How exciting! Good idea to insist on daily progress photos. I guess that's the lawyer in you.
It looks as if any planting close to the house might take a bit of a beating during the works (and they might have had to do some cutting back to get the scaffolding in there), so the time to take stock properly will be when they've finished. Meanwhile enjoy seeing how the woodland and the rest of the garden develop through the spring :-)
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
I have ask them to try and look after the roses, but the rest I'm not to concerned about as when the new paths and boarders are laid out it will all be a new planting scheme.
You have to expect some damage when your demolishing wall's to create new openings I guess
It'll be worth it in the end! At least you aren't living there full-time in all the building mess (it was bad enough when we had the doors and windows replaced, never mind any major work).
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
@Philomena K All systems go now then, have they given you an estimated finish date? The idea of the polished concrete floors and bonded paths / patios all matching in colour is a great idea.
We have polished concrete floor,s in our new flat but have ceramic tiles on the balcony's the floors are so easy to maintain.
Hope the roses survive!! love to see the work in progress I regret not taking more photos when ours was being built.
"You don't stop gardening because you get old, you get old because you stop gardening." - The Hampshire Hog
I’m a bit late to this party but I just wanted to say what a wonderful legacy and opportunity you have there. I love some of the ideas you’re sharing and you will have a stunning property when it’s all finished.
Without wishing to be rude or presumptious, it does sound as though you have a little nest egg to fund your renovations. IMO it might, therefore, make sense to consider investing at least a small proportion of that to employ a professional garden designer to help you plan the garden.
Most make an initial visit for free so you can size each other up. If you find somebody who knows their stuff and who you can work with it could be an exciting journey together. The designer’s input can be anything from the most basic general plan & rough sketch for you to work from, to a fully scaled and detailed planting plan, to completely ‘making’ the garden. Anything from a few hundred to many thousands of pounds....
You appear to have a large plot there and it would be easy to make expensive mistakes. A good designer will help you achieve your visions and keep you on the straight and narrow. If you want to do a lot of the work and planning yourself that would be accommodated - but just with an expert eye at the outset to stop you making expensive mistakes and maybe coming up with ideas you hadn’t thought of. Most designers also have good contacts if jobs require labour and they will often be able to source plants and materials at wholesale prices.
I wouldn’t go as far as saying a designer will pay for him / herself - but they may be less expensive than they at first appear.
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
No thankfully not living there and its a quick commute from my flat here in London so I can visit site anytime if I need to, in fact I will be leaving soon to be there for the weekend staying local not camping out as I have before.
Yes HH the builders start properly on Monday demolishing most of the internals and forming new external doorways and windows, as for an end date that's a bit of a mystery because for instance until all the new openings are in place only then can the window manufacturer come and measure, then takes about six months for them to be manufactured and fitted. So maybe end of this year or maybe spring next depending on weather and everything going to plan we have allowed for a three months slip just in case of unforeseen problems.
But like the garden not in a hurry anymore I just want it right and with all the new technology going into the building we are bound to have a few issues.
@Topbird hi. Your not the first to suggest this and I'm happy to take any advice as a total novice. For example I have now decided to leave everything and just wait, see and take lots of pictures for identification and use canes and labels so I know where they are later I have worked that bit out....well read it in a book
I think I will look for a garden designer to give me some help I know what I want but putting that in practice might be a bit more of a challenge as for the plants that's not so much of a problem as I do have a connection to a rather good wholesale company that all the best designers use for Chelsea and the like.
When we first moved here the garden was an unloved blank canvas. I made a list of things I wanted / needed in the garden (g&t spot, shed, a proper utility/composting area, a soft fruit patch, a large patio, some deep borders, electricity and water etc etc).
What I couldn’t visualise was where it would all go. I spent the first year unable to do anything because I was terrified of putting the concrete pad for a shed in the wrong place. It would be difficult and expensive to move if I got it wrong.
A designer friend of a friend came round, we chatted over a coffee and for £100 she drew up a roughly to scale plan of the garden suggesting where the major features might go.
