

Beautiful :>))))))))

Enjoyed?....most definitely. I didn't know you had this wonderful place!!! You lucky girl:))))

A lovely scenic walk. Thanks for bringing us along. :o)

Thanks everyone, not looking at its best at the moment. We set the trees about 8 years ago when they were just whips.

Lovely place Dawn,enjoyed the walk. :))

How big is the garden all together, Dawn? It looks huge! How lovely to have a place to walk Bonnie so close to home! :-))

WoW its Amazing Dawn, Do you keep it maintained yourself? Wow again..

Good photos, Dawn... I especially like the bridges :o)

Thanks Stripes/TT.
Thanks Daisy, yes we do the maintenance ourselves, as we have hawthorn hedges all the way around, they keep us busy and the pond takes alot of mine time - removing reeds.
Spritz: Yes, I can go up the garden and walk Bonnie in my dressing gown if I wish, ha ha.
We must have about 3 acres altogether, with this area and the gardens. There are around 1500 trees (that need thinning soon) and the pond is 500 metres wide :-)

Good gracious! I've been talking to a land-owner! LOL.

Ha ha Spritz - its not as glamourous as it sounds. This area is well, lets say very natural - I try but I just can't keep on top of everything, I'm like you, I do all the gardening myself and husband does any maintenance and mowing.

I certainly did Dawn I think Trees are my most favourite things.

A full time job then Dawn, Maybe you welcome the deep winter for a rest :) Your gardens are Amazing, Well done to you and Hub, Gorgeous, Gorgeous, Gardens..

I love them too Stroller plus they are mainly native ones :-)

Who says the winter is restful, Ydd? LOL.

Thanks Daisy, you are too kind :-)
It sure is a full time job and Winter is easier, a bit, ha ha.

Thats a lovely garden Dawn I love to look at frost. we havent had any yet.

Yes, I'd agree - a bit, Dawn! lol.

lucky you. i'd love my own woodland. you have it very nice too. i like the more natural look. and that pond is a lake :o)

Thanks Drc, yes, we've had a few frosts here.
Hmm Spritz - yesterday I set 75 bare rooted beech hedging plants and all the hawthorn hedges need cutting back and I have shrubs/trees to move, trees to have lower branches removed etc. etc. - you must be the same.

Thanks Seaburn, I love it. We have a mowed path that weaves through the trees and it takes me about 15 minutes to walk round, if I dont stop - some tidying of the trees needed and thinning out - one day soon. We have set the trees in blocks by species: oak, red oak, silver birch, larch, corsican pine, alder, willow, goats willow, hornbeam, beech, apple, hazel and I think I've missed some :-)

Well more an estate than a garden! How lovely to be able to walk through your own woodland. Of course though there is so much maintenance that it must keep you busy. What a luxury to go for a walk in your dressing gown - even in the altogether if you wanted to!
Thats wonderful to plant all those lovely native species, providing a good habitat for so many creatures, and of course what garden would be called a garden without the robin.
A lovely blog Dawnsaunt.

A lovely walk. Hope you had your wellies on as it looks muddy on that path by the pond

Thanks Mad, not a pretty sight first thing in the morning as I'm sometimes in dressing gown, wellies and anorak and hat, ha ha. Hopefully the wildlife love it too :-) I wouldnt be without it - a kind of labour of love.

My wellies are my second skin Pipsqueak, ha ha.

What a beautiful walk and a lovely way to start the day.

Thanks Claire

Lovely woodland pics Dawn...you are lucky to have such a fab walk on your doorstep. Good blog...thank you.

Aww, thanks Fluff x

Dawns arrived on my broomstick lol, I m here thanks for photos Dawn hehe, Its all beautiful what a wonderful collection of trees you have, love the photo of Bony she is gorgeous, and the pond looks lovely too. I would leave the woodland as it is, gorgeous by the bridge by the stream, would just add crocus daffs and blue bells to line the edge a bit of colour at the side to path and stream. going out of your garden bit. The salix bockii pussy willow will look good in your garden well done ;) which is a wink.

Ha ha Morgana, glad you like it ;-)
I set snowdrops and bluebells (english) last winter so I'm looking forward to seeing them come up next year. Daffs and crocus to follow :-)

Beautiful garden with a woodland to go with it, my Father was a farmer and he had 30 acres and it was so special to be able to walk around your own land, so I know how you feel, your pictures bought back lots of happy memories, being the eldest child I had hope to inherit the farm but it was not to be. I hope you and your husband will enjoy all the wonderful trees you are planting, especially the red oak, saw a leaf from this tree last week....such colour, so good luck and enjoy your very wonderful garden.

See great minds think alike he he

What a wonderful place Dawn. No wonder you keep standing me up with all that garden to take care of. It's great to know that it is in the hands of someone who appreciates it.

Thank you Toto, yes the place is very special to me and now you see why I cant get down to Essex.

What a beautiful garden you have!

A lovely walk . You have a wonderful garden.

I thoroughly enjoyed the walk Dawn..your garden is certainly big enough to play hide and seek xx lol

love it dawn.......you have a fantastic garden.......i think your ponds as big as my garden....LOL........

Thankyou enjoyed ever miniute of the walk.

Now then M' lady hope this finds you and Master John steady up at main house 1500 trees and a 500m pond ( isnt that a lake ? )..in part of your garden well small not the word that springs to mind ..it is beautiful though whatever scale you use..

Thank you Uma, Hywel, Deida, Holly and Clarice.
And thank you Ray, lots there for the wildlife hey?
I have a confession though guys .... slip of the finger, sorry but the pond is 50 metres wide, whoops.

wow dawn its beautifull really!, i enjoyed it all, do you ever get people walking through or can they not get in the woodland part

Hi Sandra, hope you're OK.
No, no-one can get in, its surrounded by a hawthorn/mix hedge and there are just fields beyond. The only way in really if from the house. Imagine the house, then the gardens behind and then the woodland behind the gardens that spreads out left and right, like a T shape. Glad you like it Sandra.

