Patio of Discontent

Our top patio (or terrace as a friend insists), the part of our garden that we are least content with. You would think that with it being nearest to the house it would be the first one to be developed. But no it wasn't and it's turned out to be the last.

The top patio, back in the day before the conservatory got built

We've entertained so many ideas on what to do with it and we sort of have made a decision on the layout and what look it will have. But because we have delayed doing anything long term with it more and more ideas have accumulated thoughts have evolved ever since we started planning for it.

Another back in the day photo

Initially we thought of changing it three years ago but the finishing of the pond build then the house renovation took priorities and it got side tracked. Then there was the garden fire on top of that and the subsequent much needed repair of the garden meant making over the top patio was even less of a priority. We thought that in 2014 we would be ready to tackle it but by then we were exhausted by the intense preceding years that we decided not to go ahead and postpone the undertaking on what will really be a huge project (the koi shed we consider a small project).

Besides, there was no real need to rush, it's not like it is in a bad state. In fact it's not bad at all. It's a top patio that we inherited when we bought the house and most of it has remained the same ever since. It ain't broke so no rush to fix it.

Just not to our full taste that's all.

And it's not linked to the scheme of the koi pond area and the conservatory. The top patio has the potential to link and complement the two areas nicely.

Going back to 2014, we decided then not to go ahead with any major/permanent makeover and just make the space neat and usable. The paving was alright, the fences were fine....

Until I came home from work to find one of our neighbours attached cheap trellises on their side of the fences on the top patio area. It was to keep their new dog from jumping over the fences which could potentially harm our cats. Good intentions, fair play but...

Boy those trellises are UGLY! And they're not even symmetrical which didn't help at all. We we're happy to make do but after seeing those trellises that sense of discontent reared its ugly head again. Sigh!

We made a half hearted attempt to make the most of it by hanging random garden accessories on the trellis, at least pass it off as 'quirky' but to no avail. What can be seen cannot lie, at least to us.

Back to the present we're not sure if we have the time and/or the energy to do this long overdue makeover so we'll make do for now once again. But those trellises still bugged us, especially me. We can't get rid of it, but we can at least reduce its view for now.

Unfortunately they were placed way above the highest point of brick posts and if we put on fence panels to totally cover them it would look silly as they will be above the posts. So we settled with new fence panels that will be at level with the posts and partially obscure those offending trellises. There's is a climber making it's way over one of them already and hopefully in no time both will be colonised and serve as just a green backdrop.

The new fence panels may or may not be temporary, depends on what we actually do on the top patio when we eventually get to do that makeover. For now that will do.

And for this year I might do something fun on this space albeit non committal and temporary. I'll have fun before we commit. That should stave off and delay the sense of discontent, buy time before it gets too unbearable. And hopefully by then we actually have time and energy again to do it.

Mark :-)

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Fling 2014: JJ De Sousa

I thought about how best to cover the fling, should we cover it chronologically, by location, type, by day, or even by colour? In the end we thought we would dip in and out of the various gardens, not having a plan as such but posting about the gardens and locations as the mood takes us. Perhaps something will remind us of a garden and so we will cover it. We are not going to set any goals, we may not end up covering them all, or perhaps it will take us up to the Fling in 2015 before we get to the end.

So without further ado the first garden to share is the garden of JJ De Sousa, garden designer and proprietor of Digs, an eclectic shop selling a wide range of interesting home and garden accessories. Sadly we didn't get to visit the shop too.

The garden wraps around the home, which is centred in the middle of a 77'x127' lot. 

You enter the garden via an orange gate of carrots. Well why wouldn't the gate be carrots! Which gives the first clue as to the favourite colour of JJ!

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It's a Jungle out There

Almost a year after that fire, the garden is starting to feel like a jungle again. The plants that were damaged but not killed have in the main shrugged off the damage and are full of vibrant new foliage. The areas that needed replanting have welcomed new plants and in the main have knitted back into the jungle.

One of the original tree ferns sending out lots of new fronds.

Ground cover explosion!

