Continuing the tale of the garden.

Well, next episode in the garden story!  The day started off grey but the sun came out again and it was perhaps even hotter than the day before!  We had a short visit to Glentress that morning for a cup of tea and a break.  The pond next to the cafe is full of yellow flag irises, like the ones in my pond, and I had to photograph the cascade in the burn!

Then when we got home, CB got to work on raising the bed where my apple and pear trees grow.  Both were quite severely pruned in the autumn, and won’t have much in the way of fruit this year, but the apple tree is shooting out new growth and if I can keep it under control by helping it to sprout sideways shoots for now, then that should make life easier.  The pear tree is really not doing very much, and to be honest I could do without it!  Maybe next year!  This flowerbed was not in proportion to the garden either and by raising it just one plank width it has improved the look completely.

You can see how the slabs had been set out like stepping stones, with the weeds growing through the separating gravel, but CB’s next job was moving the slabs together.  They’ll be cemented in eventually.

 

 

 

 

The slabs I already had were of two different sizes, the 600mm and the 450mm squared, so the larger ones form an edge with the smaller ones laid so that there will be three little channels for pebbles to be cemented into.  The red bricks are for measuring the channels.  So this half of the patio is almost done out, but there are some larger slabs that will have to be cut to fit, so he’s going to do that back at Paddock Farm where they have a cutter.  He’ll be coming back again soon to finish off!  What a star!  I can’t believe how good it all looks! Oh and he also laid down some slabs to my steps!  The slope has disappeared. as he has raised the path to the level of the next step. 

 

 

This is the garden this morning after I set up the large sunshade!

And here is the pond – here are the ponds.  There are actually two of them! - the wooden edges piled with plants in pots, till I know where I will plant them.  Sue from the gardening group is going to come along and advise.

So hopefully the final instalment/s won’t be too long coming!  However I still have other things to write about to catch you up.

Talk again soon.