Oh right Dawn still pretty long or wide thats 150 ft + in old money I d still be calling it a lake ..or you worried what those council officials might say if you did ?

im ok thanx dawn, hope you are to ;o) i do like it very much

I'm fine Sandra thanks.
You know how I feel about the dreaded council Ray. I emailed them last week to say the pond needs some maintenance work and I cant do any more by hand and a mini digger is needed to remove the roots of the reeds. they said, that should be OK and thanks for letting them know and if someone calls them to report us they will already be aware of what we're doing - can you believe it.

Dawn, I have had a great afternoon walking round your lovely garden, bear with me please there is so much to comment on. All that grass, can I see a ride-on mower going over the bridge. I leant a while on the footbridge, looked at the untouched frost, my brain is stretched to name everything I see. I imagined afternoon tea on the swing seat in the summer. The pond looking great or lake as some will say. The Dogwood is at it's best for the winter. I loved happy island for the birds, and the Reed Mace showing off. Self service for the Robin, all those maggots. The forest floor a larder of food for animals in winter. It's a dog's life for Bonnie. My eyes have seen the TLC you give to your wonderful garden. Thank you for the great tour.

Oh Bob, your words are so kind, did you notice the beech hedge next to Bonnie that you so kindly advised me about last year. Yes, the bridge made of sleepers is so the mower can get across, its an open ditch below which is there as an overflow for the pond so any rise in water can escape into the brook. Lots of fallen apples on the ground in one part too, left those for the thrushes following Ray's advice.

Yes, I spotted it Dawn, I don't see any gaps in it so the stock must have been good, together with the preparation you did when planting. I see you have put some more in I hope this is on your account not the councils.

Yes bob, our decision, we had some left over which I've had heeled into my veg plot. Been waiting for November to arrive so I could set it.

Now Dawn we need a blog on this for all four seasons, especially in the spring, I would really look forward to that one.

Good idea Bob, I'll do one, the pond area is at its best in late Spring.
It's looking at its worst at the moment to be honest.

Just found your blog Dawn....What a beautiful set of photos. your gareden is so lovely......even at this time of year there is so much interest........

Hello Dawn, what an idyllic spot you have there, for your dog too, room for a few chickens?

Hello Heron, thank you. I would love some chickens :-) but at the moment I havent really got the time - hmmmm imagine fresh layed eggs.
Maureen: Glad you like it, the 3rd photo down in where I fell in the brook, lol.

What a beautiful place you have there and how wonderful for Bonnie. I can just see myself walking round with my own black lab Jake.

Sandra :o)

Aww Thanks Labdancer. You and Jake are welcome to join me and Bonnie. She loves sniffing about and chasing a squirrel that visits. The other day she had a rabbits leg in her mouth, yuk, the fox must have left it behind, I managed to get it off her though.

Thank you for the wonderful guided tour of your estate, and you looking stunning in wellie and dressing gown ensemble….. You have a beautiful garden I like the swing by the pond. :0)

Lovely grounds, lovely Robin!

Thanks Sue, the swing is on its last legs, lol. I just wish I had time to sit on it.
No frills here, wellies essential - I slipped down the bank behind the pond one morning, dressing gown on, ice on the ground and trudged back to the house with wellies full of water, lol.
Thanks Paul, I love my friendly robin, I dont think he sees any other humans so he's very tame. How's your son's career coming along?

Well, I took hin to another big Agent's showcase down in Bognor on Tuesday and he seemed to go well so hopefully he will get some work next year as a result of that. The holiday camps are nearly all closed for the winter now so he has to rely on clubs/pubs but also does children's parties. With the comedy and children's entertaining he's got a fairly full diary for December which is good(he tends to get away with charging more for the comedy gigs in December as well!)
Thanks for asking!

I'm really pleased Paul - he's working so hard at it isnt he and of course he has a willing chauffeur :-)

Willingish Dawnsaunt! Not so bad this time of year because I'm not very busy with the gardening. And yes he perseveres, he won't give up!

Good for him. I must admit, once my daughter had passed her test it was a relief but then the worries start.

How beautiful, I'm not a bit jealous! I loved the robin too. You are a lucky person.

Thank you Geribee. I can walk round and kind of feel 'free'.

Wonderful strolling around with you Dawn,its all so natural, must admit to having a chuckle at your stylish walking outfit for early morning........

Ha ha Lin - you could say I'm very natural too.

That's quite some walk ! Lovely photo's

Thanks Jbardet :-)

Dawn, I`ve just taken another stroll round your wonderful garden and notice that it looks as if Bonnie has come home on her own! I hope you haven`t fallen in that huge pond of yours?

Hello Stroller - well I must admit I did fall in the pond one morning, its was icy too, I slipped/tripped and rolled in, it was a long, squelchy, cold walk back to the house, he hee. Some mornings, Bonnie goes one way and I go another but we both end up at the finishing point at about the same time :-)

Not quite sure how I entirely missed this blog?
What a lovely garden, I'm so jealous...!!
The perfect garden for 4 shelties and a keen photographer :O) so, if it is too much work for you I am willing to do a swap....LOL

Hello Fleur - if your dogs like water it would be ideal here for you :-) They wouldnt stay very clean for long though. Maybe you would get some good photos of the illusive king fisher too.

Just found your blog Dawn....What a beautiful retreat,i've just had a stroll ,i really enjoyed it,it's your very own santury

Thanks Nannymargaret.