Mark blogged the other day about the new tree ferns which will soon hide the new fence and provide a canopy. That side of the jungle hut almost looks as if nothing has happened. Only a few bamboo canes stil show damage - scorched on the side closest to the heat but still alive. These damaged canes will be removed as the summer progresses and new canes grow to replace them. We didnt cut all of them down to allow the living but damaged canes to still support leaves to give screening as well as photosynthesize to help the whole plant recover.

Jungle pathway, you can still see some of the damaged canes on the bamboo on the left hand side. There are plenty of new canes emerging.

The middle patio area will take longer, our approach to garden design here was to imagine a courtyard in a tropical garden, perhaps a private place in a large home or even a hotel. With low box hedging and then layers of planting, this all used to merge into the background with fence totally hidden. That look will take a little longer to restore, however we have enjoyed selecting the plants to go back here, and it will be good to see the evolution of this part of the garden.

Those fences and shed will disappear eventually!

We sat in the now completed Jungle Hut yesterday evening and contemplated the restoration of the garden, culminating in the jungle hut (we will share the photos soon I promise!). This year should have been an easier gardening year, no major projects had been planned, but events beyond our control changed that. However to be at the start of June and have the garden replanted, Jungle hut, and pergola all back how they should be, feels like quite an achievement. 

Generally we are always active in the garden, rarely sitting back and relaxing, we know we should "chillax" a little bit more but particularly when the garden "needed" us we wanted to get it back to normal. It felt last night that we were back at that stage, so i suspect we will spend more time enjoying sitting, relaxing in the garden and not just working.

However there is no point being unrealistic, we both love projects and have a a mental list of a whole bunch of  things to do (repair the old shed, finish the quarantine pond, make over for the top patio...... ) 

Gaz

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Win a Blagdon Water feature

The beautiful sights and sounds of a water feature can now be enjoyed anytime and anywhere! The unique Liberty range from Blagdon is powered by a revolutionary rechargeable Lithium battery system, meaning set up is instant and hassle-free. When the battery runs down, you can simply remove the battery pack and charge it indoors for three hours in the same way you would a laptop or a mobile phone. The Liberty water features come in five different styles to suit all tastes and types of outdoor space so there’s something for everyone! 

Nathan Ring, from Blagdon explains “Having to dig up gardens, patios and paths to lay cables needed to run power to water feature pumps often puts people off having a fountain. Our Liberty range makes innovative use of the latest Lithium technology to create beautiful water features quickly and hassle-free. As no mains power is needed, the Liberty range also gives people the freedom to position their water feature wherever they want to make the most of their space available.”

Liberty water features can run for a week without additional charging (based on two hours of use per day). The removable Lithium battery system can, however, be taken indoors to recharge, needing just three hours to fully recharge using mains power in the same way you would a mobile phone or laptop. To help make the most of the battery life, a remote control allows you to programme the water feature to run on either 2/3/4 hour basis or continuously. The range retails between £120 and £229.99 depending on the model.

We’re giving one lucky reader the chance to win a Liberty water feature of their choice to enjoy in their garden this summer. We’re also throwing in a solar panel upgrade that runs & recharges the battery at the same time.

To enter tell us which water feature in the range you would want to win and what you like best about it.

Extra entries can be made by following us and sharing this competition on Twitter or by liking our page and sharing the competition on Facebook. An additional entry can be made by "following" this blog via Google Friend Connect

Terms and conditions: This competition closes at 23.59 on 21 April 2014. Any entries received after this time will not be counted. Entrants must be UK residents aged 18 years or older to enter. By entering this competition you agree and consent to your name being published and by taking part in the competition, entrants are deemed to have read, understood and accepted all of the Terms and Conditions and agreed to be bound by them. The winner will be selected at random from the correct entries and will be announced here on the blog. Please make sure we are able to contact you if you do win, as we will need to provide your name and address to Blagdon to arrange for your prize to be sent to you. 

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Chelsea 2014: Cleve West and the M&G; Garden

With just 7 weeks until the 2014 RHS Chelsea Flower show we have been speaking with Cleve West, who returns to Chelsea with a design for the M&G Garden. Cleves Garden is a contemporary version of an Islamic Paradise Garden.

