Garden progress (at last)

Your gardener sound lovely! I can't wait to see the photos.
It's refreshing to hear that they're willing to work to your requirements and budgets rather than being extortionate!

So much to look forward to Whiston. It will be lovely to have it finished in 2 days :o))

Exciting plans for your garden ... with a helpful gardener .. and lovely picture of you with Lucy :o)))

Oooh, I'm so glad you've finally found a decent quote and what sounds like a lovely gardener :) I hope everything turns out the way you've been dreaming of it :)
-and such a lovely cat :) I'm glad shes part of the family now :))

Sounds like you've found the ideal gardener Jacquie.It's good to have someone who is empathic, and who loves the work.... not just the money !
Nice to see you and Lucy. Hopefully when she starts going out she will be so tired ,so then maybe she won't wake you quite so early !:)

Oh! how exciting, to be honest this is the part I love best, making a garden. Lovely picture of you and Lucy, my cat Basil often lays on the back of the sofa and rubs his head all round mine. This is fine except I my hair then smells of cat food LOL

Wont be long now W.lass and in just two days you will have a wonderful space to work in and enjoy. Our new makeover is taking a long time, our man only comes over every two weeks and has been twice so far and then let me down last week, I want it finished but I know I have to be patient.!!

A new garden from scratch....how exciting! I can't wait to see the progress in the future! Good luck!

P.S. I always have lots of plants which spring up from nowhere in my garden that end up tossed in the garden refuse bin. Such a pity! I wish there was a PLANT SWOP section on this website so we could all swop plants with gardeners in our area, or just give unwanted ones away.

Sounds really exciting, can't wait to see how it all turns out! All the best with it! Princess Lucy, looks right at home now Whiston!

so glad the lady is going to take your garden on jacquie ans middle may isnt to bad, at least ready for summer, think of it that way, and she has a blank canvas to work even better, nothing to clear first. hope lucy is ok and that sore goes soon ;o))

Going to be nice for you Whistonlass - I as you will look forward to seeing the results :):):)

Great news Jacquie, its so exciting, your lady gardener sounds ideal. The next month wont go quick enough for you will it. Look forward to seeing the progress.

Fantastic that it sounds like you have found someone you can trust to do your garden and understands what you want to achieve. Not long to wait now cannot wait to see the photos when she has finished:)

glad youve found someone to do your garden... how exiting to see it all take shape.....

Thanks for all your kind comments re the garden/gardener/and Lucy :) It's been a long, sometimes frustrating process but it looks like we'll get there in the end.

Sunrose....just to say that you can offer plants via private message to any of the members...or even exchange plants. I hope you can find something out to help you with your excess plants in future.

I'm not spending a lot of time online at the moment...been to the docs tonight about my sinus and vertigo so I feel like a walking pharmacy now! The screen seems to irritate my eyes and head. Got Lucy on my knee as I balance my laptop on one arm of the chair and one leg of my body! lol

Alec has just taken her from me and he's stroking her and holding her while showing her the scene outside the lounge window :) And at the same time, he's taking a good look at her sore on her shoulderblade...we'll just keep an eye on it...might necessitate a trip to the vet.

Hope you will be better soon W.lass. we still need this screen to be green dont we???

W.lass....A few years ago some friends took over a garden that was 'rather nice'. However, when they started to put in their favourite plants, they still ended up with a garden that was 'rather nice' instead of exactly what they wanted..

Your garden is really a blank canvas; probably the best way to start as you'll get it right....

Glad to hear you have got somewhere at last, she sounds great, just seen our builder and it will be mid may before he can start but good news is he has some lovely honey coloured slabs that were not used for someones garden and i can have them for nothing or else they'll be in a skip! Just hope they're not nicked!!!!

Wlass, bet it feels like Christmas when you were a kid, we`re all eagerly awaiting the "after" shots
Hope your feeling better in the next day or so.

Hi Whistonlass,Love the photo of you and lucy, and good luck with you garden project cant wait to see it finished

What an exciting time this is WL, no wonder you can't wait for work to start. I had my garden completely re done to my design 10 years ago but had terrible trouble getting quotes, people either not turning up or never hearing from them again if they did come. I found someone good in the end but had to wait some time for him to start. So I'm very glad you've found a good 'un, it'll be well worth the wait and I'm looking forward to seeing the end result :o) Lucy looks very happy overseeing you on the computer!

That gardener sounds heaven sent Wlass! What a great help to you...can't wait to see the results later in the year.

What good news, Whistonlass and not too long to wait really. Will look forward to seeing the 'after' photos :)

well heres hopeing you get wot you want hun , and can start enjoying it in nice wether lol .............keep those pics comeing

Sounds like a really, helpful, sympathetic gardener, Whistonlass. Looking forward to seeing what transpires. The part about rehoming plants appeals to me. :-))

May is not so far off, now. In the meantime, hope that yours, and Lucy's health goes from strength to strength, in preparation for enjoying the new outdoor space. :-))

Hope you feel better soon Jacquie ,must be horrible for you. Also hope Lucy will be ok soon too ;)

forgot to say lucy is adorable ..................x

SK...I know the excitement you are feeling, anticipating your work being started and your slabs sound wonderful. It is very difficult to get quotes and actually then get the job you thought you'd be getting.

