A Cottage Garden With Delusions of Grandure

Tackling The Bramble Jungle
 

A garden party sounds like a grand afair!

Not so the garden party we had - the family got together to demolish the bramble jungle which was established in the back garden.

What an amazing difference can be made in such a short time!
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Divide and Conker


The next step was to divide the garden into areas that are small enough to work on without feeling swamped. Then formulate a plan for each area.
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The Shrubbery


The first area is the shrubbery which we made a few years ago - just a few shrubs and some paving and gravel.
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The Secret Garden


A place of peace in a world of chaos - this is what my secret garden will be.

Roses, cherry blossom and bees buzzing in the mallows, set off with restful slate paving, cobbles and gravel.
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Going Under Cover

At the bottom of the secret garden is a simple covered gazebo with squishy matting underneath.
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Big Top Territory


Just for fun we added a trampoline covered over with a circus tent!
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The Shrub and Tree Border

This border which separates the two sides of the garden used to be dominated by a huge cherry tree, but that had to be dramatically reduced in height due to the power lines which run overhead. Now the star of the show is the lilac bush I planted many years ago.
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The Porch....Or Wishful Thinking


I would love to have a real American Contry Style Porch, but my luck is out so I am adapting what I do have which is a concreted area at the back of the house an a path which leads to the back gate.
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Twin Beds


These twin beds will not be getting too much attention as yet, but I have added a little wooden bridge to each one so that any passing trolls will have somewhere to live!
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Down Pear Tree Lane


Down Pear Tree Lane grow the bleeding hearts. At the moment there are masses of pink ones and I am growing some white ones to add. Pear Tree Lane gets its name from the pear tree which grows there in which I have hung a collection of beautiful tiny bird houses. There are also lots of bluebells coming up too and some bulbs will be added in the not so distant future.
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Dragon's Den


In the centre of the main garden we have the Dragon's Den a green metal gazebo where our baby dragon sits proudly on a bird bath. I have ordered the mystery and wonder collection of violet and white climbing roses to clothe the structure.
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Peaceful Patio


After waiting over thirty years I have added a swing to the patio - peace at last!
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Fairies at the Bottom


We love the idea that the bottom bed containing the apple tree may also be home to faries!
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That Be My Greenhouse

We put up a compact walk in greenhouse behind the shed. It also hides the compost bin and gives me a space to sit and pot up plants even when it is raining!
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Work in Progress


We have put a very useful metal shed up a couple of years ago and it holds all the tools we need to keep the good work up.
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I Never Promised You a Rose Garden

When I moved to this house as a teenager there were beautiful roses in the garden. Sadly my father removed them because he did not like the thorns. One of the things I would love to do while redesigning the garden is to put roses back in but adding my own twist!
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From Sad Tree to Stunning Plant Stand


Today I brought our apple tree back to life!! A few years ago she was struck by lightning. We had to cut off one of the three prongs of her trunk and even had to cut much of the rest of her back in order to give her a chance to recover! With so little of the original tree left she looks so forlorn! Hopefully one day she will be back to her old self, but in the mean time I decided to use her as a giant plant stand!!!

I bought three lovely black hanging baskets with butterflies on and filled two with mixed verbena and the other with different kinds of mint.

Our faithful apple tree now looks so pleased with herself now that she is so dressed up.
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Making the Bed


Today I also tackled the first of the twin beds. I dug out the brick edging and relayed it after raising it with sand. I also trapped weed barrier under the bricks and then topped it off with chipped bark. Voila! It might not sound too exciting but I think it looks great especially once the little wooden bridge was put back in place.

Hopefully I will be able to tackle the other one tomorrow.