THE FOLLY IS FINISHED.. MAYBE

 Paul's been working on the folly on and off all week since the window arrived. 

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Casper checking if the walls straight!

Rufus getting in one the act!

This was on the 8th august. Then we spent a good week deciding which window we wanted to put in! Finally, after a week I went to order it, from Redwood Stone, and found just what I really wanted for sale in their graveyard page, a broken version!  We had to wait a day to see if we could get the one, we preferred and then got the email to say it was ours, so payment sent and then the wait of four days for it to arrive.

So, Paul started fitting it.

The 'broken' section of window.

Of course, Paul landed up with several other places he needed to be over the week along with us finally getting a decent day of steady rain, which the garden was desperate for.

a few more rows each side.

It's good to have someone else's input when doing these finishing touches.

But gradually, over this week, working a few rows each side every day before going off to his other commitments, the wall's gone up.

 

Each day we discussed how to get the top as we wanted it. The thing with building a folly is you need to remember it's supposed to be a ruin! So, it doesn't need to be perfect! or have perfect bricks, so this time Paul bashed the ends of the bricks to make them look damaged, like they would be on a ruin.

Which also made me notice that we had nice clean stepping bricks on the right-hand side wall, so Paul added a few damaged bricks to that side to remove the tidiness!

So, this is it! Just waiting for the upper bricks to dry.

Rufus in the shoot!

So just a few finishing touches and it's finally done!

Niamh through the new window

another closer view

with the tree framing the righthand side.

And here is the finished folly.

The new wall

from the lychgate end

Looking into the folly

from the border

So, it's finished.

THE WINDOW'S GOING IN!

 

So not long now!

EDWARD AND ELEANOR ARRIVE

 The new window for the second folly wall should arrive today! But while we are waiting Edward 1st arrived along with his wife Eleanor.

By the same craftsman as our statue that sits inside the folly Niamh, these two will be put up either side of the new window once it's in and finished.

We just could not resist these two.

 This is Edward 1st of England, also known as Edward Longshanks due to his height of 6ft 2.

and this is his first wife Eleanor of Castile, who bore him 15 children and when she died, he brought her body back from the north of England and a Eleanor cross was built at the twelve places her body rested on the journey.

One of those places was called Waltham and is now known as Waltham Cross and the cross still stands. Her body also rested in Charing, back then a little village near Westminster Abbey where she was to be buried. That is now part of London called Charing Cross.

Looking forward to seeing the wall finished and these in place.

ALL JUST ONE BIG FOLLY!

 Well, I have spent a week not getting round to ordering the window we need for the folly! But today I finally went on the site to check the name and order number. While there I thought I'd check their 'grave yard' this is the area where they will sell off kits of all the stonework plus brick to complete a folly or some of the parts ie: windows, doors, statues and various other items.

 All have been used in their garden designs and then removed when they have updated. Now in their graveyard is the window I wanted to order but with one of the parts broken. There are two one with the break on a left and one on the right. So I rang them and rats! They are waiting for someone to get back to them as to which one they'd like! 

We would like the break to be on the right-hand side of the window, but we will have to wait to see which the other person wants before we know which way they go!

But Paul took some photos of the folly which I'm going to share with you.

Of course, as soon as the gate was removed Casper was inside!

Here the cheeky lad comes back.

Finally, it's cooled down and giving the new plants a rest from all the hot sun.

A view from the lychgate.

Hopefully we will hear back about which window we will get later today or tomorrow and then it will be on it's way and Paul can get the wall finished.

HOT, HOT, HOT!

 Yes, it is too hot! The poor garden is really suffering! And we have it getting hotter as the week goes on!

This is the state of my flower border in the flower garden, this one is in almost constant sunshine from about ten am. I am wondering if I can somehow shade it for a few weeks until this latest hot spell is past!

Elsewhere, Paul's finished the wall as far as he can go until the window arrives.

At least it is starting to shade the folly garden, which would normally be well shaded by the hedging that used to be here. But who knew we were about to have one of the hottest summers on record! 

Today Wednesday, Paul found the old patio umbrella and stand and set it over the poor border that gets the most sun.

Hopefully it will save some of the plants from dying during this current hot spell.

But the red-hot pokers (kniphofia) are loving this hot weather!

APPLES

 Years back we put in three corden apple trees, however over time we have let the Bramley apple tree become a tree rather than keep it restricted to hedge height.

It produces a lovely lot of apples, which we can harvest and make things like Apple crumble out of, delicious!

Letting it become a tree also helps give some shade, something we are going to need to think about if our summers are to continue being this hot.

Paul's picked a few for a crumble for tea tonight.

The new folly wall is coming along nicely, and we will soon need the window, to be able to continue.

It's so nice it's getting done and also using up some of the bricks that have been sitting around for a good few years, waiting. 

Finally, all the bricks I'd moved under the lychgate, when we were replacing the fence and needed to move the compost bins, have been used up and once Paul's out the way, I will be able to remove the unwanted bricks (wrong type) and give it a good sweep.

We still have another two large piles of bricks, so plenty to work round the window once it's in and the rest I may use for part of the paving in the flower garden.

So, coming along nicely.

FOLLY WALL NUMBER TWO!

 Today Paul started building the wall on the left-hand side of the folly archway door. It's nice to see it underway.

We need to settle on just which style of window we will get for this side of the folly, it will be the same level as the other one, so we know how far the wall can go before the window becomes essential for the build.

Meanwhile I had a go at trying to take a few photos of the fish, who all seem to have survived their journey and settled in.

Managed to get the grey/blue one who can be hard to see, at times.

There are five goldfish and three shubunkins and all are doing fine.

Playing around the waterlily.