I'll post updates asap...and I agree David...recycling from other gardens is the way to go. Did you get all those spring plants sorted out in the bank area? I am thinking it was snowdrops but something keeps telling me it was another spring flower. Anyhow...a perfect example of recycling perfectly good plants in the right location :)

I appreciate your good wishes...you are all such nice folk :)
May you be blessed today with some of the glorious sunshine that is peeking through what earlier were grey skies.

Happy gardening. x "Meow, hello" from Lucy :)

It sounds like you've found the right person there. She seems to enjoy her job and that counts for a lot. I also like people who listen to what I want but I find most are not like that unfortunately.
Nice to see Lucy and you. I hope you can get some treatment for her sore.

Thanks, Hywel. Lucy's sore is begnning to heal so that is good news.

I'm getting further and further behind on reading blogs etc.....I wonder if I'll ever catch up? The computer screen bothers my eyes with my vertigo/sinus although it is improving slowly with meds.

So....if I'm not replying to your blogs as quickly as usual, this will explain why. Lovely sunshine today :)

Oh when I had vertigo a few weeks ago it was worse when I looked at the computer. You have my sympathy there.

I am also behind - don't worry about it. I think everyone gets behind especially this time of year.
We have beautiful weather too :) I hope it lasts

Cant wait to see your photos as your project gets going. have you asked for anything'special' in particular that you want included in it? Sorry to hear about Lucys sore, she's such a pretty puss, I love her colouring and markings .

Lins, I've asked for the patio to be shaped (as it should have been done originally by the other contractors), a rockery (the gardener is recycling sandstone from another customer's garden that she is doing just prior to starting ours), shaped borders, turf, bark mulch on the borders.

I would like a water feature but our budget won't stretch to that so that will be a project for the future. She has said she can offer me advice about planting (I'll be doing most of the planting but she will give me the name of a nursery who will provide plants at better prices than the GC...and can give me a list of plants to choose from that would suit our garden).

They will also paint the concrete fencing.

Still keeping a close eye on Lucy's sore....it doesn't seem to be bothering her and it does look like it is slowly healing. Thanks for your comments, Hywel and Lins.

I'll send you a pm tomorrow pet, take care.

You seem to have found the perfect person for the job Whistonlass. Wish she was 'In my neck of the woods'

Last summer I started my 'new build' garden myself as the quotes I had were a bit OTT and I hadn't a clue about what plants I wanted etc.. and the gardeners weren't forthcoming enough. So far all my work has gone into getting the soil right and have a few plants in now, It all seems to take so long - you are doing the best thing getting it done all in one go.

Looking forward to seeing your pics.

Thanks, Annelise....I will still have some planting to do and sorting out planted pots etc. (and of course cutting the lawn once it's established) but it's all very exciting.

I will get pictures up online once there is something worth taking a photo of! lol

Today we've been cleaning the garden chairs and tomorrow we plan on sitting on them in the glorious sunshine :)

Good luck with your garden too, Annelise.

Talk about trying to catch up J, just got to this!! Great news even tho you have to be patient still..but time will fly and I bet you will have lots of glorious colour come mid summer!
Look forward to the follow up. Take care, and a hug for Lucy.

Hi M....I'm all behind on posts (puter is being a pain again!...have got a new laptop being delivered tomorrow) and the other piece of good news is....I've just had a call from the gardening lady and she is coming tomorrow (Wed) afternoon with her scale drawings :)

Will post more when I have details. Excited now. Lucy is very frisky today so we are going to sit in the garden (well on the patio) later and see what she makes of being outside. Just nevous that she will run off...hope not...it will be her first trip out since we got her :) Nice sunshine here today so should be good for sitting out for a bit.

If Lucy has a coller J, you could always tie a peice of string to it and walk round with her for a while!

Just seen your reply, Helen....I planted up some seeds in seed trays and let Lucy wander around the garden. She was very wary a lot of the time but had a good sniff around, sizing up her territory. Hubby and I kept a close eye on her and she did come back to me when I called her.

It was very windy when we were out so only managed about 20 minutes or so. She's been resting up ever since! lol

That was a great result J, so glad it didn't spook Lucy. She'll soon be parading around like she's known the garden all her life!

I've just been catching up too. I'm sure you must be glad now that you did not go ahead and have your turf laid when your patio was installed. This lady sounds just what you need. She listened that is so important when you want a dream turned in to a reality. I'm looking forward to seeing how it all works out and seeing which plants you decide to grow. I hope both you and Lucy feel better soon.

Scotsgran, Lucy's sore has all healed up and I am feeling much better too. I am expecting to hear from the garden lady tomorrow as she is hoping to be able to give me an idea of when the garden work can begin.

I have quite a collection of plants and can't wait to get them into borders...I am so wary that they may not fair well in small pots.

Helen, we haven't had Lucy out in the garden again but she did try and escape through our open lounge window this afternoon. Scared me as our flat is one storey up and we live on a very busy road...don't want to see her get injured or worse.

