Once upon a time there was a poor neglected garden, that was nothing more than a huge raised bed covered with a very raggedy lawn and an ancient cherry tree at the back.

And then the gardeners came, and started to weave their magic.

By the end of day two it looked like this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And by the end of day three, the stone wall was finished and the footings for the fence were complete. Except, the wall had been built in the wrong place.

That’s better.  End of day 4 and all the landscaping is done.

 

And then the plants started to arrive.  In order to save money our heroine and her handsome prince had agreed to do all the planting themselves, so they put the little princess into nursery for the day and set to work.

And they worked. And worked.

Our heroine had never worked so hard in all her life.  Maybe this would help shrink her blogger’s boobs?

Finally it was all done, except for some echinaceas which were mistakenly citron yellow rather than rusty pink. And our heroine and the handsome prince were very happy.

When the weekend dawned they were so into their garden that they decided to change the bit of scrub near the back stairs – which had not been included in the original plans for the garden –  into an extra bit of patio, leaving space to create a raised bed later on. Oh, they were so proud of themselves.

And then the magic gardeners came back, planted the right colour echinaceas, mulched everything and added some trellis to the wall.

 

 

 

 

And the garden looked beautiful.

                                          THE END

                        (I’ll show you round tomorrow)

The landscapers have begun. 

Most of the structural work should be completed this week.  Then, next week, the topsoil will be added and the plants laid out in their correct positions.  And then the Husband and I are going to do all the planting ourselves, something we agreed to in an effort to cut costs. We must have been stark, staring mad. 

Here are some befores and a picture of where we are after day one. 

Garden before

I’ve been really enjoying the process of working with the designer.  After getting the brief he drew up some ideas and a preliminary list of plants and we’ve been batting ideas back and forth ever since. 

I doubt I’ve been the easiest client they’ve ever had. I’ve discovered that I’ve got very definite plant likes and dislikes, and I keep requesting obscure cultivars I’ve found on UK websites but Bryan has been patience personified and I’m really pleased with what we’ve ended up with. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Garden at end of day 1

For those of you who might be interested here are the final plans. Bear in mind that the rendering of the patio area has a fence in front for entrapment of the Minx.  The original brief I gave the designer is here.

The old cherry tree is absolutely alive with cherries and birds with whom we are engaged in all-out warfare, and the orchard ladder kindly donated by the previous owners is on constant standby, so that we can grab the fruit the instant it ripens and before the birds make off with it.

We picked our first bounty at the weekend and this is what we made.

So first the good news.  The deck is FINALLY finished.  A project that was supposed to take 3 days has ended up taking about six weeks (not continuously). During which we’ve had enormous loungers lounging in our bedroom.

This what the deck looked like when we first moved in.

The built-in furniture was very weathered and dirty and dangerous for a small child, who could potentially climb from the benches onto the tables and then topple over the sides.  The horizontal railings were also an invitation to toddler suicide.  There was also a large gas grill just hanging about in the middle of the floor.

Our initial spec to Mr Handyman was to power wash the deck and furniture, fix glass over the railings, remove the ends of the benches so that it would be impossible for a child to climb from the benches onto the tables, build some sort of small barrier across the back of the benches and stain and paint everything.

And then we asked him to see if he could actually remove the railings and insert plexiglass between the uprights, and then the safety barriers became much smarter than I had envisaged, and we decided to embed the grill into the table.  All of which needed a lot more carpentry than originally planned for.

And then poor Dan the Handyman was either collapsing with heat exhaustion from working all day on a deck with no shade or else dodging torrential rain showers, not exactly ideal weather for staining and painting (this is Seattle, remember?)

But I’m super thrilled with the results.

The ‘windows’ at the front work really well – completely toddler proof and yet maximising the view. 

The ‘windows’ round the edge are what I’m most pleased with.  We thought they were a necessary evil with a toddler, but they have turned out to be very unobtrusive and like they’re meant to be there, not just an ugly safety feature.

I also nearly had kittens when the woodstain first went on.  We’d chosen a very dark stain because of the condition of the wood but halfway through the process I was having SERIOUS second thoughts and wondering how on earth we could get rid of it.

But it looked a load better once we lightened the colour on the railing (from its original bilious yellow) and painted the floor a much lighter colour.

I’m hoping it looks quite chic and contemporary and, what with the million dollar view, it feels at the moment like we’re on holiday at a luxury hotel.  I have to pinch myself to remember that we actually live here.  How lucky are we? 

And the bad news? 

I’m really not very happy with the loungers.  I was looking for something more sleek and contemporary but couldn’t find anything which wasn’t either imported from Europe at vast expense or very uncomfortable-looking. (UK readers, do you have any idea how lucky you are having Habitat?  It’s one of the things I miss most about the UK).  

In the end I succumbed to the blandishments (and moving-in discount) of Pottery Barn and now really wish I hadn’t.  The loungers are extremely comfortable and well made, but very large and solid and clunky-looking. 

And I don’t know what on earth possessed me to buy them in red.  I bought them online and it looked like a darker, pinkier red on screen.  But these are very red indeed.  I’ve contacted Pottery Barn and they’re going to change them for cushions in a very unappetising sounding Sprout Green (their customer service is truly excellent), but I’m seriously considering sending back the loungers themselves.  Now that I’ve discovered Teak, Wicker and More, I can see that I have some much nicer options at affordable prices. But I’m not sure I can go through the hassle of lugging the loungers downstairs, sending them back and waiting for new ones, when there are chocolate martinis to be drunk and lounging to be done.

What do you guys think?  

                                                            Or magic in a bottle.

And so, against the advice of the majority, I decided to experiment with stripping back the bright red fireplace.

After lots of online research, I came across a product which is apparently 100% made from soybeans, is non-toxic and practically odour free ie. the perfect thing if one has a small girl running about.  The thick gel also encapsulates the paint, reducing the risk of airborne particles, which is particularly reassuring when lead paint might be involved.

So I bought some, not believing for one moment that it would work.  We spread the gel on thickly overnight and woke up the next morning to find this  

Which a bit of work with a scraper (the paint by this stage is all soft and gloopy) and a wire brush in the grout, soon turned into this.  They still need another clean and a wax, but I think they’re pretty much there.  And no paint to be seen.

So what do you think?

Should I persevere?  They’re not the most beautiful bricks in the world and I’m a bit worried about the whole thing seeming too heavy and dark (will definitely get rid of the horrible dark stove at some point), but I think they have a certain charm.

If I do continue, has anyone got any ideas as to what I could put into those three recesses?  Something interesting and fun which will lighten the whole thing up and break up the big expanse of brick.

I’m currently thinking something syroco, spray painted lime green or tangerine (thanks to Pink Loves Brown for the idea).  In fact something like those bronze panels she’s just bought would be perfect.  (I haven’t run this past the Husband yet though).  But has anyone got any other thoughts?  Tiles?  Plaster reliefs? Ironwork? Mosaic?

Excuse the prosaic title of this post, but I really want people to be able to find this post when they search.