Updated! My garden makeover (with pics)

themull1

Do you mean you don't want the clothesline/concrete post? I would keep the concrete post and turn it into the base for maybe a fancy dovecote, and roll the line up, but still keep the fixing on the new 'dovecote' to use the line when you need to.

amcluesent

Thanx for your kind words!

Re. how long...by yesterday morning it felt like forever, and I'd wished I'd never started!

Seriously, I'd say if you worked all day (I stopped when the sun got too hot) I'd say 3 and bit days. A major time saver was a 'chop saw' (radial) which meant cutting the framing to length and exact 45 degree angles was a doddle. A major hassle was that the 850kg bag of pea shingle couldn't be dropped into the garden as I'm not close to the road so had to be barrowed.

The border framing is just pressure treated 10cm boarding from Wickes, stained ebony which was a 'last minute' idea but I think works well. The framing is screwed to 20cm wooden posts which were hammered into the ground then concreted around.

In the event of the drains needing work, it just a case of scraping back the gravel and cutting the geo-textile to get access.

The 'zig-zag' design was inspired by this stunning garden by John Blake Garden Design which I came across when browsing t'interweb for ideas for small, narrow gardens -

aliasojo

Huge, huge improvement, looks really good. :T

My garden has a drain in a similar place. We did the same, covered it with decorative stones, it's easy to get at should the need arise.

Agree with leaving the pole and getting a retractable line btw.

rabidbun

Lovely makeover! Did the same with our inspection hatches - decking with a hatch over one and then membrane with gravel over the sewer hatch (as it needs rodding every so often).

mary-op

Love the zig zag effect and its given me an idea for the raised beds out handyman is making for us. (Having the garden changed due to both me and OH's disabilities)
Ours is a concrete affair with flower bed down onw side full of shrubs -quite happy with that. The rest has been chimney pots, endless containers and smaller flower pots -loads now gone thanks to 'freecycle' - and we're having wooden raised beds/planters made. I've been debating where they should go so I get easy access round the garden and the washing line -like an obstacle course at the minute. The zig-zag idea looks just the thing......makes and oblong garden/yard look a lot more interesting, more so when the evergreens I've bought have grown.
You've done a super job:T

ionahenor2

What a super job.

All it needs now is a couple of hens to scratch in the gravel! My lot would love that path.

YORKSHIRELASS

Wow, I have to confess that I thought the first photo was the "after" shot and was trying to think of something nice to say - before I looked at the rest!

The best bit is that now you have got the hard landscaping done you can have fun over time adding plants and accessories and watching it all grow and evolve.

We have got a big garden, both front and back, so our makeover is going more slowly then yours - but we are starting to see improvements. I want to put down gravel to cover a bed than looks a mess and have been thinking about how to edge it. Yours looks great.

pinkcandyflossprincess

really amazing, love the planting too, its a definate welcoming type garden you would want to explore if visiting:T

i too have two potholes that scuppered where i wanted to put my shed:mad:
thankfully i managed to place the shed and build a raised bed opposite so have room in between for a bistro set or bench and will pebble over and put pots on top of the potholes so they dont look too obvious.
had a book where they built a circle around a pothole lid then read n the instuctions that they actually bought the pothole lid as a centre feature:eek: why would you want one- can understand doing it to disguse one but not actually wanting to have one for no purpose:rotfl:

amcluesent

Update! After 7 weeks or so, new plantings are beginning to take shape.

Repainted back gate and tidied up the screen
Removed the concrete clothes post
Slate chips around the yew (nothing will grow at the base)
Wigwams for the sweetpeas
A few more pots (cannas etc)
Mullein has taken over from clematis at the back
Roses in bloom

PugLady_2

Really like your planting. It makes your garden look very secluded and private .