M&G  Chelsea Flower Show Design for 2014

What was behind the idea and inspiration for an Islamic Garden?
The basic ingredients of the early paradise gardens (shade, water, food, scent) continue to influence our gardens today two thousand years and more since the first gardens were built.  I thought it was something worth celebrating. 

Do you think there may be more interest in Islamic gardens from the British public?
Perhaps, but I don’t think this will spark a trend for Islamic gardens in the UK.  English gardens have certainly been influenced by many cultures including those early Islamic enclosures but the current trends are more towards naturalistic gardens where nature is occasionally allowed to look as though it has the upper hand. The point of the garden is to celebrate something that has stood the test of time.

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Jungle Dreaming

January is often a time of new resolutions, plans and ideas, and for us we are itching to get back into the garden and are planning ahead for the warmer months. We do still have a few things to finish off inside and really must wait for the better weather. 

A key part of the garden plans for 2014 is the restoration of the jungle area following last years fire. The Jungle hut, although finished needs to be painted and we havent yet decided upon the colour. We are keen to include a bright vibrant colour within the porch area but which one...

Last year Mark had visited a restaurant in Chelsea with a colonial vibe, yet using a vivid green combined with dark woods. 

Photo from Blue Elephant Chelsea

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The Exotic Garden Revival

Just before Christmas and in the first two weeks of January a series of gardening programs were shown on BBC2 called The Great British Garden Revival and one of the topics they covered was Exotic Gardening. The series had ten episodes with each episode covering two areas of gardening that they reckon needs reviving in the British culture. So doing the maths that's twenty gardening topics or areas getting a thirty minute slot each.

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The Big Koi Pond Reveal

We thought it was about time to share with you all the finished koi pond, 2013 was quite a hectic year for us. So much so that we have only now prepared the photos from our koi pond to share the final result with you all. The build of the pond has featured several times on the blog in the past with many references and a series of posts documenting the build (part 1, part 2 part 3 and part 4). But its high time that the final finished pond makes a full appearance!

Just selecting the photos to illustrate the pond was a tricky task, these were all taken in July at the height of the summer - we were originally planning to share the pond with you all at that time, but then events over took us with the garden fire and subsequent home renovation taking our attention and energies. As we mentioned at the time the pond was thankfully unaffected by the fire, with only minor damage to some adjacent plants. 

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Front Garden Plans

With the builders now finished and the house almost back to normal our thoughts have again turned back to the garden. One area we have mentioned that is long over due a makeover is the front of our house. Just a few weeks ago it was very much a dumping ground for the builders (see this post from September).

Delightful landscaping courtesy of our builders. 

The existing pots and plants had been moved to one side, many of which really need re-potting or planting out. Some of the palms in the pots will be planted in the back and one or two others will get new homes in a larger pot.

With the new porch the area by the front door has reduced in size, so there is not as much space for as many pots as there once was. With the obvious change due to the porch it is a good time to rethink quite what we do with this space. Its size (or lack of) makes it a tricky space to garden, and the benefits offered by keeping the majority of it as a hard standing further restricts the use.

The space itself is not big enough to park our car on, unless you park almost horizontal to the house, so a useful parking space is also ruled out.

As the house is close to the road we are keen to add some height with any planting to create some visual block to passers by. Fortunately we live on quite a quiet side street so there's not lots of people looking in as they walk along the pavement outside.

Our plans are still developing, but the current idea is to add metal railings on the left and right hand sides, with a matching gate in the arched passageway. From chatting to our builders we found out about a small local firm that makes railings to any design and size, so in the new year we can go and have a chat with them about what we want to do.

On the right hand side we want to introduce a small border and grow several hedging shrubs in an informal hedge. We have a number of ideas as to what we will grow there, it is south facing and sheltered from the buildings to the north. The block paving may well also act as something of a heat sink absorbing warmth to radiate back to the plants.

On the left hand side, we need to be wary of service pipes - electricity, gas and water that are all buried somewhere under that paving. They come into the house on the far left hand side, and the water meter is in the pavement outside the house on that side, so we do not want to risk disturbing any of these items. A simple makeover could become very expensive if we sever a pipe!

