So in 2023 we made the slightly crazy decision to buy a new house when we already had a house. However the temporary stress of having two houses at once was definitely worth it because we all absolutely adore our new home.
One of the main things that I love about this home is that the front of the house looks out onto a big communal green space with trees and the back of the house feels quite open, with (although still modest sized) a considerably bigger back garden than what we had before.
I did love our old garden. It was pretty much a sun trap patio with a tiny bit of grass and a garden bench but particularly during the pandemic time it was amazing to have an outside space to escape to, and when everybody was a bit stir crazy and overwhelmed I would sit and sew on that garden bench and feel almost as if all was well.
I've always been drawn to gardens. My grandparents were keen gardeners and whenever we went out to stay with them there was always a bit of gardening involved. I love visiting gardens, always drag the family to see gardens, collecting images of gardens, reading about gardens and listening to people talk about gardens. I can regularly be overheard saying ‘I do love a garden’.
So you can maybe start to understand how extremely excited I have been to have, for the first time in my life, my very own proper sized garden that I could actually garden!
However the garden as it stood was a bit sad. It’s a fairly new build house (only one owner before us who clearly wasn't interested in gardening) and it still had a very new build house garden - a bit of lawn, a concrete slab patio, and some concrete slab paving up the middle and it was all a bit wonky, slopy and basically built on rubble. More positively, the house is North-East to South-West facing so the rear of the house and back garden gets lovely sunlight throughout most of the day and into the evening.
I basically spent that first year in the house just thinking the whole time about sight lines from the house and where the sun was best at different times of day and how we would want to use the garden. This went along with a very prolifically updated garden board on Pinterest.
I had a pretty good idea of what I was after. We wanted to extend the top dining patio so we could comfortably host outdoor eating gatherings as often as possible, to add a smaller lounge area patio where we could relax and catch the daytime sun, water, plenty space for herbs, birch trees, scent and texture, and most importantly have it packed full of plants.
To achieve what we wanted we knew that there would be a lot of hard landscaping needed, so it was time to invest in the professionals. I made a call to Adam at Terra Foras and set up a meeting. They specialise in beautifully simply designed gardens that are low maintenance, perennial heavy, and carefully consider eco-systems and biodiversity. As soon as we started talking about ideas and looking at my pinterest board I knew we were on the same page and we enlisted them to do a full design and carry out the work of creating our dream garden space.
Work started in August 2024, and it was fantastic to watch our vision take shape over the course of a couple of weeks. Then it was time for the planting. Adam and I worked together to position and plant up all the plants and it was so satisfying to see the garden come to life with greenery.
We definitely consider the garden as a very important extra living area of the house that we can all collectively enjoy.
In the late summer we were already outside using the space a lot. Sitting outside together to eat or sitting after school with a cup of tea and chatting about our days. It was gorgeous.
I love just going out and looking around in the morning as I see the kids off to school, looking to see what is dying back or what is emerging. At weekends It's meditative going around slowly and tidying up and picking out teeny weeds before they can take hold. Overall, I find it an absolute joy!
I cannot wait to see how everything comes back to life over the course of this year. We're hoping everything with a bit of growth starts to feel really abundant and green, filling the space with life.
Over the Autumn I added in plenty bulbs to give some early colour and Spring time blooms and, as I write this, I am so excited to see the first of their shoots appearing.
And we'll add herbs to the planters to add to our meals and drinks throughout the summer.
The plan had been to break up the central path with plants but I actually like the clean lines of the stone paving and chips, so may go on to break that up with movable planting in pots.
The planting list:
Three Himalayan Birch Trees (Birch are my favourite tree)
Copper shield fern and Alpine wood fern
Moor Grass and Japanese forest grass
Hostas
Honeysuckle and Jasmine
Dwarf Pine for a splash of evergreen colour
Elder, Pyracantha, Buddleja, and Viburnum Tinus as shrubbery structure
Golden Oregano and Bronze Fennel
Accents including Foxgloves, Phlox, Astrantia, Anemone, Echinacea, Astilbe, Thalictrum tuberosum, Aquilegia
Then I've added bulbs including
Snowdrops, tulips, narcissi
Snakes Head Fritillary (yet to plant!)
Allium Sphaerocephalon (yet to plant!)
My next buy is going to be a couple of bare root roses - one a climber and one rambling - these will go in the end of each raised planter to add greenery and fragrance to the upper patio area.
Dreamy!
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