Garden reveal

As we head back into another potential lockdown I thought it would be a good time to do the garden reveal!

With the 1980s above ground vinyl swimming pool. It might look ok from a distance but up close it was very grotty and it rarely got used. 

Once the pool and treehouse, built by John, had been removed

Ta dah - our new flat lawn! The grass is Sir Grange Zoysia - really springy and soft and a lovely vibrant green

Whilst we were building the retaining wall.  When the landscape architect saw it she asked "why did you build the wall there?" Doh!

What a view! The railings have all been painted white since this photo was taken. 

The fire pit area was an afterthought to sort out the issue of having a silly strip of grass at a different level from the lawn. We love it though - such a lovely feature. 

This is the back right corner of the garden which has been turned into a quiet area. It will be shielded from the house once the viburnums grow up. 

Our nemesis the bamboo!  Seemed like such a great idea when we planted it and it did provide a great screen from the neighbours but getting rid of it was very very hard work.  

Looking towards where the bamboo was previously

The rockery which has been framed by a beautiful stone wall and of course the fire pit area

The "boardwalk" was another addition to the original plans to connect the 3 levels of the garden and to cover up the poor drainage area which would have left us with a near permanent muddy puddle

These stairs were always here but we redid the boards on top to tie in with the rest of the boardwalk and deck. I did the oiling of all the boards on the big deck and the boardwalk which was a labour of love but it looks awesome.  

We decided to make a feature of this large rock that's always been in the flower bed. 

The garden lights are being installed today and then it's completely finished.  Now we need the rain to stop so that we can enjoy the outside space!