As a  result we have been considering pots or a planter for this part. Again its not a large area but we don't want something that is underwhelming.  Mark has written before about having a raised gravel bed there with yucca or other succulents that should enjoy the sheltered aspect. I quite like the idea of building a planter from new railway sleepers. This would give us a reasonable planting depth without disturbing the ground below the paving. If it were to sit on top of the block paving then if access was needed it could be dismantled. We haven't needed access below ground so far, so with any luck there will be no need to disturb the plants.

Some Winter colour from last year.... probably a one off

We had also thought about placing large pots on the paving in front of the bay window. These could be moved if needed and would keep the paved surface available if needed to store materials on for future projects. 

Whilst there is still plenty to do indoors, our minds are already jumping ahead to these future projects!

In case you wondered where the picture of the finished porch is... watch this space all will be revealed soon :)

Gaz

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Where Light Floods In

So what did we get up to last summer that took up so much of our time and energy from the garden, and that up to now still is our main preoccupation (although definitely tapering off now)?

All but a few odds and ends of the house renovation have been completed and the most recent weeks have been spent decorating and recovering our house away from the builders, converting it from a building site into a home. Slowly but surely we're getting there starting from the back...

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Never the Idle Dreamers

A summary and a monthly timeline of our Koi Pond project from start till finish...

May 2010 - Clearing the area

June 2010 - Construction of first raised bed and pathway begins

July 2010 - the Big Dig has begun

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The Big Pond Build (Part 4)

We have had several reminders to complete the story of our pond build, particulary since it has been completed since Spring. We had planned to complete the story and share the big reveal in the summer, but with the fire that hit the garden and also house renovations we did not feel it would have been the correct time to have done that. Thankfully the pond was not damaged with the fire, other than some soot on the white paint work and minor damage to one or two plants nearby from radiant heat.

If you have somehow missed the earlier parts they can be seen in these links (part 1, part 2 and part 3). This series of posts left the project in August 2012 when the pergola had just been completed and we were preparing the pond for fibre-glassing.

In the last post we were fitting the insulation board to internal walls. This has two benefits, firstly it saved us having to render the walls to get a smooth finish and also would help insulate the pond from cold winter weather.

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Take a Bow Jungle Hut!

The Jungle Hut is being taken down today to make way for a new one but before it exits I gave it a final once over last night, just before I finalized tidying up what was still left there to be salvaged.

The sun has set for the old jungle hut

Gaz was feeling a bit nostalgic about it, not sad but sort of reminiscing as he did build the veranda bit with his dad a few years ago. The rest of it is much older, being there all along and came with the garden when we bought the property.

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The Summer Sun

The summer sun, finally it has descended upon us as we just had the first weekend here that actually felt...well summery! It is July after all and it is supposed to feel summery but as most of you know that's not always the case in the UK (remember the washout that was July last year?). Fortunately it's looking like July is set to be a sunny and warm one, just for a change, and this weekend was a wonderful taster of things to come.

Eremurus and Yucca rostrata basking under the warm July sun

T-shirt, shorts, BBQ's, ice cream, washing drying in no time under the sun, bliss! And of course, lots and lots of gardening.

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Empty and Temporary

Well almost anyway, considering what was there before....

y last Saturday (the first few were taken last week as Gaz had previously blogged about), as well as a few not so hardy palms and other bits and bobs and I'm currently relishing the openness of the top patio as a result of it.

First one in...

Going...

Going (you can squeeze them all in)....

Gone (and all in)! Ready to be taken to their lovely new home!

Only a few potted bamboos remain, the one or two that were reserved by Gaz's parents as well as a couple of the smaller ones that were reserved by another friend. Three pots were saved from the cull as they will serve as screening from the neighbours. Two small pots of bamboos however will have to be taken to the nearby recycling centre for destruction as they are far too invasive to be planted out and no one that has approached has expressed interest in having them (due to their invasiveness). Plus I also don't immediately know anyone who has masses of land that are happy to let go of these two bamboos. We really need to let go of as much as we could as space is needed, as soon as possible....

Ahh space!

