Finishing up
The pond and edging are nearly finished, but I still can’t show you a good picture of the pond, because it has been wrapped up in a tarpaulin to keep the rain out while the inside is being concrete-washed and waterproofed.
Pond covered with blue tarpaulin to keep the rain off
I have been spending a lot of time while out walking or on my bike thinking about how to arrange the rest of the garden and what to do next. The fundamental questions are:
(1) Shall I move both the apple trees, or just one, or none?
(2) Where am I going to plant my three blackberries?
(3) What sort of path do I want to the greenhouse and compost bins?
(4) Where am I going to grow my vegetables, and how do I separate them into beds so I have easy access?
(5) Shall I finish taking up the path that runs along the left-hand fence, or shall I leave some of it there?
I have not yet worked out answers to all of these questions, but have had some ideas so far.
The main all-weather access required has to be to the compost bins. It doesn’t matter so much if there isn’t a path directly to the greenhouse. I could have a path running parallel to the right-hand fence and about three feet from it. Here is a picture borrowed from a previous post:
The bay tree from http://www.helenpercy.com/gardeningblog/2009/09/06/and-now-it-is-autumn/
The path would run straight through the temporary pond and the bay tree. I would remove the crazy paving path that currently runs about six feet to the left of the fence, and then use the space for planting and the new version of the temporary pond. (I have decided that I like having a pond visible from the kitchen window, and although I know that having three ponds in a 40 ft square garden is a bit mad, I don’t care. Anyway, it will only be a small one). This is very sad for the bay tree, which is a magnificent plant, but it is a bit big. I have a smaller one in a pot, and will plant it nearer the house for easy leaf-picking, and will keep it a lot smaller.
I have also thought that I could have a set of three or four posts running along the new path, either to the left or the right, for growing the blackberries. Another option is to grow the blackberries along the fence but it may make it hard to get at the ivy and I think I may prefer something more substantial there, to help hide the compost bins.
I haven’t yet come to a decision about the apple trees, but they could go in the vegetable growing area, behind the long edge of the lawn. I have also thought it would be nice to have a line of bedding plants and/or bulbs behind the long edge of the lawn so there would be something pretty to look at all through the year. The courgettes and other vegetables could grow behind them.
There is a strip of garden behind the greenhouse which should still get some light through the greenhouse. I may try growing runner beans there. One reason for this idea is that the plot would be bare from October to May, and therefore there would be nothing in the way when the thuja hedge gets enormous and needs annual trimming.
So I have spent a couple of hours today taking bits off the bay tree and the Leylandii and doing a bit of soil moving. To save on costs, I stipulated that no waste should be removed from my garden after the works, and therefore I have a good selection of bits of paving, which I have started using as stepping stones to cut down on the mud transfer rate. While I am cutting up and shredding the branches, I can continue to think about what will go where. I think it will take me about two years to sort this out, and then I can get the final hard landscaping done.