One Garden at a Time

 Fast forward to 2023 (ie now). It's been rather wet and cool so far this year, apart from a couple of weeks when it was the exact opposite and everything got far too dry. But that hasn't stopped the work. In March, we had some work done on our roof and chimney and I used that time to clear the terrace (a paved area at the bottom of the steps in front of the front door). And I decided to start on the side garden. Why there? Because that's the first place people see when they come in from the driveway and first impressions count. After Dad passed away, I dug up all the plants from his garden and put them in a bed in the side garden as a kind of memorial garden for him.

The arch between Dad's memorial bed and the next one finally collapsed. It had been in for about 15-20 years and had rotted through on the legs. Then the bed the other side of the arch was overgrown with monbretia/crocosmia. I dug it all out, but kept the rose bushes, even though they are far too leggy. Hopefully that can be rectified in time with proper pruning. I also kept the London Pride. Everything else was dug out and replaced. I'm pretty hopeless at remembering to take photos, so none of the progress there, but I'm resolved to do better for the next project.

The side garden is divided into several sections - post box to lilac, lilac corner, lilac to tree, tree to shrubbery, and the two beds along the footpath. Then the - erm, what should I call it? Well, the conservatory. It's also in the side garden and was in a sorry state of disrepair. It had become a dumping ground for all sorts of JUNK! So what to tackle first?

I decided to start with lilac corner. Cleared the weeds, rediscovered some plants I hadn't seen for a while (some of them were none too happy and if I haven't done so already, will probably be moved elsewhere). I decided to turn the corner into a rock garden. The corner is a mound, with the lilac bush on top and surrounded by trees. I had a supply of free rocks, which I placed in a zig-zag pattern. I will need to collect some more to finish the job, but at the moment, they are buried under the growth where they are, so will need to wait until the grass dies down a bit. I also collected some larger rocks to place around randomly. New plants - low growing spreading rock plants, placed between the zigs and zags

Okay, that's enough for now - next project tomorrow

A New Start

It's been nearly six years since I wrote anything for this blog. Definitely time to put that right!

None of the projects in my last post were actually completed. My Dad's health started to deteriorate and I eventually became his full-time carer, which didn't leave any time for projects in the garden. Dad passed away, on June 13th 2019, which meant I had plenty of time on my hands. After returning to work for a short time, I finally retired in September 2022, so starting the garden makeover seemed like a good idea.

Six years of neglect does leave its mark - all the nettles I had pulled out in 2017 had returned and brought all their friends with them, plus a whole load of brambles and what seems like several million wild raspberries - you know, the sort that grow about 5 feet tall, but have barely any fruit on. Anyway, it all has to come out. And it wasn't just the vegetable garden that suffered. The whole garden was pretty weedy! So when the weather improved in the spring of 2023, I set to and began to create the garden I always wanted.

The garden is divided into several areas. There's the driveway, then when you come in from there, you are in what was call the 'side garden' (due to it being on the side of the house lol). Walking round the front of the house from the side garden you come into the main garden - that's had something of a facelift too. From there, round the other side of the house there is a the square garden - you guessed it, it's pretty much square! There is a gate from that garden, opposite the house, into the 'long garden', which runs the length of the whole garden, from the road to the end of the vegetable plot. Then we have the area behind the garages, the vegetable garden and the orchard - all of which are in serious need of attention.

To be fair, I actually started last May (2022), when I made the circular bed in the side garden properly circular and added suitable flowers. I bought some small box hedging plants and created four sections. The plan at that time was to divide each section into three triangles, then grow some tall plants in the middle section, with heuchera filling in the smaller triangles. Then my neighbour said she no longer wanted that urn, seen in the photo, so asked if I'd like it. Looks great in the middle of the circular bed.

