Friday 13 June 2014

REDESIGNING THE FRONT GARDEN IN 2013

Last year Paul decided he'd had enough of the grass in the front garden. It was very moss ridden up near the front of the house so never looked good.
So between us we set about redesigning it.




When we had first moved in we'd had the drive widened and gravelled and we had also split it from our neighbours by erecting a fence down the centre.


view towards house.


Some paving we had put in to make it easier for window cleaner to get to windows.




So those photo's show the front garden before  we started to change the layout.




So first we put down the membrane to suppress the weeds and kill the grass. We had decided to edge the
borders in black bricks.




So now no grass , the shape was dictated by the existing borders although we did tweak them slightly.



A side view from the drive.



A view front front wall back towards the house.



This is what four tons of pea shingle looks like!In fact we had already at this point emptied the fifth bag onto the membrane and still had these four to go!



At last after a lot of hard work and some help from our next door neighbours the shingle is all in place.



View from side of drive.



View from front wall. We are on a hill so the ground falls away to the right.



A more level view of the front.


The front garden one year on in May.


We have added shrubs over the last year going for the ones with flowers or autumn leaf colour. The banana plant is back out in it's pot now the frosts are past.


The clematis have re appeared to put on a lovely display.


The two Cordylines  are also back out in their pots and making a splash of red. The border beside the drive is filling up.


Paul treated himself to an Agave which now sit's between the Cordylines.

The side nearest the neighbours towards the road. We are very pleased with how this has worked out, some weeding after the winter to the gravel but best of all no grass to mow!.


The front garden this afternoon a very hot sunny day in June.The view from the drive.the next photo's were also taken this afternoon June 2014.


From front wall towards house.


to the right from front wall


Flowers overflowing wall at side of drive.


The geraniums have taking over up by the house under the front window!


Island bed in centre of front garden


looking across Island bed towards the rose Lark Ascending.


The two Cordylines .


Under the front window! The blue pot still awaits planting up!So plenty of colour!


********************************************************************************

8 comments:

  1. I did so enjoy seeing the front garden transformation as it was actually happening last Summer..... and was delighted to see it all again here now that it is well established. Congratulations and well done!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Kendal. It was a lot of hard work but now it's so much easier to maintain.

      Delete
  2. oooh dee.....im SO jealous of your fab garden, I just put a pic on FB of my over grown cordyline in our front garden that is just coming into flower, its a green one, the red ones ive had before like yours didn't like our garden and died, do you have to wrap your banana plant up for the winter , in our local gardens they have lots and it always amuses me to see them wrapped up like white mummies for the winter ......anyway gorgeous garden xxxxxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Sarah. We put the Banana in it's pot undercover and in a plastic mini greenhouse under the carport. We also put the pots with the cordylines under the porch and those we wrap up like mummies to keep them safe! It's a pain but at least they survive for another year! xx

      Delete
  3. What a wonderful and successful redesign of front garden!
    I enjoyed the process of it, and the beautiful pictures of the garden in June.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. We are very happy with how it's turned out.

      Delete
  4. Your front garden is so pretty too, I remember when you were working on this. It really reminds me of our back garden that we had in England, even down to the blue pot and the corylines, we had those potted too! And the shingle, ours was very similar! Great minds think alike, obviously ;)
    Your house and garden have great kerb appeal!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Sharon, I think changing grass for gravel's very popular these days saves on all that mowing!

      Delete