I hope to be able to do another blog with progress report very soon.

Oh heck Whiston, no wonder you go a scare! Lucy would probably have sat on the window ledge. I've seen cats in the city quite high up, just lying or sitting sunbathing watching the world go by! There's another one that roams a very busy carpark, now that is scary to see, in fact it makes me cringe! There are no gardens anywhere near that area for the cat to roam around in, only roads. Why on earth, can't the owner see the dangers in letting the cat out slap bang in the middle of a city? Looks like it's going to be a peice of netting over the opening to give you a bit more peace of mind!

I've asked hubby to just open the smaller window at the top of the frame...then there will be no danger for Lucy. There is a narrow ledge outside the window which accommodates the electric blind for our shop (underneath our flat) so I had visions of Lucy getting stuck up there, frightened and panicked and making a jump for it!

The smaller window sounds ideal Whiston, then you're not getting yourself worried. Constantly following Lucy to make sure she doesn't go out the window, would be like having small children in the home again, you're always on the look out for them and windows!

hi hun hows it all going ................... u ok now , and lovelylucy ................x

I'm doing very well now, Cristina...Lucy is still waking me up way too early but if we lock her out of the bedroom she just sits outside the door and meows...so I guess it's early mornings for me!

The garden lady (Suzanne) came yesterday with a final drawing and 2 clematis for our garden and the promise of a small cherry tree (Stella) which is in a container at the moment in her garden, and a rose bush.

Also promised to me is her small summer house (just big enough to go in one corner of our garden and will house 2 chairs and a small table...so not huge). She is replacing it in her garden with a larger one so when that is ordered she will see that the small summer house is delivered and put into our garden with a base and a small paved area in front. That really excites me :)

Just having to make sure I keep all the small plants watered and in good shape until they can be planted in the borders.

That sounds brilliant Whistonlass, it'll all look fab what a very generous person she is!

Lovely freebies W.lass, and a summer house to boot, how brilliant, afternoon teas now, served in the summer house!

Hi Whistonlass...now thats progress! She sounds a really nice person. I love the thought of the summerhouse. as Grandmage says, afternoon tea while sat listening to the birds..and somewhere to watch them from too. Will answer your latest tomorrow morning..been busy last few days.

You've struck gold there Whistonlass. The Stella cherry is one I recommend all the time. It has lovely fruit. It also has the advantage of being self fertile. When I bought a new to me car a long time ago I was given a bouquet of flowers so I know how appreciative you will be of her kindness. A summer house is fantastic. You might not have thought of getting one but I bet Lucy claims the best seat in it every day. I can't wait to see the results.

Ahh!! Stella Cherry, planted mine last Spring, superb fruit are'nt they Scotsgran ? Exciting times & a gem of a garden designer by the sounds of it Whistonlass? Will look forward to the upcoming photos of progress.

I cant believe how much you have done since October! Well done!

Sorry to come in a bit late Whistonlass. Nice to know that the garden is to be done soon, and you have found a sympathetic person to do this for you to your budget. Dizziness is not very nice. I had a bout of it a few weeks ago, just waited for it to slowly clear up. Your landscape lady sounds absolutely marvellous. I hope all goes well and you can enjoy your summerhouse too. That's a real bonus.

Thank you Sarah, Dorjac, Helen, Grandmage, M, Scotsgran and Bampy....you've all commented and given me encouragement. Yes, I am very excited about finding my lady gardener and dreaming about getting started in a couple of weeks, hopefully.

The dizziness has left me now thankfully and I am feeling much more part of the human race...lol

I am worried about all the potted plants I have waiting to be planted in borders....some are not thriving too well, despite being watered and talked to! I hope I won't lose any of them.

Hope everyone is enjoying this glorious sunshine as much as I am...our hawthorn is blooming now and I love it as much of our garden is not visible from our kitchen window but the hawthorn has grown into a very sizeable tree and looks fantastic from the kitchen.

I hope I'll be able to write a blog very soon to update.

I'm glad to hear you are feeling a lot better. If you are having excessive heat during the night as well as during the day it can be easy for the compost in pots to dry out an inch or two below the surface, even though you are watering them every day. Have a look to see by scratching away the soil to a depth of 2". You might find because the pots are standing on the patio that they are not getting rid of the water you have given them. If so stop watering for a day or two and then give a good soaking once or twice a week. It would be a shame to lose them when you are almost ready to plant them. I'm sure that once you get them planted out they will recover well. Not long now.
I love to see trees in bloom. we have several apple trees and a lovely morello cherry in flower. If Lucy is anything like the cats we had she will make good use of your hawthorn to try and catch birds.

Hi J, glad that your are feeling better. Scotsgran is right about watering. And also some plants like being dryer and some damper, and small pots need watering more than big pots. Also if you have small rooted plants in large pots they can get overwet.
Anyway. wont be long now..you will soon have to bend down a bit lower to talk to those plants!!

Was thinking maybe W.lass, you should sing to your plants Lol. Not long to go now.! :~)

They might join in a chorus of "Why are we waiting" LOL.

Very good S.gran!!!