Prosperous & Creative Soul Year 4

savingholmes

I must go to the sofa place this weekend too and get my refund. I need to find where I put that card... I'm not sure where it is which is a bit of a pain. They charged me £60 when they should have refunded - so now owe me £120. I sent them an email about it so they do know - which they responded to - but I need to go in person to sort it out and the manager was off for a week and then I've had workmen in and it's dragged on. 

Apparently before I can get my kitchen cupboard put I need to order a special suspension rail - so the chances of that getting done (as in the cupboard put up) before my xmas get together is looking very slim. It's from the Swedish shop. Why they don't tell you at the time I'll never know... 

Blackcats

Good news on the letter about your job.  Although there are caveats it gives you peace of mind for now and through until the milestone of your next birthday.

LadyWithAPlan

savingholmes said:

I will probably give at least some of them a tip. I got £50 out already - but a couple of guys in particular I'd potentially give more to as there were large chunks of time when they were here working on their own. At some point I'll also get bark and top dress everything but that definitely needs to go into a different pay month. I'll just get bags for that and potentially pay DD's BF to help me with that.

Glad your job is ok 

I like this idea  of tipping extra to the actual workers quietly 

jwil

Good news about the job

WelshmansDaughter

Good news about the job

beanielou

Good news on the job. 

savingholmes

Thanks Blackcats, Jwil, WD, Beanie and LWAP

Well they worked their socks off today. Definitely worth the extra £200 - as I had about 12 hours of planting effort for that! So all my bamboo and grasses are gone. One of the workers was a little over enthusiastic in 'weeding' so I have lost some plants but - I could never have done what they have on my own. So my vision for my back tiered garden has been fulfilled at last. Those who followed my last diary will know I went on and on about my plans... and then my handyman stopped coming and everything ground to a halt.

On my top tier I now have

• A fatsia japonica - which is evergreen and is current in flower (white) - existing
• A tiny variegated eunonymous in a back corner
• Various clumps of persicaria - pink flowering messy plant - so mostly in awkward spots of back of borders
• Ferns
• Foxgloves
• Sedums
• A mahonia japonica - spiky evergreen currently with yellow flowers that I got planted earlier this year
• Blue flowering ceonothus - planted earlier this year
• A tall climber - not sure what as once everything was moved around and now it's not in flower or much leaf I lost track of which one it was!! 
• Polemonium - ferny type plant with purple flowers
• A rhododendrun (green evergreen that flowers - but can't remember what colour this one is)
• A fraseri red robin (red and green evergreen)
• A beesianum jasmine climber with pink flowers
• A variegated red robin type plant
• A huge bay tree (existing)
• Lots of geraniums - yellows, pinks and and reds - I was able to divide some clumps
• Some primroses
• Pink, red and white cyclamen
• Some Christmas rose in white
• Some bulbs e.g. tulips, grape hyacinth etc
• A red heuchara
• Ecninacia?
• Chrysanthemum balls (yellow when in flower)
• A red cordyline (existing)
• Lavender (some from my pots, some existing)
• Thyme (as above)
• Purple flowering campanula big version (I broke up some clumps).
• London's burning saxifrage? (workmen too enthusiastically took that out so had to put back - so hope it survives. I think they also got rid of most of my heuchara, love lies bleeding and probably aquilegia but I'll find out next Spring!)

Probably some others. I got them to plant almost in 4 layers on the top tier - with structural plants like the evergreens at the back and then other things in an almost diamond style pattern depending on how tall I thought it would get. My top tier still has a slight slope on it. 

savingholmes

Above I also had a small skimmia rubella - red flowers and berries
A messy broom that I moved to the back border - evergreen-ish with red flowers in spring/summer

Then they put in raised beds on 3 slightly differing levels as my pre-existing garden was already at different heights as I have a raised lawn. These effectively make access to the next tiers up safer / easier for maintenance. I was able to sit on the side of the one next to the lawn while I planted a few things (as well as the help from the workmen).

So next to where my outdoor seating would be over on the left - I now have (a 3 sleeper level raised bed):

Ferns (under the fatsia in the corner)

Various fruit bushes (I think blackcurrant, raspberry and possibly red currant) - I still need to add a clump of these in

Strawberries
Rosemary
A white astilbe
A geranium
An everlasting sweet pea - in a nice obelisk
Bulbs
Another bush plant which flowers I can't remember the name of... 

An apple tree

Along the back of the raised lawn I now have (a 3 sleeper level raised bed- 2 sleepers higher than the other one):
A cistus (white flowers - evergreen)
Blue / white agapanthus
A red mollis
More geranium, campanula, Christmas rose, cyclamen, persicaria and strawberry plants
Some plants I need to check the labels for!!
Another apple tree - tiny green shoot but didn't do well this year - and I had thought it had died but perhaps not
A green and yellow euonymous or privet 
Heuchara I rescued and hope survives!
Bulbs 

To the side the one sleeper level raised bed I have:
Ferns (under the bay tree)
More persicaria
A yellow jasmine - evergreen - in an obelisk
Coriander
Blue flowering ceonothus
A clematis
Campanula

savingholmes

There was also an azalea, mini forest flame and mini camelia in the tier by the lawn and a red acer.

At the front in the new raised bed I have
Azalea
Rhododendrun
A standard lavender
Blue agapanthus
Cyclamen
A small evergreen that I'm not sure what it is!!
A clematis aramndii - white flowering evergreen climber
Polemonium - purple flowers
Christmas, rose, bulbs, geraniums, persicaria, ferns
Skimmia rubella 
A black/green leaf hydrangea 
A pink edged cordyline
A fatsia japonica (that came out of a pot I think I've had for 3 decades!!)
Soft mahonia - should have yellow/orange flowers soon

I've also put 2 pots of white flowering hydrangea back in front of the garage (to help me/others not hit it!!)

It felt never ending - considering - they also put in a raised bed at the front... Despite that I still have some plants left in pots!! I may get rid of some of the spare thyme, rosemary and sage I inherited from the previous owners as I think they are quite messy plants and they have been allowed to get quite large!

I let them get rid of loads of pots (the kind plants come in not the posh ones) as I have way more than I need. The posh ones I may gradually rehome to family - with planted bulbs in etc for xmas / birthday etc. I have so many empty big pots now!! This should be so much easier  - and hopefully will require less watering now they are in the ground. 

skint_spice

That sounds well worth the money for the labour! It will bring you lots of joy.