Then, in October/November, when I raked and scarified the front lawn, cut back an overhanging branch of the beech tree, and sowed meadow grasses and flowers. I also mowed paths through the lawn so it looks like leaving the grass to grow 2 feet tall is deliberate. That same month, I cleared the bed from the laurel bush in one corner to the silver birch that's next to the beech tree. I planted hundreds of bulbs, pulled out all the brambles, dug it over, rescued some shrubs that had become swamped and planted a few other things too. The plan is that it will be a bed full of flowers for bees and butterflies. We had an old water tank from the bathroom too, that we decided to use as a planter. Still haven't quite decided what to put in it!

Didn't gpo a bundle on photos, so what you see is what you get lol

Summer Project 2017

For one reason and another, last summer's project (the summerhouse) was not completed. I will return to it at a later stage. In the meantime, this year's project is about to get under way.

Some time last year, I cleared the weeds from around a door from the square garden into the yard. Those weeds have obviously regrown, so they will need clearing again. 

They are growing between the bricks that cover a small area outside what used to be the garden shed, attached to the southern end of the greenhouse. It's a bit like a brick paved patio and faces east. There are walls on the west and south sides of it and the former shed used to stand to the north. This is a rough plan of the shed/pergola area:

Obviously, the area needs to be thoroughly cleared and weeds are not the only issue - there is also a heap of rubbish that needs to be taken to the rubbish tip and a quantity of bricks. The bricks came from inside the house when we removed a chimney breast many years ago. 

The plan, then, is to create a semi-covered patio, on the lines of a pergola, but surrounded on two sides by the already existing walls and on a third by the rebuilt shed. The open side will have a rail like you might find round a decking area.

But first, I will need to rebuild at least the south end of the shed, because once the pergola is in place, it might not be possible to work so easily on the shed.

My 'helper' was in good form too, but she preferred playing football to actually doing any work!

We have decided that the shed needs to have a brick wall about 3 feet high (the same height as the brick wall on the front of the greenhouse), with a wooden structure built on top of it. Also, the back wall of the shed is partly the garage, then where the garage finishes, the garden wall takes over. But the garden wall is shorter than the roof-line of the shed. 

Whoever built the shed in the first place added a wooden panel to the top of the lower section of the wall and attached the roof of the shed to that. That has collapsed and is lying on the ground where the old shed used to stand.

We intend instead to build the wall up to the correct height - using the bricks from the chimney breast. We have now found a use for them at last. But first, they are still covered in old mortar from when they used to be a wall, so they need to be cleaned off. 

It is really hard work cleaning old mortar off old bricks - you wouldn't believe it! Some of the mortar is soft, so doesn't come off cleanly at all. Some is like concrete and so hard you almost end up breaking the brick instead of removing the mortar. Now and again, it is quite satisfying to hit the chisel with the hammer and a whole chunk of mortar pops loose. But after an hour, I had only managed to clean off 10 whole bricks and half a dozen part bricks (these will be useful for infill and use as hard core when the concrete is finally laid for the base of the future summerhouse. 

It also leaves quite a mess.

It doesn't look like I have done anything at all, but my back, shoulders and upper arms (especially the arm wielding the hammer) are all aching to prove that I have in fact dome something, even if it doesn't look very much.

Somewhere along the west facing wall, there is a gate into the drive that will also need to be replaced.

Eventually, I hope it will look something like this, though not as grand and with walls around two sides:

The Hunt for Red Octo…

...no, that should be ‘Red Phone Boxes’ J

So, I seem to have got my first ‘commission’! I posted on a forum that I was thinking of starting a photography business and asked people to critique my photos and say whether or not they were the kind of subjects they would buy. I added three photos, among them, this one:

One person responded and said she would be interested in a set of three red phone boxes ‘before they all disappear’ (her words). The photo above is not the sharpest picture I have ever taken – it looks fine in miniature, but when shown on a larger screen, like my laptop, the edges are way too soft. So I decided to spend a day seeking out red phone boxes and playing around with the settings on my camera. I haven’t had this camera very long, so it was a good opportunity to experiment with some of the settings – I took some normal shots, and some that saturated the colour more and some that did partial colour – these last are mainly black and white, but you can choose a single colour that comes out in that colour. Since I was photographing red phone boxes, obviously the colour I chose was red! Some of those didn’t come out too well; I think they needed different lighting and it was quite gloomy most of the time.