Once we had a site for the major stuff - but particularly the shed and utility area - it was obvious where trenches for water & electricity needed to go and we started work. We certainly haven’t stuck to her plan - but just getting a couple of unmoveable features placed gave me the confidence to go ahead and plan the rest of it myself.
Best £100 / cup of coffee I’ve ever spent🙂
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
@Philomena K. Are you a fan of Philomena K? That history programme she’s doing at the moment I find hilarious, I don’t watch a lot of tv, apart from films and documentaries but I just get fits of real giggles when she’s on.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
Posts
Photo courtesy of the builders, first of many as they have to send me photographs of progress every day as part of the contract.
How exciting! Good idea to insist on daily progress photos. I guess that's the lawyer in you.
It looks as if any planting close to the house might take a bit of a beating during the works (and they might have had to do some cutting back to get the scaffolding in there), so the time to take stock properly will be when they've finished. Meanwhile enjoy seeing how the woodland and the rest of the garden develop through the spring :-)
I have ask them to try and look after the roses, but the rest I'm not to concerned about as when the new paths and boarders are laid out it will all be a new planting scheme.
You have to expect some damage when your demolishing wall's to create new openings I guess
We have polished concrete floor,s in our new flat but have ceramic tiles on the balcony's the floors are so easy to maintain.
Hope the roses survive!! love to see the work in progress
"You don't stop gardening because you get old, you get old because you stop gardening." - The Hampshire Hog
Without wishing to be rude or presumptious, it does sound as though you have a little nest egg to fund your renovations. IMO it might, therefore, make sense to consider investing at least a small proportion of that to employ a professional garden designer to help you plan the garden.
Most make an initial visit for free so you can size each other up. If you find somebody who knows their stuff and who you can work with it could be an exciting journey together. The designer’s input can be anything from the most basic general plan & rough sketch for you to work from, to a fully scaled and detailed planting plan, to completely ‘making’ the garden. Anything from a few hundred to many thousands of pounds....
You appear to have a large plot there and it would be easy to make expensive mistakes. A good designer will help you achieve your visions and keep you on the straight and narrow. If you want to do a lot of the work and planning yourself that would be accommodated - but just with an expert eye at the outset to stop you making expensive mistakes and maybe coming up with ideas you hadn’t thought of. Most designers also have good contacts if jobs require labour and they will often be able to source plants and materials at wholesale prices.
I wouldn’t go as far as saying a designer will pay for him / herself - but they may be less expensive than they at first appear.
Yes HH the builders start properly on Monday demolishing most of the internals and forming new external doorways and windows, as for an end date that's a bit of a mystery because for instance until all the new openings are in place only then can the window manufacturer come and measure, then takes about six months for them to be manufactured and fitted.
So maybe end of this year or maybe spring next depending on weather and everything going to plan we have allowed for a three months slip just in case of unforeseen problems.
But like the garden not in a hurry anymore I just want it right and with all the new technology going into the building we are bound to have a few issues.
For example I have now decided to leave everything and just wait, see and take lots of pictures for identification and use canes and labels so I know where they are later I have worked that bit out....well read it in a book
I think I will look for a garden designer to give me some help I know what I want but putting that in practice might be a bit more of a challenge as for the plants that's not so much of a problem as I do have a connection to a rather good wholesale company that all the best designers use for Chelsea and the like.
What I couldn’t visualise was where it would all go. I spent the first year unable to do anything because I was terrified of putting the concrete pad for a shed in the wrong place. It would be difficult and expensive to move if I got it wrong.
A designer friend of a friend came round, we chatted over a coffee and for £100 she drew up a roughly to scale plan of the garden suggesting where the major features might go.
Once we had a site for the major stuff - but particularly the shed and utility area - it was obvious where trenches for water & electricity needed to go and we started work. We certainly haven’t stuck to her plan - but just getting a couple of unmoveable features placed gave me the confidence to go ahead and plan the rest of it myself.
Best £100 / cup of coffee I’ve ever spent🙂