Pictures (at last)

Lots of work to do! I can just see that paving area heaving with colourful pots around patio table & chairs. Is that a wine bottle and two glasses I see on the table? ;o)

Love the photos and the ivy is one of my favourites - we put ivy up our dead Cordyline - I think I should be scrubbing my slabs down too - probably best to prune the dead leaves and branches - always works best for me :):):)

A very interesting set of photos... lots of fascinating plans and nice plants. Your gardens are waking up :o)

You are getting to grips with it now Whistonlass, it is taking shape nicely, well done on the work so far, really looking forward to seeing the completed job (if a garden is ever complete - I have my doubts). Enjoy yourself.

Oh, it's coming along great!! Those paving slabs are going to be a great place for your BBQs, and that laurel is great beside the greenhouse, offering some shelter and green there! If the hydrangea dead stuff was offering protection to the shoots I would say leave it on for a while, but as it clearly isn't, it's just sticking up and looking dead, I think it would please you more to cut it away...would me! What's happening through that mesh fence J? It looks like a bit of derelict ground......is it just someone's neglected garden? Are you going to get some clems growing up those dead trees or just leaving the ivy to colonise them? Well done you....you are getting to enjoy the outdoor space after all those years of hard work in the shop.

And here they are lol :o)) They're good photos because they show what your garden is like now. You'll be able to look back in time, and see what progress has been made.
You have a lovely paved area, and I like where you've put that plastic plant-growing thing.
Oh just imagine, it's all going to look fantastic !

well done whistonlass ~ its great to see the photos. i would cut the dead bits off the hydrangeas ~ they will look good again soon. some lovely colour in those pots and i like the pussy willow

looking good and these photos will be great to look back on in a wee while as it is easy to forget what it looked like originally :o)

Congratulations on your photos and loading them! :-))

It's always great to have 'work in progress' photos, and you'll be able to look back on these when the summer arrives and you have pots of colour out there and everything's growing.

There's certainly a lot going on in your garden at the moment isn't there Jacquie with lot of plants poking there heads out ?

I am so looking forward to getting going on mine and getting some plants set in. I really must go and buy some but I have been so busy of late with urgent family things that the garden has had to take second place.

Let's hope we have a nice long spell of good weather soon.

Re the trees that you have planted ivy up, you could also plant one or two flowery climbers up them too, such as clematis etc. if you wished. I'm going to do that to some bare leylandii stems in my garden.

We hsall both have to post some new photos later on in the summer showing what progress if any has been made, won't we ?

Happy Gardening.

nice to see the garden taking shape jacquie and your pics are just fine, i would prune the hydragia and give the new shoots a good start :o))

Wow...what a nice surprise to come on the site this morning and see so many nice, encouraging replies. :) I am most grateful for your feedback and as suggested I will trim back the old hydrangea "dead" leaves/stems. In reviewing the photos I could do with pruning the lavender a bit too in a few places. I love seeing it come to life!

Karen...I know how much you love your clematis and yes that will be planted against the back fence. I would like some sweet peas and a rambling rose as well. The area behind the wire fencing is all council property (just a strip of no-man's land that makes an excellent escape route for the thieves!) The wire fencing was installed a few years ago by the council and we decided to try and cover it with planting (I've wondered about the willow panels that are available too)...but we'll see how it develops. Marie, I see you mention clematis as well....great minds eh? lol I'll be keeping an eye on your blogs/photos too Marie...happy gardening to you :)

We've got some garden lounge chairs which I hope one day we might be able to replace with nicer (shhh....don't tell hubby!) but our table got battered one winter and had to be thrown out. Need to replace that.

We're off shortly to the builders' merchants to see what is available for gravel etc. Enjoy your day in the garden my friends!

You'll soon be relaxing out there in the lovely sunshine, it'll be lovely!

Nice to see your garden Whiston :o)))

nice to see your pics.. glad you got there in the end....

It's still an ongoing project, Holly but it's feeling like the garden will really happen now! :)

We've been to look at gravel/stones etc.and have a couple of names recommended for help in putting it all down so I'm hoping it will get underway soon.

Thanks again all. x

look forward to seeing your garden progress.. : O ))

Yes J, do cut down the hydrangea stalks but wait a little while before you feed, beginning of April I would, either some liquid feed or a bit of fish,blood and bone, but only when you can see all the shoots that are coming through. Then you can tease the soil a bit and work in the feed. Thats what I would do..if anyone knows a better suggestion do feel free...actually can see now its in a pot, so when all the shoots show, carefully scrape away an inch or two of compost and replace with fresh.
These pics are great and will be invaluable later..just wish I had taken some before we had started, but broke the camera when we moved and didnt replace it for a year or so..such a shame.
Wont be long now...and you will be planting in earnest!

Thanks T....I'll let the hydrangea produce some more growth and next month I can do as you suggest...for now I'll get the dead leaves/stalks off so it tidies it up :)

Don't forget if frost is forecast, to throw something like an old blanket or towel over the hydrangea overnight and remove it in the morning as the young growth will be very frost tender.

I do have it under the laurel bush, fairly protected but just in case I will heed your advice, Andrew. We did have frost last night...the first frost in ages. Can't get too complacent with all this sunshine can we?

