I'd like a stone temple folly so I can stand in it looking windswept and interesting during rainstorms. A walled kitchen garden with a large glasshouse, an orchard with free range chickens and some beehives, a gravelled path through the herb garden, and a 'forest garden' with the a fruit cage big enough for a couple of cherry trees while you're at it as well please. Oh and a long pergola walk, a formal fishpond with stone surround so I can sit and talk to the fish and a cloud hedge.
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Verdun, yes today the sun is out though it never did bother me if it was raining. There is always work to do with animals or garden and being an outside man I just got on with it. The Brook or Beck as we call it is just down the hill from me, a lovely walk beside it and up through the woods onto the back lane home and a cup of tea. They had to raise the two bridges at each end because it can become a River, the wild life scatters uphill among the undergrowth and the Vixen sits outside her hole watching us pass, she has no fear as some even put dog food out for her when she has pups. Nature does a wonderful job on her own without help from us hence the small personal garden and let the rest go wild yet managed.
It would be a dream now having reached a good old age when things get a bit difficult more so after the big operation but we are tough in the NE and I do what I can with what I have so with my six acres i would ask for the fitness to work it as I wished.
Once upon a time I had nine acres of south-facing gentlysloping organic grassland with native hedges, wild flowers, three ponds, a stream, two areas of woodland, brick and timber Victorian mill buildings and stables, byre, cart shed fruit trees, veg patch, roses, nuttery ... you name it ... it was there
Did I turn it into a gardening paradise? Did I 'eckaslike
I filled it with beef cattle, sheep, ponies, pigs, a dairy herd of goats, chickens, ducks, geese, guinea fowl, you name it, we had it ............... we even had a little grey 'Fergie called Florence ........ once a farmer's daughter, always a farmer's daughter - if I see that much land I have to put animals on it
Last edited: 08 March 2017 15:52:58
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
6acres!! My dream would be to hire a gardener. I would like a walled garden, would look totally out of place here, and I would like to grow fruit trees, equally out of place here.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
Dove, the little Fergy, what a boon that was certainly made life a lot easier for our farming clan. There is one near my Sons place with all the tools including trailer and in full working order. Also like you I would make the land work for me as I said earlier on here.
Frank we also had one of the old-type hay tedders - I loved driving that little tractor, turning and setting the hay in rows while the swallows swooped over the meadow scooping up the insects
Last edited: 08 March 2017 16:51:29
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Dove ours was an old two iron wheel big iron seat on top hay rake, you hitched up old Dobbin and climbed aboard then dropping the rake pulled the hay into long rows. Pulling and pushing the big lever lifted the rake then dropped it again so you went up the field and gradually built up long lines of piled hay. We often went out with big wooden hand held rakes and turned the piles to dry before gathering and stacking. We started with a pile of brush wood then ricked the hay and then thatched a roof on each rick. The under side brush would be what we call today an animal bug Hotel there would be all sorts of things flying out when you got to the bottom.
It all changed the big Fordson Tractor could pull a multi blade plough and three harrows, the Fergy became the runabout to bring the cattle from the field for milking or rounding the sheep up. It would have been OK on our six acres Verdun has kindly given us to play with.
Lynn good to see you! I didn't know you were back on GW! Hope you're well. Very best wishes to you x
Ooh definitely a stream, Lake, waterfall. Weeping willow, A folly.......and a gardener or two.........do you think I could hire Poldark and his scythe?
Posts
I'd like a stone temple folly so I can stand in it looking windswept and interesting during rainstorms. A walled kitchen garden with a large glasshouse, an orchard with free range chickens and some beehives, a gravelled path through the herb garden, and a 'forest garden' with the a fruit cage big enough for a couple of cherry trees while you're at it as well please. Oh and a long pergola walk, a formal fishpond with stone surround so I can sit and talk to the fish and a cloud hedge.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Verdun, yes today the sun is out though it never did bother me if it was raining. There is always work to do with animals or garden and being an outside man I just got on with it. The Brook or Beck as we call it is just down the hill from me, a lovely walk beside it and up through the woods onto the back lane home and a cup of tea. They had to raise the two bridges at each end because it can become a River, the wild life scatters uphill among the undergrowth and the Vixen sits outside her hole watching us pass, she has no fear as some even put dog food out for her when she has pups. Nature does a wonderful job on her own without help from us hence the small personal garden and let the rest go wild yet managed.
It would be a dream now having reached a good old age when things get a bit difficult more so after the big operation but we are tough in the NE and I do what I can with what I have so with my six acres i would ask for the fitness to work it as I wished.
Frank.
Ride on mower!
Once upon a time I had nine acres of south-facing gentlysloping organic grassland with native hedges, wild flowers, three ponds, a stream, two areas of woodland, brick and timber Victorian mill buildings and stables, byre, cart shed fruit trees, veg patch, roses, nuttery ... you name it ... it was there
Did I turn it into a gardening paradise? Did I 'eckaslike
I filled it with beef cattle, sheep, ponies, pigs, a dairy herd of goats, chickens, ducks, geese, guinea fowl, you name it, we had it ............... we even had a little grey 'Fergie called Florence ........ once a farmer's daughter, always a farmer's daughter - if I see that much land I have to put animals on it
Last edited: 08 March 2017 15:52:58
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
6acres!! My dream would be to hire a gardener. I would like a walled garden, would look totally out of place here, and I would like to grow fruit trees, equally out of place here.
Dove, the little Fergy, what a boon that was certainly made life a lot easier for our farming clan. There is one near my Sons place with all the tools including trailer and in full working order. Also like you I would make the land work for me as I said earlier on here.
Frank.
Frank
we also had one of the old-type hay tedders - I loved driving that little tractor, turning and setting the hay in rows while the swallows swooped over the meadow scooping up the insects
Last edited: 08 March 2017 16:51:29
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Dove ours was an old two iron wheel big iron seat on top hay rake, you hitched up old Dobbin and climbed aboard then dropping the rake pulled the hay into long rows. Pulling and pushing the big lever lifted the rake then dropped it again so you went up the field and gradually built up long lines of piled hay. We often went out with big wooden hand held rakes and turned the piles to dry before gathering and stacking. We started with a pile of brush wood then ricked the hay and then thatched a roof on each rick. The under side brush would be what we call today an animal bug Hotel there would be all sorts of things flying out when you got to the bottom.
It all changed the big Fordson Tractor could pull a multi blade plough and three harrows, the Fergy became the runabout to bring the cattle from the field for milking or rounding the sheep up. It would have been OK on our six acres Verdun has kindly given us to play with.
Frank.
Lynn good to see you! I didn't know you were back on GW!
Hope you're well. Very best wishes to you x
Ooh definitely a stream, Lake, waterfall. Weeping willow, A folly.......and a gardener or two
.........do you think I could hire Poldark and his scythe? 