The end in sight

Yesterday was the day of the great lawn-laying. There is less lawn in the new garden than the old. I know it needs regular mowing in the summer but somehow it just gives that welcome splash of greenness that holds everything together.

Other work was done as well. More walls have been stone-clad. More paving & ramping is under way. More plants are in the ground. Bark mulch has been put down in many of the beds. It’s coming along.

Last night it rained. This morning all the colours look so fresh. The stone oozes a warm yellowness, the paving a more muted mixture of yellows, pinks & reds, even purples. The various plants are standing up more perkily in their various shades of green. At the far end I can see the deep wine red of astilbe. In the middle are some rowan trees with, among other things, the orangey yellow trumpets of the regal lilies. Beds of purple lavender edge the lawns & fill one of the raised beds. Things are definitely coming along. The end is in sight, though I suspect it will be next week rather than this before they finish.

I naïvely thought that once the digger went, things would be quieter. My was I wrong. Now we have the whacker compressing the pathways – they’re hoping to get that done today. In another area a stone cutting saw is cutting slab into appropriate shapes for the shelving on the top of the raised bed walls. Dust is flying everywhere. The cement mixer whirls in the front garden. A knocking sound comes from the back as paving is put into place.

But at least now, each day you can see we’re that step nearer completion. And hopefully the return to our more usual quiet life.

I don’t think we’re the only ones feeling that way. Each evening & morning the blackbirds, doves & magpies have an explore. They’re clearly ready to move back in too. Once the bird table & birdbath are back in place I’m confident they will be happily moving back in.