The Garden

This was how the garden looked when I moved in on June 1st, quite a blank canvas!

I had three quotes and quite frankly you'd have thought I owned a stately home as the top quote came in at almost £3,000.00. I'd told the gardeners that I didn't want silly prices (if that's not a silly price then I don't know what is), the house is so small there is a limit to what you could put it on the market for, even if it has solid gold patio slabs.

In the end I opted for a one man band who'd been recommended by a friend and decided to just have some new paving slabs laid and I'd do the frilly bits myself.

I think the path tricks the eye and makes the garden look longer, it now looks 14 foot instead of 7 feet !!!!!!

I've still loads to do, I try and buy a couple of plants a week and it's surprising how many you need in such a small space. I will be re-planting the roses from the front garden into the back as despite bells and shoo off/sod off spray the deer keep coming back as soon as the buds appear.

After thinking about every colour in the rainbow I finally opted on Cuprinol's Country Cream and a stain that I'd had for years! You would not believe the amount of rubbish/bird poo that comes down from the oak trees and I thought it wiser to go for this option.

My favourite W I S H tea-light buckets. I think it would be great to buy these in different letters, wouldn't they be lovely for personalised parties? Maybe mine could stand for WENDY IS SHABBY HARRIDAN.

The little area of decking was the only part I kept but once the man had laid the path it was apparant how out of sync it was! I will be putting plants there to try and minimise it.

Overall, I reckon by the time it's all finished it will have cost me less than £1,000 all in, including the patio, the poor man's Wendy House and the fish barrel thingie, and the planters and the table and chairs and the step ladder and the trugs and the antique wheelbarrow and the plants ...............