First, I did some research. I knew there were some red phone boxes in the area I normally walk, so I took to ‘street view’ and checked out the places I thought I had seen some. Then, bright and early, when there was some sunshine about, I drove to the Yorkshire Dales to take some pictures.

Taking the road over the Stang into Yorkshire, the first village where I saw a red phone box was the tiny hamlet of Langthwaite. The box was outside an old Dales farmhouse, but unfortunately, there was a landrover parked right in front of it, making it impossible to take a decent photo. I drove on into Reeth. I understand there is a red phone box somewhere here, but I couldn’t find it.

The next place was Healaugh (pronounced Hee-law, for those that are not familiar with the area). The phone box there is outside a B&B; again, it was hidden behind vehicles. Never mind, I would be travelling back that way later, so would try again then.

At Low Row, at last I found a box I could photograph. It was just off the main road, up a track leading to some houses, so I got out my camera and tripod and snapped away.

The next village was Gunnerside, where another red box awaited me. The black and white photo with a red box against the wall was particularly effective here.

This seems to work all right.

After Gunnerside, I returned to Ivelet, where the photo at the top of the page was taken. As usual, I overshot the road end and had to turn round. You’d think I’d get it right after going there so many times!! I had not driven over the bridge before – it was like going on a roller coaster. You point the car into the air and hope there is road underneath you when you get to the top! Usually, I park before the bridge and walk up onto Gunnerside Moor, but as this was just for taking photos (and my tripod is heavy!!) I chose to drive to the phone box instead.

The next place beyond Gunnerside where there is a phone box is Muker, which is probably my favourite place in the whole of the Dales. I could walk here every day and never get tired of the place. Maybe I should retire there. It was pouring with rain when I arrived, so I had to wait till it stopped and then I had to wait a bit longer while two hikers decided to stand under the tree – well, he stood under the tree, while she walked all over the road as if she was trying to work out which way to go. Eventually they both set off towards the meadows, so I was free to take my photo. Anyway, the phone box is tucked away beside an old barn and hidden by a big overhanging tree. The tree could make a nice frame for the picture, but the barn? Hmmm, fortunately, it’s built out of traditional stone, so not actually an issue. The telegraph pole standing right in front of it and the gas bottles tucked in behind it – well, those are something else!

Note the bright orange gas bottles hidden away behind the box!

From there I drove to Keld, passing through Thwaite and Angram on the way. There are phone boxes in both of these places, but there was nowhere to park at Thwaite, so I thought I would try again on my way back. The box at Angram had some BT works going on right next to it and no matter where I stood, they would feature large in the picture, so I gave that one up as a bad job and drove rapidly on (well, as rapidly as a road not wide enough for more than one and a half cars would allow) to Keld. Keld is the usual destination for my walks that start in Muker. It seems like it is a lot shorter to walk than to drive, though obviously it takes longer on foot than by car.

The phone box at Keld was also having some work done on it. There was a big BT van parked to one side and a hole in the ground with a BT man actually working in it on the other side. Still, I managed to find a couple of angles that excluded both, so I was happy. And then the sun came out J albeit briefly. And so did a random cyclist! I am sure I waited till he had passed, but then the camera was on two second self-timer (to avoid camera shake) and I think I might just have depressed the button a bit further than I had intended, so the camera took this shot for me:

Mind you, I think I prefer this shot of the same box from a different angle:

By the time I got back to Thwaite, it was dull and almost raining again. I had to drive round the village twice before I found somewhere to park, then wait for a jogger to run past, then took some quick shots of the box before leaping back into my car so as not to get too wet. 