Did you know that at one point I had over a hundred bamboos in my collection? I love bamboos, obviously but in such a relatively small garden I could only accommodate a fraction of them to go in the ground. The rest had to be kept in pots. I enjoyed having them, I really did even when my interest in them started to dwindle as part of my 'personal evolution' when it came to this exotic gardening lark. They were in the garden and I took delight in taking care of them as much as I could even when I stopped purchasing any new ones at least for the last couple of years. Gradually my collection dwindled as I lost some of the 'not so hardy' in previous harsh winters as well letting go of the ones that are not garden worth at all. But still most of them remained.

Until a much needed and welcome change beckoned and nearly all of the potted bamboos had to go. 

The list of bamboos that I had to let go:

Chimonobambusa tumidissinoda

Fargesia murielae (seed grown)

Fargesia robusta

Fargesia robusta ‘Pingwu’

Fargesia robusta ‘Wolong’

Fargesia rufa

Fargesia scabrida

Pleioblastus simonii

Phyllostachys arcana f. luteosulcata

Phyllostachys aurea

Phyllostachys aurea ‘Flavescens Inversa’

Phyllostachys aureosulcata f. aureocaulis

Phyllostachys humilis

Phyllostachys iridescens

Phyllostachys nigra

Phyllostachys praecox f. viridisulcata

Phyllostachys vivax

Pseudosasa japonica ‘Tsutsumiana’

Sasa kurilensis
Sasa kurilensis ‘Shimofuri’

Sasa palmata f. nebulosa

Semiarundinaria fastuosa

Semiarundinaria kagamiana

Semiarundinaria makinoi

Shibataea kumasasa

X Hibanobambusa tranquillans ‘Shiroshima’

Speaking of bamboos, I was informed many weeks ago about the sad closure of Hardy Bamboo nursery which is owned by Paul Whittaker, author of the book Hardy Bamboo. As soon as I was told I checked out his website which confirmed that they have indeed called it a day and ceased trading. I personally don't what had happened but I do know that his book became very popular and became a definitive guide to growing bamboos in temperate to colder climates, as well as making bamboos very 'fashionable' in the nineties and noughties. Through him bamboos became more popular and well known more than ever before, to be used in exotic gardening schemes and landscaping. It is sad that his nursery has now closed and it will be interesting to see if another bamboo nursery will rise up to the gap it has left, and if the popularity of bamboos will remain high (which I suspect it will).

Speaking of gaps, what's happening here??

We need some hardcore to form the base of the currently being built quarantine pond so we've chipped away some of the already loose bricks on the top patio to be recycled here...

Anyway, back to the bamboos on our patio, much to my delight several good friends came forward and were happy enough to give them new homes. So we may be letting go of much cherished plants but we're happy enough that at least they were going to good homes who will be more than able enough to give them better condition than we ever did confined in pots.

So there you go, nearly all of the potted bamboos are gone now and suddenly the area feels so spacious...

I like it, liking the openness and spaciousness. But also not liking the fact that it has exposed unflattering parts like the ugly fence panels and the chicken wire above it, as well as the horrible concrete paving, ugh!

That red fence, ugh! And the concrete paving, ugh!!

But overall, I'm loving the potential of the space and it's something we are both excited about.

There's a sense of ordered randomness going on in this patio at the moment, with whatever's left (and mostly to be kept) grouped together to form a temporary display of some sort. A one week only affair as some rearranging will have to be done again soon.

Change is good and we're excited!

Mark :-)

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Out With The Old

As Mark blogged about recently, we have a number of plans ahead with the garden and the next on our list is the patio near to the house, we usually refer this as the top patio. This area has been home to a number of potted bamboos (almost 30 different species and cultivars), many of which need dividing and re-potting or planting into the ground - although several are too vigorous to be planted out here!

We have taken the decision that after many years with these bamboos that the time has come for a complete change here, and we have decided to let go of nearly all of these plants. Whilst this may seem like a bit of a dramatic decision we have had great pleasure from collecting and enjoying these plants but our garden is of limited size and so to be able to do something different and enjoy a change we need to allow them to go to new homes.

