Garden Projects 2009 - Part 6 - Greenhouse Corner - Hiding Ugly Bits.......

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Hello everyone sorry I have’nt been blogging this summer, but I have had such a busy year so far with other things going on. I just have not had the amount of time to spend on the projects in the garden that I would have liked..let alone writing about them on blogs lol.. But dispite all the distractions I have been getting things done bit by bit! Here is how I have been getting on with that ugly area at the back of the garden…You know the one…I am always moaning about how UGLY it is…. well here is how I have been changing that…..

End of March 2009:

Well spring is now in full swing, the weather seems to have been as it should be this time of year! Hopefully this means we may get a decent summer – hope so…anyway not an awful lot been going on with our projects these last couple of weeks as Brooke has been off school with a nasty virus, which I have now caught. Not to mention the weather has been bad, and we are waiting for some concrete to be dug up infront of the greenhouse before this project can continue. Dad did send round a couple of ‘boys’ to clear all the rubish from the last project, – good ol’ dad, so things are much more tidy.

All ready for the A & B team to get back to work hopefully over Easter (Brooke has 3 weeks off – after the 2 she has just been off sick – wonderful!) so we will need plenty to keep her occupied. So in preperation for this I have been up in the back area cleaning out the greenhouse and having a general sort out. As you can see I have also moved the other little mini greenhouse up from the patio, – it gets far more sun here, and once the trellis goes in place hopefully we won’t see any of this…

It is surprizing just how much room there is up the back here once clear and tidy, will come in very useful for potting up and storing things as well as growing on plants….once it’s hidden ofcourse.

The begining of May 2009…

Bank holiday weekend…and a sore sholder later, and really feels like I am getting somewhere now…the concrete is out, the fence posts are in, the arch is in place and trellis is nearly all painted…..

End of May 2009……..

Well as you can see we are getting there, slow but sure, it seems when I have the time it rains, and when we have nice weather I don’t have the time! Never mind, one of the pannels is up and painted, the other one needs to be cut about a bit which is a real pain, because the holes are too close together to get the saw in properly… will need a thinner saw. At least the post is in place so just a case of attatching it once it is done, I can always do that from the greenhouse side. So I thought I’d be ok to plant up the area in front of the greenhouse and around the bench….

I found these three statue type thingings in the shed, I think I bought them for £1 each in the end of season sales last year – proberly Asda, I think they fit quite well, and also do a good job at making a bit of a boundry between the cottage bed – which is very floral, and the new bench area….

Behind the bench and to the side of it i have opted for some evergreen shrubs, and grasses, of course there are the Clematis at the back on the trellis and the Ceanothus does flower, but neither are all summer long flowers. I have done this on purpose because there is nothing worse than sitting and trying to relax when there are constant bees buzzing around you…as much as I like bees – and encourage them whole hartedly into the garden. I know how important they are, but they can buzz off somewhere else in the garden…not around my seating area. lol

…..Next job…I have some bark and weed supresser to go under the bench and on the walk way through the arch, I would also like to get 3 of thoughs black stepping stones that I saw in B & Q to go though the arch, then I can plant up inbeween with ground cover plants…ooohhhhh soooo exciting!

Mid July….

I have at last got round to finishing off this bed and and arch area… I did’nt quite have enough bark to cover the entire area… But I actually quite like it like this, instead of putting in the stepping stones I had planned for the arch, I opted just for the bark. I think it gives this area a bit of a woodland feel…. really into the woodland feel at the moment lol….. I have included some Heather and Ajuga that I am hoping will cover the area between the bed and the bark covered weed supresser. Ajuga particually does’nt need much soil to grow. I have cut small holes in the weed supresser to plant them in…… but they should establish on top of the bark too……

Well as you can see, there is still so much to do… the second trellis pannel, I do need to cut it still and paint it, but the biggest reason i have not finished it off, is because to attatch it to the post I will need to cut some of the lower branches of the Acer tree back… and obviously can’t do it until it is dormant… to be honest it will be an ideal project for the winter months….

Well this is what is behind the willow teepee….. mmmmm well everyone needs a work and compost area, and lets face it if it’s hidden it does’nt need to be pretty. Although I do have plans to improve it. I would like to do away with these falling apart compost bins, and do it properly. I am thinking of a basic brick structure to stop compost from falling down the back behind the trees, not too high, open at the front with 2 compartments…one to do – and one to brew…..Old carpet or cardboard to line it, and a bit of plywood that will slide across the front.. corigated iron on top… or such like. I may even make a proper lid with roof felt and wood, that way I could double up this area as a potting bench……. few ideas in the pipe line for the winter projects… I seem to get far more done in the winter lol….

… and this is the other side where the greenhouse is…. as you can see a not too sucessful potato growing project… I think the less said about that the better…. :-/ oh well best I stick to what I am good at …… Flower growing….

And this is the nearly finished project……… I am rather pleased with it….

…and now for the real test……..

This is my garden last summer…… August 2008……

And this is today…… End of July 2009……

Well when you look at it like that, maybe I have done quite a bit after all…….

Is it just me or does it some how look bigger???

• 26 Jul, 2009
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