I tried a photo that had the street in focus too, but I was in such a hurry that I focused on the wrong part of the picture and unfortunately the box came out rather dark.

Way too dark - not sure what happened there

After that, I took the buttertubs road over towards Hawes, passing through the tiny hamlet of Simonstone on the way. Right behind the sign telling me I was arriving in Simonstone, was another red phone box. 

It was really tatty and faded and looks like it will probably be the next casualty in the name of modernisation – ie it is likely to be replaced or removed L I took some pictures of it anyway, for posterity.

Scruffy, but probably my favourite box of the day

Hawes was having its annual Fayre, so I didn’t stay; I just drove up the town and back down again and on to Askrigg. I remember being in Askrigg about 32 years ago. There were police all over the place directing traffic, so we stopped to ask what was going on. It turned out they were filming ‘All Creatures Great and Small’, so we found somewhere to park and went to watch. I had a ‘small creature’ with me myself – in the form of my two year old daughter who had no idea what all the excitement was about and promptly fell asleep in her dad’s arms. Dad however wanted to take lots of photographs and so I ended up with said daughter in my arms instead, standing outside a small country pub, while hubby was off photographing anything that moved. After a while, a man’s voice behind me said ‘She looks heavy; can I hold her for you for a while to give your arms a rest?’ So I handed over my daughter to a random stranger – who turned out to be Christopher Timothy, the actor who played James Herriot in the series!! I have a photo somewhere of my sleeping daughter in his arms, but pre-digital.

It wasn’t so exciting this time and again, I had to wait for the rain to clear. I then took a set of photos of the box, which was just outside the church. They looked great – until I realised I had managed to catch the front of a nearby parked car in the corner of every one of them L 

Spot the car bumper, bottom right

Good thing I checked them before leaving the spot, so I was able to get out and take another set, missing out the car this time. I also took a couple with the church clock in the background.

A bit too dark for my requirements, but not bad considering the light was pretty dreadful

Leaving Askrigg, I took a narrow lane signposted back to Muker. I wanted to drive back through Healaugh to see if I could take some snaps of the phone box there. The drive was beautiful – hills and dales on all sides, the road climbing ever higher as I left Wensleydale and then dropping down the other side back into Swaledale. There was another route I could have taken – I could have driven on from Askrigg to Redmire then taken the road over Redmire Moor and down into Grinton – another place I wanted to visit. Redmire Moor is the place where, shortly after arriving in Yorkshire from Scotland, the real James Herriot had stopped on the moor top, got out of his car and laid himself down on the grass verge and thought ‘This is where I want to spend the rest of my life’. You can read about it in his books.

Healaugh was still a washout – literally as well as metaphorically. There were still cars surrounding the box, so I couldn’t see it properly. And the heavens had opened – it was pouring down! Never mind; I continued on to Grinton, where I thought I had remembered another red box. Yes, there was a phone box; unfortunately ‘progress’ has been marching relentlessly along the Dale, leaving a trail of plastic and steel phone boxes in its wake L

If this is progress, you can keep it!

 Disclaimer: None of the above photographs include those I sent for approval to my 'client'.

Planning and Plotting

With all the rain recently, I have been planning and plotting J

Our post box is next to the gate. If you read my previous post, you will know that there used to be a letterbox in the front door, but at some time in the past, it was blocked off and a brick ‘thing’ was built onto the back of the wall near the gate. From the outside (the bit the postman sees), it just looks like a slot and a gap in the wall (the gap was so the milkman could leave a crate with the milk in it – in the days when we used to get milk delivered).

From the inside (ie, the garden side), it has a simple door on it, with a bolt that can be locked with a padlock

Open the door and, voilà, you can access the mail

So what am I planning? The door frame is rotten and needs replacing; then the door needs a lick of paint. R made it some while ago and somehow it never got painted. It will of course, be olive green with a cream frame J

I have also had a close look at our finances and realised that we are overspending. Renovating a place the size of this takes a fair bit of cash! So I have been plotting and planning to have a ‘home grown’ business to help pay for it all. There are several ideas that I have started researching, though I have no hard and fast plans on this as yet. So as food for thought, here is am list of potential ideas, any one of which (or more than one) could eventually become my new ‘job’.