A couple of personal favourites will be kept but the rest are going to friends and family who can give these plants a better home, and in the most part a place in the ground. We decided against putting them on eBay so that we could still gain pleasure from them in the future when visiting friends gardens, and who knows we may even get given the odd division back in the future if we miss certain ones!

So... how do you get an 8 foot bamboo into the back of a car...

It's a good job bamboos bend!

We will still have many bamboos in the garden, as we have a number of plants in the ground so it won't be a complete shock!

The main makeover will take place next spring, however we need to create some space for a related house project (we will no doubt share some of the end results of this related project inn due course).

So what will we do.. well the plan is to completely change the feel of this patio area. I want to link this to the new area through choices of colour and materials. This will mean stone, wood, and probably plenty of white.

But it's not all change, the existing plants that are in the ground will remain, this includes three bamboos and several palms. Plus a couple of the old potted bamboos will stay to help maintain a screen between us and the neighbours.

We want this area to have quite a manicured feel, but clearly with exotic and tropical looking plants, perhaps with hints of a patio area from a tropical hotel...

Our existing patio furniture will no doubt find a new home, most probably in my parents garden, along with a couple of the bamboos it will almost feel like our garden! We want the new look to this patio to have quite a unified feel, and so the new furniture must help tie this together. I keep looking at the rattan style furniture which I think will work here. We had avoided this style of furniture in the garden previously but we both came to the same conclusion that this would work well in the new design.

In terms of plants the key thing for me will be to ensure the patio area looks good even in January or February, when anything deciduous will be bare of leaves, and any herbaceous plants will be tucked up under ground. In the main I want to stick mostly to evergreen plants, so there will probably be one or two more palms joining the party. 

The existing patio area as it looked earlier this year.

Many of the other potted plants will be staying, and hopefully will get planted into new beds once the make over is complete.

However other than clearing the bamboos off to new homes we won't be doing too much to this area this year.

Gaz :-) 

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Mas Que Nada!

Give this area a makeover like it's the only garden space we have. Imagine the adjacent greenhouse as our house and this is the small courtyard or garden that is attached to it.

This is the thought that I kept repeating to myself as I stared at the bottom patio, trying to think what to do with it to get it ready for the summer. The pond in this area, the original koi pond is due to be redone at some point soon but recently I have started to have doubts whether we'll still be able to do it this year as there's so much going on. But I can't leave it looking as it is all year, it needed a makeover even if it's just a temporary one. 

I needed some inspiration, and whist tidying up in the area listening to the radio the song Mas Que Nada  was played. The sun was shining, it felt warm, and this popular Samba song by Sergio Mendes (jazzed up by the Black Eyed Peas in this particular version) was playing on radio. Now how summery an atmosphere can you get right at that moment?

Then I suddenly thought, hmmmm...Mas Que Nada...think colourful, vibrant, hot, summery...we need hot colours on the patio but not from plants. And with the idea of having bright colours an overall idea what to do with this area came to mind.

Quick! I better get moving while I'm all inspired!

So I immediately sent Gaz to the nearest garden centre whilst I carried on and asked him to buy a selection of glazed pots. Each pot being of only one colour but it should be bright and warm to the eyes. Think 'Jewel Tones'.

And he did not disappoint (much to my amazement, hehe!). He did a fantastic job, selecting some nice ones exactly what I had in mind. Actually they were perfect.

So with the pots on hand I selected succulents that would go well with them and potted them up. I removed the covers of the pond (good riddance, they were such an eyesore), swept the patio, relocated some of our garden vases and arranged them in the area, and by the end of the weekend the job was done.

This area is now ready for the summer. Ready for some barbeque in the weeks to come (weather permitting!), or a perfect place for tea and cakes.

And speaking of tea and cakes, we joined in with The Bloggers Cut,  the virtual celebration of the Chelsea Fringe festival hosted by Michelle from Veg Plotting, and what better way to celebrate the newly made over patio area than with tea and cake. Check out this link to see what other bloggers have been up to!

Barbeque, cakes, tea, beer even. So many things to look forward. And with Mas Que Nada laying on the background even better (but maybe not on loop!).

Sometimes you get garden inspiration from the unlikeliest of sources. And on this occasion, it was from music.



Mark :)

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