How wise to take all these pictures Jacquie, like other members have said it will be great to be able to trace the development of your new garden, will be good to see the progress during the summer months. you have lots of good ideas clematis will look great on the wire fencing, happy Gardening;0)

Well you have made a great start to your garden W.lass and its really coming on. The slabs look very smart and as time goes on you can plant up lots of new plants as they come in season. Its exciting isnt it, your photos are brill.

Good luck with it all J, its getting quite exciting isnt it,

Fantastic progress :)taking photos is great when you look back in a years time and see how things have matured and all the brambles have gone!:) Love the primulas planted some in my garden at the weekend and they have really brightened it up. Well done.

Sounds like you have lots of good ideas Jacquie. Can't wait to see the next stage. I Love to see ivy all gnarled ,and its so good for wildlife. I know it can be a bit of a pain sometimes, but, kept in check, is a very valuable piece of the garden, so am glad you are making great use of it.:)

lol...Keeping the ivy in check is a real problem, Judy...and like you I do like the ivy (even better if it will cover the old wooden fence).

Unfortunately our next door neighbour has the huge overgrown hawthorn in the corner adjacent to our old fence and the ivy has grown up in the hawthorn so much it's choked out a lovely clematis that grew amongst the tree for years (huge purple blooms). She got a quote to have it taken out and tidied but it was £200!!! No one who has done work for me will touch it because it's in the neighbour's property.

I hope it can be cut down a little...I wouldn't like to see it taken out completely in any case...it's a great home for the birds and provides some privacy as well.

Thanks for all your lovely comments everyone :)

nice blank canvas there 4 you ............ but plenty there allready !! looks like you have a ud size area there . looking 4 ward to more pics ................ not boreing at all hun xx

Wow what a difference just relaying the paving makes, you look like your garden size has doubled. It's going to look lovely, what about a clematis montana for the metal fence, I've just ordered 5 from the internet (buckingham nurseries £2.99 each)

Oooh....that is a very good price for the clematis, Mandy. Have you experience of ordering from them previously? Let me know how they seem once you have received them. The Montana is one I have marked in my "wish book list"...lol I have so many plants on this wish list I think I'll be wishing for a long time...lol

Yes the paving has really improved the space (it was a horrible mix of broken concrete, areas of brick and even some blacktop so it's nice to see it all covered with the paving slabs). I have in mind to put the rockery adjacent (on an angle) adjoining the concrete fence and the paved patio (along with a water feature). I've been out this morning before the rain hit and marked out a suggested border arrangement around the perimeter of the garden with the garden hose. We have a gardener coming tomorrow to look at my ideas and see what we can achieve.

Forward march.....lol

Your plans sound brilliant, can't wait to see it all evolve, especially now you have mastered uploading photos, lol.

those montana are very cheap ..................... bt £8 here
dont 4 get to do photos as it develops !!!

I'm embarrassed to say that I haven't cracked the photos. It would seem that I'm doing something wrong again! How could I get it so right one night and the next day not be able to sort the photos again?!!!

I'll do my best to get some more photos up as things progress. :)

Wow what an improvement, so good to see it all coming together now, agree with Andrew re the Hydrangea, we have not cut ours down as yet, it wont hurt to leave the dead branches on for a while longer, then re pot in suitable compost.
I am sure someone would help you with the photos, you are windows 7 ? I cannot help as I am a Mac, and it has all changed since I used XP, would not know where to start lol
Morrisons are the best to buy clematis usually 4 for £10.00, we swear by them, hate paying over the odds for plants .

Thanks for the clematis tip DD...I'll be sure and check Morisons out when the time comes to purchase plants. I hope that will come around fairly soon.

I'll be delighted if the hydrangea revives...as you can see from the photos there is just a hint of green shoots :)

It looks like you've made loads of progress since the photos taken last year! I can't wait to watch as you continue to develop it :)

Yes, Jenny....there has been progress since last year. I am glad I have the "before" photos of our horrible fencing...I had forgotten how awful it really was. Progress is slower than I would like but it will all happen a bit at a time and look forward to enjoying a garden at last after 20 yrs. of living here amongst brambles, weeds and broken concrete!

It will look beautiful eventually, and even better because you'll know that you made it yourself :)

Well Jenny....I am having a gardener in to do a fair portion of the landscaping (well that's the plan if his quote is affordable...should know this week)....but he will be following my drawings/plans :)

It will be fun to choose the plants/shrubs etc. (I have a huge list of "wishes" after joining GoY and seeing so many gardens with beautiful plantings.)

So it's a bit of a team effort here. Thanks for your kind comments, Jenny.

Ahh, but I'm sure an architect feels proud of his/her creations even if they didn't build it themselves ;) and a team effort probably makes a project feel even more special, because its a piece of all the people who've helped you :)
I'll keep my fingers crossed that the quote is a good one! It all sounds very exciting!! :)

You sound as if you have your work cut out! how exciting this year will be.......
look forward to the photos, sue

I've been away and missed this. There is so much posted each day. The photos make your garden look much bigger than in the original ones you put up a year ago. Your plans sound very exciting. I can't wait to see the finished article.

We are in the throws of getting some quotes for the garden as I am finding it difficult to get stuck in...not very agile! :(

I'll be sure and blog as and when we are able to proceed. I at least have a sketch of how I want it to be set out with borders, rockery, seating area etc. so just have to match quotes to see what is within our budget.

Thanks for your comments, SGran...I know it's hard to keep up with everyone's blogs/photos. Like you, I can't wait to see the finished article :) It's been such a long time in the dreaming/planning stage!