Creating themed gift baskets/boxes

Knitting string bags for shopping

Rag dolls (I have some lovely Amish doll patterns I could use – and they are free to use for sale, unlike some commercial patterns)

Aprons – gardening, cooking etc

Plants – herbs, wild flowers, cottage garden plants grown for sale

Sewing dresses for children – and maybe make a matching doll’s dress

Wooden key holders to screw to the wall

Cot duvets/patchwork quilts (small size so less time making them)

Papier mache bowls, perhaps decorated with autumn leaves and varnished

Making bags from fabric

Making cushions and other small household soft furnishings

Upcycle old furniture (done this kind of thing before)

Writing – articles, or write that book I’ve always wanted to write

And last but not least – photography – I love taking photos; just not sure if they will be good enough, so here’s a couple to show to see what you think

A couple taken in Yorkshire last weekend:

 And a couple taken in Italy, last year

Rain, rain, go away

As you might have guessed from the title, we have had a fair (or unfair) bit of rain lately, which means I haven't got on as far as I would like with things around the place. But that said, I haven't been altogether idle either.

On June 20^th, we had some warm and dry weather for a few days. So I set to and repainted my front door. I forgot to take a ‘before’ picture that would have showed why it needed doing. It is only two years since I last painted it, but at some point before we came here, someone had blocked off the letterbox with a rectangular piece of wood and attached it to the door with nails. The nails had rusted and were showing through the paint. The rest just looked tired; not to mention that when I did it last time, I hadn’t been able to find the exact shade of green I wanted, so it had been painted darker than I really liked. Now it looks fresh and welcoming – and is the shade of pale olive green I really like.

The next day I decided the door frame also needed a face lift. I started by washing it, but the dirt was so ingrained, that didn’t make much difference – except there was a bucket full of filthy water to show I had done something! So when it was dry, I repainted that too, in a lovely shade of pale cream.

Above the door is a kind of canopy to keep you dry when fumbling in the rain for your key that you forgot to get out of your bag before you got out of the car!! It hasn’t been painted since we got here and is really showing its age. And as it is blue and white, it really doesn’t go any longer with the olive green and cream door. But it has been a struggle to know quite how to paint it. I think I have decided to paint the bit that holds the supports to the canopy in cream and the matching bit of ‘cornice’ that runs along where the canopy meets the wall, plus the supports themselves. The rest will be painted olive green and if it looks too much, then I can repaint parts of it in cream, such as the four squares within the mouldings.

First though, it needs stripping. Some of it has been done, but there is still some way to go – if the rain ever lets up!

I sanded the bits that have already been stripped and made quite a mess on the top of the steps. To clear it up, I got the hoover out. No idea what the neighbours would have thought if they had seen me hoovering the garden!

 Meanwhile, I weeded the front path  and cleared the moss from the rear path.

Then I started on a brick paved area outside the old shed – that is, the place where the old shed once stood. It is covered in weeds and – the bane of my life – alchemilla mollis, or ladies’ mantle. It was planted by the former owners and no doubt they thought it would make an attractive addition to the garden. But they didn’t stay long enough to see it spread absolutely everywhere – and it’s a real menace to get rid of too.

Anyway, it is between the bricks on the path and the brick paved area. So far, I have cleared the part in front of the gate into the back yard

that's another door needs a lick of paint.

ended with a load of rubbish as well as stuff for the bonfire and compost heap

and made a small start on the paved area itself

The rest obviously is still to clear – some of those nettles are between 4 and 5 feet tall!

And then the rain started and doesn’t seem in any hurry to stop. It’s been four days now almost non-stop! Time for some sunshine, I hope J