Thursday 31 July 2014

Exciting times



We came back from the food shop to find the drive blocked with a van unloading plants. The paved part of the front garden was already covered with bags of various things, the bird bath & table, various plants from the old garden which I had put in pots, the dustbins & boxes, a cement mixer and now rack upon rack of plants.

We tried to get round to put a few things in the freezer to find yet more plants in the back. We hastily got out of the way & returned later as they were packing up for the evening.

By then all the plants were round the back. Some plants had been put in position for planting.

Up the far end of the garden there is now a circular bed to be surrounded by a path. Inside had been placed the 10 silver birches. I had thought that seemed a lot for a small place. But now, seeing them in position, it seemed about right. Eventually, beneath the trees, there is going to be some grass with wild flowers scattered throughout & daffodils/narcissi planted to grow through the grass. This is going to be a wild part of the garden.

After the workmen had all left we explored the plants. The textures & colours look amazing. There is a white rose with a heavenly scent. Apparently it’s the garden designer’s favourite rose. I can well believe it. There are huge orangey lilies, red astilbe, purpley red foxgloves, to name but a few. I hope they are going to label all the plants & give us any care instructions they need.

We turned the corner. The area where the greenhouse used to be, a sort of neglected dump spot, has largely been paved. Things are really starting to come together.

Exciting times are upon us.

On the down side we have heard Alma’s funeral will be in Essex. From the timing it would need at least two nights away & a very long drive. It is unlikely we will attend much as I would have liked to. We will at least think of her at the time & say a prayer or two for her soul, her sister & her sister’s family.

Wednesday 30 July 2014

Death & new life



On Friday the sad news arrived that my cousin Alma had died. It was not unexpected. She’d been suffering from lung cancer for the last 18 months. She was told at the start that it was terminal so the only real surprise is that she lasted so long. She did try chemo & radiotherapy but to no improvement. Maybe that is what kept her going as long as she did.

We still haven’t heard about the funeral. Whether we go will depend upon where it is to be held. It may be in Essex, where she lived – rather far for us to travel, especially when we’re so stressed with the garden alterations – or in Stoke, where her family is, in which case we will go.

Meanwhile the garden is moving on apace. It’s beginning to look more impressive. A stone-clad raised bed is nearly completed. One pergola is up, the second is started. The paths & beds are being drawn out. We’re already loving their sinuous curves. The courtyard garden is almost levelled. Drainage has been going in everywhere. It’s beginning to look good.

Today the digger should finally be going. Some of the plants should be arriving tomorrow. The end is coming into sight. Our spirits are rising as each time we look out of the kitchen window & see what progress has been made.

Friday 25 July 2014

The parsley hunt



Footings & a few walls are starting to go up. Shapes are beginning to appear.

I would say the garden is progressing well, only now the front drive seems to have disappeared under deliveries of one sort or another – sand, limestone, sandstone, cement, bricks. It’s becoming a challenge to get out of the house, be it the front or the back.

When we came back from our escape trip to the pub, we found the drive in the above state. I went inside to start to prepare dinner, Sole en Papillote. The first thing that struck me was that I needed some herbs. I ventured to the front herb garden.

Fortunately the workmen were still tidying up before leaving. One man had even got through the piles of materials & was standing near the parsley so I asked him if he could pass me some. Clearly this is a man who is perfectly competent at the building side of things but doesn’t know his herbs.

“Which is parsley? Where is it?”

I manage to find a long piece of chives which I used to point out the parsley. He picked some, roots & all.

“There’s not much here,” he commented, as he replanted the roots. I told him there was about three little patches, some of it flat leaf rather than curly leaf. He looked again. I assured him I only needed the green parts.

He found some more & handed it over with a beam of triumph on his face. 

I wonder if he’ll recognise parsley again.

Wednesday 23 July 2014

Progress


The garden progresses. Yesterday Linda, our home help, came. It has to be admitted she didn’t get as much done as usual as she was distracted by the urge to see what had happened & was happening outside, on top of finding it almost too hot to work.

Since she was last here she was amazed to see almost all the fences are up. The start of a brick wall has risen across the part which is very near the house. A couple of giant soakaways have been filled with rumble. Soil is being levelled in the main part of the garden. It’s beginning to look as though we’re getting somewhere.

It was a real joy to come home yesterday after our escape to collect the Fox’s new glasses & visit to the golf club to find an empty drive. There was no skip full of tree roots etc. filling it.

It’s all change now. At 7.20am a wagon-load of stone chips arrived. Once more the drive is full. A positive white mountain stands there. I gather it’s something to do with improving the drainage.

The work just keeps going on but at least there is some sign of progress, a possible end in sight.